8
“There Came a Man Who Was Suffering from Leprosy”
1 Now when Jesus+ came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
2 Suddenly there came a man who was suffering from leprosy.+ He fell on his knees before Jesus+ and said, “Lord, if you want to, you have power to heal me and make me clean!”
3 Stretching out his hand, Jesus+ touched him. “I do want to,” he said. “Be healed.” And instantly the man’s+ leprosy was gone!+
4 Then Jesus said to him, “Make sure you tell no one about this. Instead, go and have the priest examine you,+ and present the sacrifice+ that Moses commanded, as evidence+ in their presence.+”
“A Roman Military Officer Came Up to Him”
5 When Jesus+ entered Capernaum, a Roman military officer came up to him, appealing to him for help.
6 “Sir,” he said, “my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in very intense agony.”
7 “I will come and heal him,” Jesus+ said to him.
8 “Sir,” the officer answered, “I don’t deserve to have you come into my home.++ Rather, please just give the order,+ and my servant will be healed.
9 For I, too, am a man under authority, with other soldiers under my own command.+ Indeed I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 Jesus, when he heard this, was amazed and said to those who were following him, “Amen, I solemnly tell ᵖyou this: Not even with anyone in Israel have I encountered faith as great as this!
11 Many people will come, I tell ᵖyou, from the east and the west, and will recline at the table to eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
12 Many in Israel who thought they would eat in the kingdom,+ however, will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”+
13 Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go. Because+ you had faith, let it be done for you.” And the officer’s+ servant was healed at that very moment.+
“He Took Away Our Sicknesses”
14 When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s+ mother-in-law lying down and sick with a fever.
15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began preparing some food and drink for him.
16 When it was evening,+ people brought to Jesus+ many who had demons, and he drove out the evil spirits with a command+ and healed all who were sick.
17 And so was fulfilled, according to plan, what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
“He took away our sicknesses,
and carried away our diseases.”+
“Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead”
18 Now when Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to depart for the other side of the lake.
19 A Torah-expert came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will go with ˢyou wherever you go.”
20 “Foxes have dens, and the wild birds+ have nests,” Jesus said to him. “The Son of Man, however, has nowhere to lie down and rest.”+
21 Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, please let me go and bury my father first.”
22 “Come along with me as a disciple,”+ Jesus said to him, “and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
“Even the Winds and the Waves Obey Him!”
23 As he got into the boat, his disciples went with him.
24 Suddenly there arose on the lake a violent storm, so violent that the boat was being covered by the waves. Jesus,+ meanwhile, was asleep.
25 The disciples+ went and woke him up. “Lord, save us!” they said. “We’re about to die!”
26 “Why are ᵖyou so cowardly, O you of little faith?” Jesus+ said to them. Then he got up and issued a stern command to the winds and the waves,+ and things became completely calm.+
27 The men were in awe. “What kind of man is this?” they asked. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
“What Do You Want with Us, Son of God?”
28 When Jesus+ came to the other side of the lake, to the Gentile region on the southeastern side of the lake,+ he was met by two demonized men as they were coming from the burial caves. These men+ were so fierce that no one could travel on that road.
29 Suddenly they began to scream. “What do you want with us,+ Son of God?” they cried. “Have you come here to punish+ us before the appointed time?”
30 Now there was in that place, some distance away from them, a large herd of pigs feeding.
31 The demons, moreover, kept pleading+ with Jesus,+ “If ˢyou are going to drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs!”
32 “Go!” he said to them. At that, the demons+ came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly the whole herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and they died in the waters.
33 The herdsmen, then, ran away, and on going into the town, they told the whole story, talking especially about what had happened to the men with the demons.
34 Then there they came, the entire town! They came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their area.