Luke 8

Certain Women Minister to Christ

1 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmitiesMary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herods steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

The Parable of the Soils

4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:5 A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold. When He had said these things He cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear!9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, What does this parable mean?10 And He said, To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

Parable of the Lamp

16 No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.

Christs True Brethren

19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.20 And it was told Him by some, who said, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.21 But He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.

The Storm is Stilled

22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, Let us cross over to the other side of the lake. And they launched out.23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing!25 But He said to them, Where is your faith? And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!

Demons are Cast into Swine

26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.30 Jesus asked him, saying, What is your name?31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,39 Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.

A Woman is Healed

41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus feet and begged Him to come to his house,42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.45 And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, Who touched Me? 46 But Jesus said, Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.48 And He said to her, Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.

Jairuss Daughter is Raised

49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogues house, saying to him, Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.54 But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, Little girl, arise.55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

LUKE 8

Women Who Helped Jesus

1 Soon after this, Jesus was going through towns and villages, telling the good news about God's kingdom. His twelve apostles were with him, 2 t and so were some women who had been healed of evil spirits and all sorts of diseases. One of the women was Mary Magdalene, t who once had seven demons in her.

3 Joanna, Susanna, and many others had also used what they owned to help Jesust and his disciples. Joanna's husband Chuza was one of Herod's officials.t

A Story about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.1-9; Mark 4.1-9)

4 When a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus, he told them this story:
5 A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was doing this, some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds. 6 Other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing. But the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up. 7 Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants.

8 The rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred times as many seeds.
When Jesus had finished speaking, he said, “If you have ears, pay attention!”

Why Jesus Used Stories

(Matthew 13.10-17; Mark 4.10-12)

10 t So he answered:
I have explained the secrets about God's kingdom to you. But for others I use stories, so they will look, but not see, and they will hear, but not understand.

Jesus Explains the Story //about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.18-23; Mark 4.13-20)

13 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don't have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.
14 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything.

15 Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest.

Light

(Mark 4.21-25)

18 t Pay attention to how you listen! Everyone who has something will be given more, but people who have nothing will lose what little they think they have.

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

(Matthew 12.46-50; Mark 3.31-35)

20 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

21 Jesus answered, “My mother and my brothers are those people who hear and obey God's message.”

A Storm

(Matthew 8.23-27; Mark 4.35-41)

23 and while they were sailing across, he went to sleep.
Suddenly a storm struck the lake, and the boat started sinking. They were in danger.

24 So they went to Jesus and woke him up, “Master, Master! We are about to drown!”
Jesus got up and ordered the wind and waves to stop. They obeyed, and everything was calm.

25 Then Jesus asked the disciples, “Don't you have any faith?”
But they were frightened and amazed. They said to each other, “Who is this? He can give orders to the wind and the waves, and they obey him!”

A Man with Demons in Him

(Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20)

27 As Jesus was getting out of the boat, he was met by a man from this town. The man had demons in him. He had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard.t
28 The man saw Jesus and screamed. He knelt down in front of him and shouted, “Jesus, Son of God Most High, what do you want with me? I beg you not to torture me!”

29 He said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him.
The man had often been attacked by the demon. And even though he had been bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard, he smashed whatever bound him. Then the demon would force him out into lonely places.

30 Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”
He answered, “My name is Lots.” He said this because there were “lots” of demons in him.

31 They begged Jesus not to send them to the deep pit, t where they would be punished.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus let them go.

33 Then the demons left the man and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the men taking care of the pigs saw this, they ran to spread the news in the town and on the farms.

35 The people went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they also found the man. The demons had gone out of him, and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus. He had clothes on and was in his right mind. But the people were terrified.
36 Then all who had seen the man healed told about it.

37 Everyone from around Gerasat begged Jesus to leave, because they were so frightened.
When Jesus got into the boat to start back, 38 the man who had been healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him off and said,

39 “Go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you.” The man then went all over town, telling everything that Jesus had done for him.

A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman

(Matthew 9.18-26; Mark 5.21-43)

42 because his twelve-year-old child was dying. She was his only daughter.
While Jesus was on his way, people were crowding all around him.

43 In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors, t but none of them could make her well.

44 As soon as she came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes, her bleeding stopped.

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
While everyone was denying it, Peter said, “Master, people are crowding all around and pushing you from every side.”t
46 But Jesus answered, “Someone touched me, because I felt power going out from me.”

47 The woman knew that she could not hide, so she came trembling and knelt down in front of Jesus. She told everyone why she had touched him and that she had been healed at once.

48 Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace!”

49 While Jesus was speaking, someone came from Jairus' home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

50 When Jesus heard this, he told Jairus, “Don't worry! Have faith, and your daughter will get well.”
51 Jesus went into the house, but he did not let anyone else go with him, except Peter, John, James, and the girl's father and mother. 52 Everyone was crying and weeping for the girl. But Jesus said, “The child isn't dead. She is just asleep.”

53 The people laughed at him because they knew she was dead.
54 Jesus took hold of the girl's hand and said, “Child, get up!” 55 She came back to life and got right up. Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were surprised, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.