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. The title Son of Man appears here for the first time in Matthew, drawing on Daniel 7:13–14 where one like a son of man receives dominion and a kingdom from the Ancient of Days. Jesus applies this exalted title to himself in a context of homelessness: the Son of Man who will receive all authority has, in his earthly mission, no fixed home. The foxes and birds that are lower in the creation hierarchy have settled homes; the Son of Man does not. The contrast invites the scribe to count the cost of following one whose mission involves homelessness and marginality before the glory of Daniel 7 is realized.

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