Matthew 8:19 — Community Reflections

MATTHEW 8:19 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.”

And a scribe came up and said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. The two would-be disciples who present themselves on the way to the boat represent two forms of inadequately counted discipleship. The scribe who offers to follow wherever Jesus goes has not counted the cost — Jesus' response in verse 20 is about homelessness. Luke 9:57–62 records the fuller version of the exchange. The enthusiasm is genuine but untested: following Jesus wherever he goes means following him to the other shore in the storm, following him to the Gentile territories, following him to the cross.

Church Fathers on Matthew 8:19

Because Christ not only healed the body, but purified the soul also, He desired to shew forth true wisdom, not only by curing diseases, but by doing nothing with ostentation; and therefore it is said, 'Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he commanded his disciples to cross over to the other side.' This He did at once teaching us to be lowly, softening the ill-will of the Jews, and teaching us to do nothing with ostentation.
Chrysostom · 4th century

Or; He did this as one desiring to shun the thronging of the multitude. But they hung upon Him in admiration, crowding to see Him. For who would depart from one who did such miracles? Who would not wish to look upon His open face, to see His mouth that spoke such things? For if Moses' countenance was made glorious, and Stephen’s as that of an Angel, gather from this how it was to have been supposed that their common Lord must have then appeared; of whom the Prophet speaks,…
Remigius · 9th century

The name 'disciples' is not to be supposed to be confined to the twelve Apostles; for we read of many disciples besides the twelve.
Hilary of Poitiers · 4th century

Read all 27 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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