Luke 8

Afterward Jesus traveled through towns and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, along with some women who had been healed of evil spirits and illnesses: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others, who provided for them from their own resources. As a large crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he spoke in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell beside the path, where it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it. Some fell on rock, and when it grew, it withered because it had no moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil, grew, and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen!” His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest I speak in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those beside the path are the ones who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a time, and in a time of testing they fall away. What fell among thorns stands for those who have heard, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. What fell in the good soil stands for those who hear the word with a noble and good heart, hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. No one lights a lamp and covers it with a container or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not become visible, nor is anything concealed that will not be known and come to light. So take care how you listen. For whoever has will be given more, and from whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.” His mother and brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” One day he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So they set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” He awoke and rebuked the wind and the surging water. They ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” Frightened and amazed, they said to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!” They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, a man from the town who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothing and lived not in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell before him, saying in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!” For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had seized him many times, and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard. But he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into deserted places. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. They begged him not to command them to go into the abyss. A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. They begged him to allow them to enter the pigs, and he allowed them. The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and reported it in the town and the countryside. People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been possessed by demons had been saved. All the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked him to leave them, for they were overcome with great fear. He got into a boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell all that God has done for you.” He went throughout the town, proclaiming all that Jesus had done for him. When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. A man named Jairus, who was a leader of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, begging him to come to his house, because his only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went, the crowds pressed around him. A woman had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years. Though she had spent all she had on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When everyone denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I knew that power had gone out from me.” When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell before him. In front of all the people she told why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter has died. Do not trouble the Teacher any longer.” But when Jesus heard this, he answered him, “Do not be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.” When he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother. Everyone was weeping and mourning for her. But he said, “Do not weep, for she has not died but is sleeping.” They laughed at him, knowing that she had died. But he took her hand and called out, “Child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and she got up immediately. He ordered that she be given something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Rights and attribution