And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
Parallel translations
- WEB A scribe came, and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
- BSB And one of the scribes came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
- NKJV Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
- NASB Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
- NLT Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An enthusiastic scribe declares he will follow Jesus anywhere. His eager promise will be tested by Jesus' sobering reply about the cost of discipleship.
Overview
A teacher of the law, impressed by Jesus, offers wholehearted allegiance with confident words. Jesus does not refuse him but exposes what genuine following entails. The exchange introduces a recurring biblical theme, that discipleship requires counting the cost rather than acting on momentary zeal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Luke 22:33–34And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
- Luke 14:33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
- John 13:36–38Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
- Luke 14:25–27And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
- 1 Cor 1:20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
- Mark 12:32–34And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
- Luke 9:57–60And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
- Ezra 7:6This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 8:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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