And a scribe came up and said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. – Matthew 8:19-20
Commentaries and preaching about this verse typically focus
on the poverty of Jesus or the fact that the poor person who has no great
possessions may be more like Christ than the rich. Because of the context, I think we can allow
that Jesus is issuing a challenge to the scribe who offered to follow Him. He is not, He makes clear, the ordinary type
of rabbi who is interested in finding a place in this world.
The word translated “nests” is related to the word “tabernacle”. It is more like a roosting place for the
night than a nest for eggs. There was no
place on earth for the Lord to settle, though He had “tabernacled” with Israel
and had, to a degree, dwelt in the temple.
In Luke’s account of the
Transfiguration (Luke 9:26-36), we read of Peter’s reaction: And as
the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good that we
are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah—not knowing what he said. The
Lord had no intention of staying here, of building houses, temples, cities,
palaces or fortresses.
One reason I have probably remained a Protestant is because
I find a disconnect between the primitive (in the sense of primacy) “Book of
Acts” church and the kind of medieval tradition of Catholicism and Orthodoxy
with the tendency toward cathedrals and an emphasis on buildings. Of course, Protestants learned that
worshipers like nice facilities with good parking, and that become one of the trademark gimmicks for “church growth” in the ‘80s and ‘90s. It probably still is today, but I pay a lot
less attention.
The church is not a building, though parts of it may meet in
one. Jesus says that wherever two or
three gather in His Name – where there are relationships, communion, and
fellowship, there He is. His dwelling
place is in us, and ours is to be in Him.
7 comments:
"The church is not a building.."
An important point worth reminding.
And Matthew 8:19-20 certainly is mysterious and thought provoking.
Not a little foreboding in it too. That He can't lay his head for even a minute. Or simply won't. Danger everywhere and yet so much to be done.
True, the church is not a building... but then again it is, in a way, or else all those wisecracks about Peter being a rock and about laying foundations would seem to fall a bit flat. No?
Which isn't to say in any way that you're wrong, of course. You're not. Just a different way of looking at things.
Interesting about the bit of wordplay between tabernacle and nest, btw. I never would have guessed that, but of course they are related.
I sometimes think the Bible must be seriously funny in places, only a lot of the jokes got lost in translation.
I second Julie's comment. I had no idea that nests were related to tabernacles.
Gives new meaning for me.
There was no place on earth for the Lord to settle, though He had “tabernacled” with Israel and had, to a degree, dwelt in the temple.
Is he speaking only about himself or is this also to be a characteristic of those who follow him as well? As in, this world isn't our home. Can't really settle down here.
Yeah, I can see that.
Yes, Peter the rock and the foundation. What's built upon him, are living stones.
1 Peter 2:4-5, As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
I appreciate what is behind the building of the great cathedrals. They can be a work of art, testifying of truth of the invisible church.
Again, making the invisible visible -- it didn't stop with the Old Testament.
John, I think we are supposed to be "unattached" to some degree. Detachment to the point that we just don't care can come about by egotism and narcissism.
If we get an eternal perspective, we see that some things matter, because they are eternal and some don't so much because they are more like logs floating in a stream which we may use to help us cross.
Souls always matter because humans are eternal. Houses matter when they shelter souls that need cover for the night -- otherwise, not so much.
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