Matthew 8:20 (KJV)

Passage

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air 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 commandment to depart unto the other side.

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

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

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

Matthew 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "saith", "foxes", "holes", "birds", "nests", "hath", and "where". 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 a certain scribe came and said..." into verse 21's "And another of his 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.