Luke 8

¹And it happened in the time that followed that he was traveling through city after city and village after village, proclaiming and announcing the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, ²along with certain women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who were providing for them out of their own resources.

⁴When a large crowd was gathering, with people coming to him from every city, he spoke through a parable: ⁵"The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled down, and the birds of the sky devoured it. ⁶And other seed fell down on the rock, and after sprouting it withered because it had no moisture. ⁷And other seed fell in the midst of the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸And other seed fell into the good soil, and after sprouting it produced fruit a hundredfold." Saying these things, he called out: "The one who has ears to hear—let him hear!"

⁹His disciples began asking him what this parable meant. ¹⁰He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it comes in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹"Now this is the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹²Those along the path are the ones who hear, but then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy—yet these have no root; they believe for a season, and in a season of testing they fall away. ¹⁴As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go along they are choked by the anxieties and wealth and pleasures of life, and they never bring fruit to maturity. ¹⁵But as for what is in the good soil, these are the ones who hear the word and hold fast to it in a noble and good heart, and bear fruit through patient endurance.

¹⁶"No one lights a lamp and covers it with a vessel or places it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, nor anything concealed that will not be known and come into the open. ¹⁸Watch, then, how you hear. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."

¹⁹Now his mother and his brothers came to him, but they were unable to reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰It was reported to him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." ²¹But he answered them, "My mother and my brothers are these: those who hear the word of God and do it."

²²On one of those days, he got into a boat along with his disciples and said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they set sail. ²³As they were sailing, he fell asleep. Then a windstorm descended upon the lake, and they were being swamped and were in danger. ²⁴They came and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Rising up, he rebuked the wind and the surging of the water—and they stopped, and there was calm. ²⁵He said to them, "Where is your faith?" Filled with awe and fear, they said to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"

²⁶They sailed down to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷When he stepped out onto the land, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn clothing, and he did not stay in a house but among the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell before him, and said with a loud voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!"— ²⁹for Jesus had been commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had seized him, and though he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desolate places. ³⁰Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"—because many demons had entered him. ³¹And they were begging him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

³²Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding there on the hillside, and the demons begged him to permit them to enter into those pigs. And he permitted them. ³³So the demons came out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. ³⁴When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and reported it in the city and in the countryside. ³⁵People came out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind—and they were afraid. ³⁶Those who had seen it reported to them how the demon-possessed man had been saved. ³⁷Then the whole multitude from the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.

³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone out was begging to be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹"Return to your home and tell all that God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city all that Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹And behold, a man named Jairus came—he was a ruler of the synagogue—and falling at the feet of Jesus, he was begging him to come to his house, ⁴²because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As Jesus was going, the crowds were pressing in on him.

⁴³And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had spent her whole livelihood on physicians but could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴came up behind him and touched the tassel of his garment, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. ⁴⁵Jesus said, "Who touched me?" When everyone was denying it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing against you." ⁴⁶But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I perceived power going out from me." ⁴⁷When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before him, and in the presence of all the people she declared the reason she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately. ⁴⁸And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

⁴⁹While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue ruler's house, saying, "Your daughter has died; do not trouble the teacher any longer." ⁵⁰But Jesus, hearing this, answered him, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be saved." ⁵¹When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the father and mother of the child. ⁵²Everyone was weeping and mourning for her, but he said, "Do not weep, for she has not died but is sleeping." ⁵³And they laughed at him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴But taking hold of her hand, he called out, "Child, arise!" ⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. And he ordered that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶Her parents were beside themselves, but he commanded them to tell no one what had happened.