Matthew 8:20 (ASV)

Passage

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Nearby Context

Matthew 8:18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandments to depart unto the other side.

Matthew 8:19 And there came a scribe, and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Matthew 8:21 And another of the disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Matthew 8:22 But Jesus saith unto him, Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "saith", "foxes", "holes", "birds", "heaven", "nests", and "hath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And there came a scribe and said..." into verse 21's "And another of the disciples said unto...", so "jesus" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.