Lucas 8

¹ After this, Jesus traveled from one city and village to another, preaching and spreading the good news about God's kingdom. The twelve were with him,

² as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and illnesses: Mary, also called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;

³ Joanna, the wife of Herod's household manager Chuza; Susanna; and many others. These women continued to support them out of their personal resources.

⁴ Now while a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to him from every city, he said in a parable:

⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, were trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate them up.

⁶ Others fell on stony ground, and as soon as they came up, they dried up because they had no moisture.

⁷ Others fell among thornbushes, and the thornbushes grew with them and choked them.

⁸ But others fell on good soil, and when they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted.” As he said this, he called out,“Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”

⁹ Then his disciples began to ask him what this parable meant.

¹⁰ So he said,“You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are givenin parables, so that‘they might look but not see,and they might listen but not understand.’”

¹¹ “Now this is what the parable means. The seed is God's word.

¹² The ones on the path are the people who listen, but then the devil comes and takes the word away from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

¹³ The ones on the stony ground are the people who welcome the word with joy when they hear it. But since they don't have any roots, they believe for a while, but in a time of testing they fall away.

¹⁴ The ones that fell among the thornbushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn't mature.

¹⁵ But the ones on the good soil are the people who also hear the word but hold on to it with good and honest hearts and produce a crop through endurance.”

¹⁶ “No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in will see the light.

¹⁷ For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing secret that will not become known and come to light.

¹⁸ So pay attention to how you listen. For to the one who has something, more will be given. However, from the one who doesn't have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

¹⁹ His mother and his brothers came to him, but they couldn't get near him because of the crowd.

²⁰ He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

²¹ But he answered them,“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

²² One day Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. He said to them,“Let's cross to the other side of the lake.” So they started out.

²³ Now as they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. A violent storm swept over the lake, and they were taking on water and were in great danger.

²⁴ So they went to him, woke him up, and said, “Master! Master! We're going to die!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. They stopped, and there was calm.

²⁵ Then he asked the disciples,“Where is your faith?”Frightened and amazed, they asked one another, “Who is this man? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”

²⁶ They landed in the region of the Gerasenes, which is just across the lake from Galilee.

²⁷ When Jesus stepped out on the shore, a certain man from the city met him. This man was controlled by demons and had not worn clothes for a long time. He did not live in a house but in the tombs.

²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he screamed, fell down in front of him, and said in a loud voice, “What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!”

²⁹ For Jesus was in the process of ordering the unclean spirit to come out of the man. On many occasions the unclean spirit had seized the man, and though he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon into deserted places.

³⁰ Jesus asked him,“What's your name?”He answered, “Legion,” because many demons had gone into him.

³¹ Then the demons began begging Jesus not to order them to go into the bottomless pit.

³² Now a large herd of pigs was grazing there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into those pigs, and he let them do this.

³³ Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside.

³⁵ So the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind, they were frightened.

³⁶ The people who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.

³⁷ Then all the people from the region surrounding the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were terrified. So he got into a boat and started back.

³⁸ Now the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Jesus to let him go with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹ “Go home and declare how much God has done for you.”So the man left and kept proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰ When Jesus came back, the crowd welcomed him, for everyone was expecting him.

⁴¹ Just then a synagogue leader by the name of Jairus arrived. He fell at Jesus’ feet and kept begging him to come to his home,

⁴² because his only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. While Jesus was on his way, the crowds continued to press in on him.

⁴³ A woman was there who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. Although she had spent all she had on doctors, no one could heal her.

⁴⁴ She came up behind Jesus and touched the tassel of his garment, and her bleeding stopped at once.

⁴⁵ Jesus asked,“Who touched me?”While everyone was denying it, Peter and those who were with him said, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you.”

⁴⁶ Still Jesus said,“Somebody touched me, for I know that power has gone out of me.”

⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she couldn't hide, she came forward trembling. Bowing down in front of him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched Jesus and how she had been instantly healed.

⁴⁸ He said to her,“Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader's home and said, “Your daughter is dead. Stop bothering the teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, he told the synagogue leader,“Stop being afraid! Just believe, and she will get well.”

⁵¹ When he arrived at the house, he allowed no one to go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the child's father and mother.

⁵² Now everyone was crying and wailing for her. But Jesus said,“Stop crying! She's not dead but is sleeping.”

⁵³ They laughed and laughed at him, because they knew she was dead.

⁵⁴ But he took her hand and called out,“Child, get up!”

⁵⁵ So her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed that she be given something to eat.

⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.