Luke 8
1Soon afterward, Jesus traveled through the region, going from one town and village to another, heralding the message and announcing the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2as well as certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and various infirmities: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; 3Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager; Susanna; and many others. These women were providing for them out of their own resources.
4As a large crowd gathered and people from town after town made their way to him, he spoke by way of a parable: 5"A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path; it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 6Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away because it had no moisture. 7Other seed fell in the middle of thorn-bushes, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8But other seed fell into the good soil, and when it grew, it produced a crop a hundred times over." As he said these things, he called out, "The one who has ears to hear, let them listen!"
9His disciples began asking him what this parable might mean. 10He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest I speak in parables, so that 'looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'
11Now, this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the slanderer comes and snatches 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, welcome the word with joy; but these have no root. They believe for a season, but in a time of testing, they fall away. 14As for the seed that fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the anxieties, wealth, and pleasures of life, and they do not bring fruit to maturity. 15But the seed in the good soil—these are the ones who, having heard the word in a noble and good heart, hold it fast and bear fruit through patient endurance.
16No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed; instead, they put it on a lampstand so that those entering may see the light. 17For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, nor anything secret that will not be known and brought into the open. 18Therefore, take care how you listen; for whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken away from him."
19Then his mother and 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: the ones who hear the word of God and do it."
22On one of those days, he and his disciples got into a boat, and he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they set out. 23As they were sailing, he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down onto the lake, and the boat was filling with water; they were in great danger. 24They went and woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" He woke up and rebuked the wind and the surging water; they subsided, and there was a calm. 25He said to them, "Where is your faith?" Struck with fear, they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"
26Then they sailed down to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27As he stepped out onto the land, a man from the town met him who was possessed by demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes and would not live in a house, but stayed among the burial caves. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down 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 torture me!" 29For Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (On many occasions it had seized him; though he was secured with chains and shackles and kept under guard, he would snap the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilderness.)
30Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him. 31And they kept begging him not to command them to depart into the Abyss. 32Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and the demons begged him to permit them to enter those. He gave them permission. 33The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34When the herders saw what had happened, they fled and reported it in the town and in the countryside. 35The 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 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 delivered. 37Then the entire population of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked him to leave them, because they were gripped by a great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
38The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39"Return to your home, and describe everything God has done for you." So he went away, heralding throughout the whole town everything Jesus had done for him.
40When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41And look, a man named Jairus came—he was a leader of the synagogue—and falling at Jesus’s feet, he began begging him to come to his house, 42because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the crowds were nearly crushing him. 43And a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had spent her whole livelihood on doctors but could not be healed by anyone, 44came up behind him and touched the tassel of his cloak. Immediately, her flow of blood stopped. 45Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched me?" When everyone denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you!" 46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I knew that power had gone out from me." 47When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and, falling down before him, declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately. 48He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
49While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house, saying, "Your daughter is dead; do not bother the Teacher any longer." 50But Jesus, hearing this, answered him, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be restored." 51When he reached the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52Everyone was weeping and wailing for her, but he said, "Stop weeping, for she is not dead, but sleeping." 53And they began laughing at him, knowing that she was dead. 54But he took her by the hand and called out, "Child, get up!" 55Her spirit returned, and she stood up immediately, and he directed that something be given to her to eat. 56Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.