Since this is a popular interpretation of this verse: that Jesus is poor because he has no place to rest his head, let me now offer a different interpretation based on scripture.
Isaiah 62: 6-7
“I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, who will never hold their peace day or night; you who [are His servants and by your prayers] put the Lord in remembrance [of His promises], keep not silence, A
nd give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise in the earth.”
In this context the establishment of Jerusalem refers to a righteousness that is unwavering. See verse 1 “For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns.”
He cannot rest until he establishes a righteousness that burns with brightness. FOR YOU.
The Bible tells us Jesus finally found His rest after He said “it is finished”. See John 19:30 “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The word “bow” is the Greek is the same word “rest”.
He finally rested on the cross. Isaiah 62 tells us that God is relentless is His pursuit of our righteousness. It basically means God is interested in working for your righteousness and He will not rest until He finds it for you.
Our Lord Jesus finally did it. On the cross. He finally rested His head. He became you and you became Him. He became Sin. You became the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Jesus is now seated. He no longer stands. The work is done. He is now at rest. I hope this will be a more convincing interpretation of what Jesus was really saying in Luke 9:58.
And of course, you are free to reject it and continue to believe that Jesus was saying he is financially poor to fit your own beliefs. As that Deut passage I have used, we have to choose on our own.
Isaiah 62 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
New Jerusalem: A City Full of Goodness
62 I love Zion,
so I will continue to speak for her.
I love Jerusalem,
so I will not stop speaking.
I will speak until goodness[
a] shines like a bright light,
until salvation burns bright like a flame.
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Then all nations will see your goodness.
All kings will see your honor.
Then you will have a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.
3 You will be like a beautiful crown that the Lord holds up,
like a king’s crown in the hand of your God.
4 You will never again be called ‘The People God Left.’
Your land will never again be called ‘The Land God Destroyed.’
You will be called ‘The People God Loves.’
Your land will be called ‘God’s Bride,’
because the Lord loves you,
and your land will be his.
5 As a young man takes a bride and she belongs to him,
so your land will belong to your children.[
c]
As a man is happy with his new wife,
so your God will be happy with you.
6 Jerusalem, I put guards on your walls.
They will not be silent.
They will keep praying day and night.
Guards, keep praying to the Lord.
Remind him of his promise.
Don’t ever stop praying.
7 Don’t give him any rest until he rebuilds Jerusalem
and makes it a place that everyone on earth will praise.
8 The Lord made a promise and guaranteed it by his own power.
And he will use that power to keep his promise.
The Lord said, “I promise that I will never again give your food to your enemies.
I promise that they will never again take the wine you make.
9 Whoever gathers the food will eat it and praise the Lord.
Whoever gathers the grape will drink the wine in the courtyards of my Temple.”
10 Come through the gates!
Clear the way for the people!
Prepare the road!
Move all the stones off the road!
Raise a flag as a sign for the nations!
11 Listen, the Lord is speaking
to all the faraway lands:
“Tell the people of Zion,
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
He is bringing your reward to you.
He is bringing it with him.’”
12 His people will be called “The Holy People,”
“The Saved People of the Lord.”
And you, Jerusalem, will be called “The City God Wants,”
“The City God Is With.”
Luke 9
57 They were all traveling along the road. Someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you anywhere you go.”
58 He answered, “The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place where he can rest his head.”
59 Jesus said to another man, “Follow me!”
But the man said, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the people who are dead bury their own dead. You must go and tell about God’s kingdom.”
61 Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus said, “Anyone who begins to plow a field but looks back is not prepared for God’s kingdom.”
Mark 6:31Jesus and his followers were in a very busy place. There were so many people that he and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come with me. We will go to a quiet place to be alone.
There we will get some rest.”
Matthew 8:20-23 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to rest.”
21 Another of Jesus’ followers said to him, “Lord, I will follow you too, but let me go and bury my father first.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let those who are dead bury their own dead.”
23 Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him.
Matthew 8:24 After the boat left the shore, a very bad storm began on the lake. The waves covered the boat. But
Jesus was sleeping.
Mark 4:38
Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!”
After looking at both texts your interpretation does not hold true. Foxes and Birds have a place to live.
The later is not saying Jesus will not rest until his job is done.
In fact, Jesus got into the boat right after saying that and sleep.
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