Luke 8:26–10:16

A Man with Demons Inside Him

²⁶Jesus and his followers sailed across the lake from Galilee to the area of the Gerasene ⁿ people. ²⁷When Jesus got out on the land, a man from the town who had demons inside him came to Jesus. For a long time he had worn no clothes and had lived in the burial caves, not in a house. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him. He said with a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹He said this because Jesus was commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken hold of him. Though he had been kept under guard and chained hand and foot, he had broken his chains and had been forced by the demon out into a lonely place.

³⁰Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

He answered, “Legion,” ⁿ because many demons were in him. ³¹The demons begged Jesus not to send them into eternal darkness. ^{n 32}A large herd of pigs was feeding on a hill, and the demons begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. So Jesus allowed them to do this. ³³When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd ran down the hill into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told about this in the town and the countryside. ³⁵And people went to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, because the demons were gone. But the people were frightened. ³⁶The people who saw this happen told the others how Jesus had made the man well. ³⁷All the people of the Gerasene country asked Jesus to leave, because they were all very afraid. So Jesus got into the boat and went back to Galilee.

³⁸The man whom Jesus had healed begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Go back home and tell people how much God has done for you.” So the man went all over town telling how much Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

⁴⁰When Jesus got back to Galilee, a crowd welcomed him, because everyone was waiting for him. ⁴¹A man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, came to Jesus and fell at his feet, begging him to come to his house. ⁴²Jairus’ only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying.

While Jesus was on his way to Jairus’ house, the people were crowding all around him. ⁴³A woman was in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years, ⁿ but no one was able to heal her. ⁴⁴She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat, and instantly her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵Then Jesus said, “Who touched me?”

When all the people said they had not touched him, Peter said, “Master, the people are all around you and are pushing against you.”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out from me.” ⁴⁷When the woman saw she could not hide, she came forward, shaking, and fell down before Jesus. While all the people listened, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸Jesus said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue leader and said to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰When Jesus heard this, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe, and your daughter will be well.”

⁵¹When Jesus went to the house, he let only Peter, John, James, and the girl’s father and mother go inside with him. ⁵²All the people were crying and feeling sad because the girl was dead, but Jesus said, “Stop crying. She is not dead, only asleep.”

⁵³The people laughed at Jesus because they knew the girl was dead. ⁵⁴But Jesus took hold of her hand and called to her, “My child, stand up!” ⁵⁵Her spirit came back into her, and she stood up at once. Then Jesus ordered that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶The girl’s parents were amazed, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Jesus Sends Out the Apostles

9Jesus called the twelve apostles together and gave them power and authority over all demons and the ability to heal sicknesses. ²He sent the apostles out to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. ³He said to them, “Take nothing for your trip, neither a walking stick, bag, bread, money, or extra clothes. ⁴When you enter a house, stay there until it is time to leave. ⁵If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off of your feet ⁿ as you leave the town, as a warning to them.”

⁶So the apostles went out and traveled through all the towns, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.

Herod Is Confused About Jesus

⁷Herod, the governor, heard about all the things that were happening and was confused, because some people said, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead.” ⁸Others said, “Elijah has come to us.” And still others said, “One of the prophets who lived long ago has risen from the dead.” ⁹Herod said, “I cut off John’s head, so who is this man I hear such things about?” And Herod kept trying to see Jesus.

More than Five Thousand Fed

¹⁰When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then Jesus took them with him to a town called Bethsaida where they could be alone together. ¹¹But the people learned where Jesus went and followed him. He welcomed them and talked with them about God’s kingdom and healed those who needed to be healed.

¹²Late in the afternoon, the twelve apostles came to Jesus and said, “Send the people away. They need to go to the towns and countryside around here and find places to sleep and something to eat, because no one lives in this place.”

¹³But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

They said, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish, unless we go buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴(There were about five thousand men there.)

Jesus said to his followers, “Tell the people to sit in groups of about fifty people.”

¹⁵So the followers did this, and all the people sat down. ¹⁶Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish, and looking up to heaven, he thanked God for the food. Then he divided the food and gave it to the followers to give to the people. ¹⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was gathered up, filling twelve baskets.

Jesus Is the Christ

¹⁸One time when Jesus was praying alone, his followers were with him, and he asked them, “Who do the people say I am?”

¹⁹They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah. ⁿ And others say you are one of the prophets from long ago who has come back to life.”

²⁰Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Christ from God.”

²¹Jesus warned them not to tell anyone, saying, ²²“The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law. He will be killed and after three days will be raised from the dead.”

²³Jesus said to all of them, “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me. ²⁴Those who want to save their lives will give up true life. But those who give up their lives for me will have true life. ²⁵It is worthless to have the whole world if they themselves are destroyed or lost. ²⁶If people are ashamed of me and my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and with the glory of the Father and the holy angels. ²⁷I tell you the truth, some people standing here will see the kingdom of God before they die.”

Jesus Talks with Moses and Elijah

²⁸About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. ³⁰Then two men, Moses and Elijah, ⁿ were talking with Jesus. ³¹They appeared in heavenly glory, talking about his departure which he would soon bring about in Jerusalem. ³²Peter and the others were very sleepy, but when they awoke fully, they saw the glory of Jesus and the two men standing with him. ³³When Moses and Elijah were about to leave, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Peter did not know what he was talking about.)

³⁴While he was saying these things, a cloud came and covered them, and they became afraid as the cloud covered them. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!”

³⁶When the voice finished speaking, only Jesus was there. Peter, John, and James said nothing and told no one at that time what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Sick Boy

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. ³⁸A man in the crowd shouted to him, “Teacher, please come and look at my son, because he is my only child. ³⁹An evil spirit seizes my son, and suddenly he screams. It causes him to lose control of himself and foam at the mouth. The evil spirit keeps on hurting him and almost never leaves him. ⁴⁰I begged your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they could not do it.”

⁴¹Jesus answered, “You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong. How long must I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²While the boy was coming, the demon threw him on the ground and made him lose control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³All the people were amazed at the great power of God.

Jesus Talks About His Death

While everyone was wondering about all that Jesus did, he said to his followers, ⁴⁴“Don’t forget what I tell you now: The Son of Man will be handed over to people.” ⁴⁵But the followers did not understand what this meant; the meaning was hidden from them so they could not understand. But they were afraid to ask Jesus about it.

Who Is the Greatest?

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