Matthew 8:19 (DRB)

Passage

And a certain scribe came and said to him: Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou shalt go.

Nearby Context

Matthew 8:17 That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet Isaias, saying: He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.

Matthew 8:18 And Jesus seeing great multitudes about him, gave orders to pass over the water.

Matthew 8:19 And a certain scribe came and said to him: Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou shalt go.

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

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "certain", "scribe", "came", "said", "master", "follow", "thee", and "whithersoever". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "certain" and "scribe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And Jesus seeing great multitudes about him..." into verse 20's "And Jesus saith to him The foxes...", so "certain" and "scribe" 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 "certain" and "scribe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.