1 Soon afterwards He chanced to be making a tour of Galilee from town to town and from village to village preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve went with Him,
2 and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, who was called Mary of Magdala, out of whom seven demons had gone,
3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many other women, who continued to contribute to their needs out of their personal means.
4 Now as a great crowd was coming together and people were coming to Him from one town after another, He said by way of a story:
5 "A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and were trodden down, and the wild birds ate them up.
6 Another portion of them fell upon the rock, and as soon as they sprang up, they withered, because they had no moisture.
7 Still another portion fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with them and choked them out.
8 And another portion fell in rich soil and grew and yielded a crop of a hundredfold." As He said this, He exclaimed, "Let him who has ears to hear with, listen!"
9 His disciples were asking Him what this story meant.
10 So He said, "You are granted the privilege of knowing the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others they are told in stories, so that they may look and not see, may hear and not understand.
11 This is what the story means: The seed is God's message.
12 Those along the path illustrate those who hear it, but then the devil comes and carries off the message from their hearts, so that they may not believe it and be saved.
13 The portion of them on the rock illustrates those who accept the message, bubbling over with joy when they first hear it, but it takes no real root. They believe for awhile, but in the time of testing they fall away.
14 And the portion of them falling among the thorns illustrates those who hear it, but as soon as they pass on they are choked out by the worries and wealth and pleasures of life, and thus yield no mature fruit.
15 But the portion in rich soil illustrates those who listen to the message, keep it in good and honest hearts, and in patience yield fruit.
16 "Nobody lights a lamp and then covers it with a pot or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.
17 For there is nothing hidden which shall not come out into the open, and nothing kept secret which shall not be known and come to light.
18 So take care how you listen, for whoever gets more will have more given to him, and whoever does not get more will have even what he thinks he has taken away from him."
19 His mother and His brothers came to see Him, but they could not get in touch with Him, on account of the crowd.
20 So it was reported to Him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside; they want to see you."
21 Then He answered them, "My mother and my brothers are those who listen to God's message and practice it."
22 One day He got into a boat with His disciples, and He said to them, "Let us cross to the other side of the lake." So they set sail.
23 Now as they were sailing along, He fell off to sleep. But a furious squall of wind rushed down upon the lake, and they were filling up and were in impending peril.
24 So they came to Him and woke Him up, and said, "Master, Master, we are perishing? Then He aroused Himself and reproved the wind and the surge of the water, and they stopped at once and instantly there came a calm.
25 Then He said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were frightened and astounded, and continued to say to one another, "Who can He be? For He gives orders even to the winds and the water, and they obey Him."
26 They landed in the neighborhood of Gerasa, which is just across the lake from Galilee.
27 As soon as He stepped out upon the shore, there met Him a man from town, who was under the power of demons; and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and did not stay in a house but in tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he screamed and flung himself down before Him, and said in a loud voice, "What do you want of me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!"
29 For He was commanding the foul spirit to get out of the man. For on many occasions it had seized him, and repeatedly he had been fastened with chains and fetters under constant guard, and yet he would snap his bonds, and the demon would drive him into desert places.
30 So Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, "Legion!" For many demons had gone into him.
31 Then they continued to beg Him not to order them to go off to the bottomless pit.
32 Now there was a large drove of hogs feeding there on the hillside. So they begged Him to let them go into those hogs. And He let them do so.
33 Then the demons came out of the man and went into the hogs, and the drove rushed over the cliff into the lake and were drowned.
34 When the men who fed them saw what had taken place, they fled and spread the news in the town and in the country around.
35 So the people went out to see what had taken place, and they went to Jesus and found the man out of whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, with his clothes on and in his right mind; and they were frightened.
36 Then they who had seen it told them how the man who had been under the power of demons was cured.
37 Then all the inhabitants of the country around Gerasa asked Him to go away from them, because they were terribly frightened. So He got into a boat and went back.
38 The man out of whom the demons had gone begged Him to let him go with Him, but Jesus sent him away and said,
39 "Go back to your home, and continue to tell what great things God has done for you." But he went off and told all over the town what great things Jesus had done for him.
40 Now as Jesus was returning, the crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him.
41 Just then a man named Jairus came up, who had long been leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet and persisted in begging Him to come to his house,
42 because his only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying. While He was going, the crowds of people continued to press upon Him.
43 Then a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, who could not be cured by anybody,
44 came up behind Him and touched the tassel on His coat, and the hemorrhage stopped at once.
45 Then Jesus said, "Who was it that touched me?" But as all were denying that they had done so, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are jamming you and jostling you."
46 Still Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, for I felt it when the power passed from me."
47 When the woman saw that she had not escaped His notice, she came forward trembling, and falling down before Him she told in the presence of all the people why she had touched Him and how she had been cured at once.
48 So He said to her, "My daughter, it is your faith that has cured you; go on in peace."
49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the leader of the synagogue and said, "Your daughter is dead; stop troubling the Teacher anymore."
50 But Jesus heard it and said to him, "Do not be afraid; just have faith, and she will get well."
51 When He reached the house, He let no one go in with Him but Peter, James, and John, and the child's father and mother.
52 Now they were all weeping and wailing over her. But He said, "Stop weeping! For she is not dead but asleep."
53 Then they began to laugh in His face, for they knew that she was dead.
54 But He grasped her hand and called out, "My child, get up!"
55 So her spirit returned and she got up at once, and He directed that something be given her to eat.
56 And her parents were astounded, but He ordered them not to tell anyone what had taken place.