Lyrics Page
You Did Not Have A Home
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Oct 30, 2026 updated
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
Each verse names something Jesus did not have and sets it against what the world expects: a home, a wife, stones to throw, an ax to grind. The refrain "You did not have a home" sits beside the gospel observation that "Birds have nests foxes have dens," and the song then turns it into a claim of hope: "the hope of the whole world rests / On the shoulders of a homeless man."
Rich Mullins fills the verses with scenes from the gospels. Pretty maids line up to touch the hem of a robe, sight comes to the blind, and a crowd spreads coats and palms for a king on a donkey's foal. Then the tone darkens: "I guess You had to get sold, 'Cause the world can't stand what it can't own / And it can't own You."
The song builds by repetition rather than argument, letting the homelessness of Christ carry the weight. It lines up with Jesus' words about the Son of Man having nowhere to lay his head in Matthew 8:20, the humble king of Zechariah 9:9, and the promise in Matthew 5:5 that the meek inherit the earth, which the singer echoes with "the whole world belongs to the meek."
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
Oh You did not have a home
There were places You visited frequently
You took off Your shoes and scratched Your feet
'Cause you knew that the whole world belongs to the meek
But You did not have a home
No You did not have a home
And You did not take a wife
There were pretty maids all in a row
Who lined up to touch the hem of Your robe
But You had no place to take them so
You did not take a wife
No You did not take a wife
Birds have nests foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
No You did not have a home
Well you had no stones to throw
You came without an ax to grind
You did not tow the party line
No wonder sight came to the blind
You had no stones to throw
You had no stones to throw
And You rode and ass' foal
They spread their coats and cut down palms
For You and Your donkey to walk upon
But the world won't find what it thinks it wants
On the back of an ass' foal
So I guess You had to get sold
'Cause the world can't stand what it can't own
And it can't own You
'Cause You did not have a home
Birds have nests foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
No You did not have a
Birds have nests foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
And the world can't stand what it can't own
And it can't own You
'Cause You did not have a home