Luke 8:26–10:16

Jesus Heals a Man Controlled by Demons

²⁶Jesus and his disciples sailed to the area of the Gerasenes across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus stepped on shore, he was met by a man from the town. The man was controlled by demons. For a long time he had not worn clothes or lived in a house. He lived in the tombs.

²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet. He shouted at the top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what do you want with me? I beg you, don’t hurt me!”

²⁹This was because Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times the spirit had taken hold of him. His hands and feet were chained, and he was kept under guard. But he had broken his chains. And then the demon had forced him to go out into lonely places in the countryside.

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

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹And they begged Jesus again and again not to order them to go into the Abyss.

³²A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. And he allowed it.

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

³⁴Those who were tending the pigs saw what had happened. They ran off and reported it in the town and countryside. ³⁵The people went out to see what had happened.

Then they came to Jesus. They found the man who was now free of the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet. He was dressed and thinking clearly. All this made the people afraid.

³⁶Those who had seen it told the others how the man who had been controlled by demons was now healed. ³⁷Then all the people who lived in the area of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them. They were filled with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

³⁸The man who was now free of the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him away. He said to him, ³⁹“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”

So the man went away. He told people all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

A Dying Girl and a Suffering Woman

⁴⁰When Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him. They were all expecting him.

⁴¹Then a man named Jairus came. He was a synagogue ruler. He fell at Jesus’ feet. He begged Jesus to come to his house. ⁴²His only daughter was dying. She was about 12 years old.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.

⁴³A woman was there who had a sickness that made her bleed. Her sickness had lasted for 12 years. No one could heal her. ⁴⁴She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his clothes. Right away her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

They all said they didn’t do it. Then Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pushing against you.”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from me.”

⁴⁷The woman realized that people would notice her. Shaking with fear, she came and fell at his feet. In front of everyone, she told why she had touched him. She also told how she had been healed in an instant.

⁴⁸Then he said to her, “Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

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

⁵⁰Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe. She will be healed.”

⁵¹When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let everyone go in with him. He took only Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother.

⁵²During this time, all the people were crying and sobbing loudly over the child. “Stop crying!” Jesus said. “She is not dead. She is sleeping.”

⁵³They laughed at him. They knew she was dead.

⁵⁴But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”

⁵⁵Her spirit returned, and right away she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶Her parents were amazed. But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples

9Jesus called the Twelve together. He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to heal sicknesses. ²Then he sent them out to preach about God’s kingdom and to heal those who were sick.

³He told them, “Don’t take anything for the journey. Do not take a walking stick or a bag. Do not take any bread, money or extra clothes. ⁴When you are invited into a house, stay there until you leave town. ⁵Some people may not welcome you. If they don’t, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town. This will be a witness against the people living there.”

⁶So the Twelve left. They went from village to village. They preached the good news and healed people everywhere.

⁷Now Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything that was going on. He was bewildered, because some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. ⁸Others were saying that Elijah had appeared. Still others were saying that a prophet of long ago had come back to life. ⁹But Herod said, “I had John’s head cut off. So who is it that I hear such things about?” And he tried to see Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰The apostles returned. They told Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him. They went off by themselves to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹But the crowds learned about it and followed Jesus. He welcomed them and spoke to them about God’s kingdom. He also healed those who needed to be healed.

¹²Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him. They said, “Send the crowd away. They can go to the nearby villages and countryside. There they can find food and a place to stay. There is nothing here.”

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

The disciples answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. We would have to go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴About 5,000 men were there.

But Jesus said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about 50 each.” ¹⁵The disciples did so, and everyone sat down.

¹⁶Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke them into pieces. Then he gave them to the disciples to set in front of the people. ¹⁷All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces.

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Christ

¹⁸One day Jesus was praying alone. Only his disciples were with him. He asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

²⁰“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

²¹Jesus strongly warned them not to tell this to anyone. ²²He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. The elders will not accept him. The chief priests and teachers of the law will not accept him either. He must be killed and on the third day rise from the dead.”

²³Then he said to all of them, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must pick up his cross every day and follow me. ²⁴If he wants to save his life, he will lose it. But if he loses his life for me, he will save it. ²⁵What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses or gives up his very self?

²⁶“Suppose you are ashamed of me and my words. The Son of Man will come in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. Then he will be ashamed of you.

²⁷“What I’m about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see God’s kingdom.”

Jesus’ Appearance Is Changed

²⁸About eight days after Jesus said this, he went up on a mountain to pray. He took Peter, John and James with him.

²⁹As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed. His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰Two men, Moses and Elijah, ³¹appeared in shining glory. Jesus and the two of them talked together. They spoke about his coming death. He was going to die soon in Jerusalem.

³²Peter and his companions had been very sleepy. But then they became completely awake. They saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him.

³³As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter spoke up. “Master,” he said to him, “it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He didn’t really know what he was saying.

³⁴While Jesus was speaking, a cloud appeared. It surrounded them. The disciples were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud. It said, “This is my Son, and I have chosen him. Listen to him.” ³⁶When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone.

The disciples kept quiet about this. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy Who Had an Evil Spirit

³⁷The next day Jesus and those who were with him came down from the mountain. A large crowd met Jesus.

³⁸A man in the crowd called out. “Teacher,” he said, “I beg you to look at my son. He is my only child. ³⁹A spirit takes hold of him, and he suddenly screams. It throws him into fits so that he foams at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him. It is destroying him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out. But they couldn’t do it.”

⁴¹“You unbelieving and evil people!” Jesus replied. “How long do I have to stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?”

Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.”

⁴²Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him into a fit. The boy fell to the ground. But Jesus ordered the evil spirit to leave the boy. Then Jesus healed him and gave him back to his father. ⁴³They were all amazed at God’s greatness.

Everyone was wondering about all that Jesus did. Then Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁴“Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men.” ⁴⁵But they didn’t understand what this meant. That was because it was hidden from them. And they were afraid to ask Jesus about it.

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