Luke 8-9

Luke 8

¹Soon afterward, Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him,

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

³Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means.

⁴While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told them this parable:

⁵“A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.

⁶Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the seedlings.

⁸Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprang up and produced a crop—a hundredfold.” As Jesus said this, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant.

¹⁰He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

¹¹Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

¹²The seeds along the path are those who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

¹³The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away.

¹⁴The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature.

¹⁵But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.

¹⁶No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.

¹⁸Pay attention, therefore, to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

¹⁹Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they were unable to reach Him because of the crowd.

²⁰He was told, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see You.”

²¹But He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and carry it out.”

²²One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So He got into a boat with them and set out.

²³As they sailed, He fell asleep, and a windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm.

²⁵“Where is your faith?” He asked. Frightened and amazed, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!”

²⁶Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee.

²⁷When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs.

²⁸When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!”

²⁹For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and been driven by the demon into solitary places.

³⁰“What is your name?” Jesus asked. “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.

³¹And the demons kept begging Jesus not to order them to go into the Abyss.

³²There on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus to let them enter the pigs, and He gave them permission.

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

³⁴When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside.

³⁵So the people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had left, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

³⁶Meanwhile, those who had seen it reported how the demon-possessed man had been healed.

³⁷Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started back.

³⁸The man whom the demons had left begged to go with Jesus. But He sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return home and describe how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and proclaimed all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.

⁴¹Just then a synagogue leader named Jairus came and fell at Jesus’ feet. He begged Him to come to his house,

⁴²because his only daughter, who was about twelve, was dying. As Jesus went with him, the crowds pressed around Him,

⁴³including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her.

⁴⁴She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵“Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.”

⁴⁶But Jesus declared, “Someone touched Me, for I know that power has gone out from Me.”

⁴⁷Then the woman, seeing that she could not escape notice, came trembling and fell down before Him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched Him and how she had immediately been healed.

⁴⁸“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone arrived from the house of the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he told Jairus. “Do not bother the Teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

⁵¹When He entered the house, He did not allow anyone to go in with Him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother.

⁵²Meanwhile, everyone was weeping and mourning for her. But Jesus said, “Stop weeping; she is not dead but asleep.”

⁵³And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!”

⁵⁵Her spirit returned, and at once she got up. And He directed that she be given something to eat.

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

Luke 9

¹Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.

²And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

³“Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second tunic.

⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area.

⁵If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

⁶So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

⁷When Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, he was perplexed. For some were saying that John had risen from the dead,

⁸others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

¹⁰Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a town called Bethsaida.

¹¹But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.

¹²As the day neared its end, the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside for lodging and provisions. For we are in a desolate place here.”

¹³But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

¹⁴(There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

¹⁵They did so, and everyone was seated.

¹⁶Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

¹⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

¹⁸One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

²⁰“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

²¹Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

²²“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

²³Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

²⁵What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

²⁶If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

²⁷But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

²⁸About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.

²⁹And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.

³⁰Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus.

³¹They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

³²Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.

³³As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

³⁵And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!”

³⁶After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd.

³⁸Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.

³⁹A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.

⁴⁰I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

⁴¹“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

⁴³And they were all astonished at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

⁴⁴“Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

⁴⁶Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.

⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.

⁴⁸And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”

⁴⁹“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

⁵¹As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

⁵²He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.

⁵³But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.

⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

⁵⁶And He and His disciples went on to another village.

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

⁵⁹Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.”

⁶²Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”