Lukas 9:57-58

Challenging Professed Followers

9:57 As ¹  they were walking ²  along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ³  9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky ⁴  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ⁵ 

[9:57]  ¹ tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:57]  ² tn Grk “going,” but “walking” is an accurate description of how they traveled about.

[9:57]  ³ tc Most mss (A C W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) add κύριε (kurie, “Lord”) here, but scribes were prone to add to the text, especially appellations for the Lord. The shorter reading also enjoys significant ms support (Ì^45,75 א B D L Ξ Ë¹ lat co).

[9:57]  sn The statement “I will follow you wherever you go” is an offer to follow Jesus as a disciple, no matter what the cost.

[9:58]  ⁴ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[9:58]  ⁵ sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).