Matthew 8:14-34; Mark 4:1-41; Mark
5:1-43 (New International Version)
14 When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw
Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her
hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. 16 When
evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove
out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This
was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our
infirmities and carried our diseases."
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave
orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19Then a teacher of
the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you
go." 20Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of
the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 21 Another
disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 22 But
Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own
dead."
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples
followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on
the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The
disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to
drown!" 26 He replied, "You of little faith,
why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the
waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and
asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey
him!"
28 When he arrived at the other side in the
region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him.
They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 "What
do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here
to torture us before the appointed time?" 30 Some
distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The
demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of
pigs." 32 He said to them, "Go!" So
they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep
bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the
pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had
happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town
went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave
their region.
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The
crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in
it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's
edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his
teaching said: 3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his
seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the
path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky
places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil
was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were
scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did
not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came
up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred
times." 9 Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to
hear, let him hear." 10 When he was alone, the Twelve and
the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told
them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to
those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so
that, " 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing
but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' "13 Then
Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will
you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some
people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they
hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.16 Others,
like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But
since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still
others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the
worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other
things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others,
like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a
crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
21 He said to them, "Do you bring in a
lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? 22 For
whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant
to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to
hear, let him hear." 24 "Consider carefully what you
hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be
measured to you--and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given
more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
26 He also said, "This is what the
kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night
and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he
does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces
grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As
soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has
come."
30 Again he said, "What shall we say
the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It
is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet
when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such
big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." 33 With
many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could
understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a
parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
35 That day when evening came, he said to his
disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36Leaving
the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were
also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and
the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus
was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to
him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" 39 He
got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves,"Quiet! Be still!" Then
the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to
his disciples,"Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41 They
were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the
waves obey him!"
1 They went across the lake to the region of the
Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an
evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived
in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For
he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke
the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night
and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with
stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell
on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his
voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear
to God that you won't torture me!" 8 For Jesus had said
to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" 9 Then
Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is
Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10 And
he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A
large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The
demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13 He
gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The
herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake
and were drowned. 14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported
this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had
happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had
been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right
mind; and they were afraid.16 Those who had seen it told the people
what had happened to the demon-possessed man--and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then
the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18As
Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to
go with him.19 Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home
to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has
had mercy on you." 20 So the man went away and began to
tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were
amazed.
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to
the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by
the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus,
came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded
earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your
hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24 So
Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And
a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She
had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she
had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she
heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because
she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29 Immediately
her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her
suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out
from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my
clothes?" 31 "You see the people crowding against
you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched
me?' " 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who
had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to
her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole
truth. 34 He said to her,"Daughter, your faith has healed
you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." 35 While
Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue
ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the
teacher any more?" 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told
the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." 37 He
did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of
James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler,
Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He
went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child
is not dead but asleep." 40 But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the
disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He
took her by the hand and said to her, ""Talitha
koum!"" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get
up!"). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around
(she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He
gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her
something to eat.
