Chapter 8

1When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.

2A man with a serious skin disease came to Jesus and bowed before him. He said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

3Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean.” Immediately, the man was healed of his skin disease.

4Then Jesus told him, “Do not tell anyone. Instead, go and let the priest examine you. Bring the purification sacrifice required by Moses’ law for someone healed of a skin disease. This will publicly confirm to the priests that you are now clean and may return to community life.”

5When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman army officer came and asked him for help.

6The officer said, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home and suffering terribly.”

7Jesus replied, “I will come and heal him.”

8But the officer answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter my home. Just give the command, and my servant will be healed.”

9The officer continued, “I too am under authority, and I have soldiers under me. I tell one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those following him, “I tell you the truth: I have not found anyone in Israel with such great trust.”

11Jesus continued, “Many people will come from the east and the west. They will take their places at the feast with the ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in God’s kingdom.”

12Jesus warned, “But those considered the kingdom’s rightful heirs will be thrown outside into the darkness. There they will weep and grind their teeth.”

13Then Jesus told the officer, “Go home. May it happen for you just as you trusted it would.” His servant was healed at that very moment.

14Jesus went into Peter’s house and saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.

15Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and began serving him.

16That evening, people brought Jesus many who were under the control of demons. With a single command, he drove out the spirits, and he healed everyone who was sick.

17This fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah had said: “He took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.”

18When Jesus saw the large crowds around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the sea.

19A scholar of Jewish law came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

20Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

21Another disciple said to Jesus, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22But Jesus told him, “Follow me. Let those who are spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

23Jesus got into a boat, and his disciples went with him.

24Suddenly, a violent storm struck the sea. The waves began flooding the boat, but Jesus was sleeping.

25The disciples woke him and cried, “Lord, save us! We are going to die!”

26Jesus said to them, “Why are you so afraid, you who trust so little?” Then he got up and commanded the winds and the sea, and everything became completely calm.

27The disciples were amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they asked. “Even the winds and the sea obey him!”

28When Jesus reached the other side, in the territory of the people of Gadara, two men under the control of demons came out from among the tombs to meet him. They were so violent that no one could travel along that road.

29The demons suddenly cried out through the men, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”

30Some distance away, a large herd of pigs was feeding.

31The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

32Jesus told them, “Go.” The demons came out of the men and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the entire herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned.

33The people tending the pigs ran away. They went into the town and reported everything, including what had happened to the two men who had been controlled by demons.

34Then everyone in the town came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.