1Soon after this Jesus went around the towns and villages announcing the good news of God's kingdom. The twelve disciples went with him,

2along with a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and sickness: Mary called Magdalene from whom he had cast out seven demons;

3Joanna, the wife of Herod's manager Chuza; Susanna; and many more who provided support from their personal resources.

4Once when a large crowd of people gathered, coming from many towns to see him, Jesus spoke to them, using a story as an illustration.

5“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he scattered the seed, some fell on the road where people trampled on it and birds ate it up.

6Some fell on stony ground, and once the seeds had sprouted they withered for lack of moisture.

7Some seeds fell among thorns and as they both grew the thorns choked the plants.

8Some seeds fell on good earth and after they grew they produced a harvest one hundred times more than what had been sown.” After he told them this, he called out, “If you have ears, then listen!”

9But his disciples asked him, “What does this illustration mean?”

10Jesus replied, “You've been given insights into the mysteries of God's kingdom, but the rest are given illustrations so that, ‘Even though they see, they don't really see; and even though they hear, they don't really understand.’ ³³

11This is the meaning of the illustration: The seed is God's word.

12The seeds that fall on the road are those who hear the message, but then the devil comes and steals away the truth from their minds so they won't trust in God and be saved.

13The seeds that fall on the stony ground are those who hear and welcome the message with joy but don't have any roots. They trust for a while but when difficult times come they give up.

14The seeds that fall among thorns are those who hear the message but it's choked out by life's distractions—worries, wealth, pleasure—so they don't produce anything.

15The seeds sown on good earth are those who are honest and do what is right. They hear the message of truth, hold on to it, and through their perseverance produce a good harvest.

16You don't light a lamp and then cover it with a bucket, or hide it under a bed. No, you put it on a stand, so that anyone who comes in can see the light.

17For there's nothing hidden that won't be revealed; there's nothing secret that won't become known and obvious.

18So pay attention how you ‘hear.’ ³⁴To those who have received, more will be given; from those who don't receive, even what they think they have will be taken away!”

19Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived, but they couldn't get through the crowd to see him.

20Jesus was told, “Your mother and your brothers are outside. They want to see you.”

21“My mother and my brothers are those who hear God's word, and do what it says,” Jesus replied.

22One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let's cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set off.

23As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep, and a storm came down on the lake. The boat began filling with water and they were in danger of sinking.

24They went over to Jesus and woke him up. “Master, master, we're going to drown!” they said. Jesus woke up and commanded the wind and the rough waves to stop. They stopped, and all was calm.

25“Where is your trust?” he asked them. Terrified and amazed, they said to each other, “So who is this? He gives commands to the winds and the water, and they obey him!”

26They sailed across to the Gerasene region that lies opposite Galilee.

27When Jesus stepped out of the boat onto the shore, a demon-possessed man from the town came to meet him. For a long time he hadn't worn any clothes or lived in a house. He lived in the tombs.

28When he saw Jesus he screamed, fell down at Jesus' feet, and asked in a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please don't torture me, I beg you!”

29For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to leave the man. It had often seized him, and despite being tied down with chains and shackles, and placed under guard, he would break the chains apart and would be driven by the demon into the desert areas.

30“What is your name?” Jesus asked him. “Legion,” ³⁵he replied, for many demons had entered him.

31They begged Jesus not to order them to go into the Abyss. ³⁶

32There was a large herd of pigs feeding on the nearby hillside, and the demons begged him to be allowed to go into the pigs. Jesus gave them permission,

33so the demons left the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned.

34When the pig-keepers saw what had happened they ran off and spread the news through the town and the countryside.

35The people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus they found the man freed from the demons. He was sitting there at Jesus' feet, wearing clothes and in his right mind; and they became scared.

36Those who had seen what happened explained how the demon-possessed man had been healed.

37Then all the people from the Gerasene region asked Jesus to leave because they were overwhelmed by fear. So he got into the boat and went back.

38The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away.

39“Go back home, and tell people all that God has done for you,” Jesus told him. So he went away, telling the whole town all that Jesus had done for him.

40A crowd of people was there to welcome Jesus when he returned, all eagerly expecting him.

41One was a man called Jairus, a synagogue leader, who came and fell at Jesus' feet. He pleaded with Jesus to come to his home

42because his only daughter was dying. She was about twelve years old. While Jesus was on his way there, people were crowding around him.

43In the crowd was a woman who had suffered with bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all she had on doctors, but none of them had been able to help her.

44She approached Jesus from behind and touched the hem of his cloak. Immediately the bleeding stopped.

45“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everybody around denied doing so. “But Master,” said Peter, “there are people crowding around you, and they keep pushing up against you.”

46“Someone touched me,” Jesus replied. “I know because power went out from me.”

47When the woman realized she couldn't go unnoticed, she came forward, trembling, and fell down before him. Right in front of everybody she explained the reason why she had touched Jesus, and that she'd been cured immediately.

48Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your trust has healed you, go in peace.”

49While he was still speaking, someone came from the home of the synagogue leader to tell him, “Your daughter's dead. You don't need to bother the Teacher any longer.”

50But when he heard this, Jesus told Jairus, “Don't be afraid. If you trust, she will be healed.”

51When Jesus arrived at the house he didn't allow anyone else to go in except Peter, John, and James, and the girl's father and mother.

52All the people there were crying and mourning for her. “Don't cry,” Jesus told them. “She's not dead, she's just sleeping.”

53They laughed at him, because they knew that she was dead.

54But Jesus took her by the hand, and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!”

55She came back to life, ³⁷and she got up at once. Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

56Her parents were astonished at what had happened, but Jesus instructed them not to tell anyone about it.