Jesus Heals a Sick Man^(A)

8 When Jesus came down from the ·hill [mountainside], ·great crowds [many people] followed him. ² Then a ·man with a skin disease [^Tleper; ^Cthe term does not refer to modern leprosy (Hansen’s disease), but to various skin disorders; see Lev. 14] came to Jesus. The man ·bowed down [knelt] before him and said, “Lord, you can ·heal me [^Lmake me clean; ^Csuch skin disorders rendered the victim ceremonially unclean] if you ·will [choose; are willing].”

³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I ·will [do choose; am willing]. Be ·healed [^Lcleansed]!” And immediately the man was ·healed [^Lcleansed] from his disease. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest and offer the ·gift [offering; sacrifice] Moses commanded for people who are made well [Lev. 14:1–32]. This will ·show the people [be a public testimony to; be evidence for] what I have done.”

Jesus Heals a Soldier’s Servant^(B)

⁵ When Jesus entered the city of Capernaum, an ·army officer [^Lcenturion] came to him, ·begging [pleading] for help. ⁶ The officer said, “Lord, my servant is at home in bed. He ·can’t move his body [is paralyzed] and ·is in much pain [suffering terribly].”

⁷ Jesus said to the officer, “·I will go and heal him. [or Shall I go and heal him?]”

⁸ The officer answered, “Lord [or Sir], I ·am not worthy [do not deserve] for you to come into my house. You only need to ·command it [^Lsay the word], and my servant will be healed. ⁹ [^LFor] I, too, am a man ·under the authority of others [^Lunder authority], and I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my ·servant [slave], ‘Do this,’ and my ·servant [slave] does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were following him, “I tell you the truth, ·this is the greatest faith I have found [^LI haven’t found such faith], ·even in Israel [or in all Israel]. ¹¹ Many people will come from the east and from the west and will ·sit and eat [^Lrecline; ^Cthe posture for a banquet or dinner party] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven [^Cthe messianic banquet, a metaphor for God’s restoration of creation; Is. 25:6–8]. ¹² But ·those people who should be in [the heirs of; or the subjects of; ^Lthe sons of] the kingdom will be thrown ·outside into the darkness [into the outer darkness], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [^Lthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; ^Cmetaphors for agony and torment].”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the ·officer [^Lcenturion], “Go home. ·Your servant will be healed just as you believed he would [^LLet it be done for you just as you have believed].” And his servant was healed that ·same hour [exact time].

Jesus Heals Many People^(C)

¹⁴ When Jesus went to Peter’s house, he saw that Peter’s mother-in-law was ·sick in bed [lying down] with a fever. ¹⁵ Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she stood up and began ·to serve [waiting on] Jesus.

¹⁶ That evening people brought to Jesus many who ·had demons [were demon-possessed]. Jesus ·spoke and the demons left them [^Ldrove/cast out the demons with a word/command], and he healed all the sick. ¹⁷ He did these things to ·bring about [fulfill] what Isaiah the prophet had said:

People Want to Follow Jesus^(D)

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he ·told [instructed; ordered] his ·followers [disciples] to ·go [cross] to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a ·teacher of the law [scribe] came to Jesus and said, “·Teacher [Master], I will follow you any place you go.”

²⁰ Jesus said to him, “The foxes have ·holes [dens] to live in, and the birds [^Lof the sky] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to ·rest [lay] his head.”

²¹ Another man, one of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples], said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the people who are dead [^Cspiritually] bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm^(E)

²³ Jesus got into a boat, and his ·followers [disciples] ·went with [^Lfollowed] him. ²⁴ [Suddenly; ^LAnd look/^Tbehold] A ·great [fierce] storm arose on the ·lake [sea] so that waves ·covered [swept over] the boat, but Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ His ·followers [disciples] went to him and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We ·will drown [^Lare lost/perishing]!”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Why are you ·afraid [cowardly]? ·You don’t have enough faith [or How little faith you have!; ^TYou of little faith].” Then Jesus got up and ·gave a command to [reprimanded; rebuked] the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm [^Cparalleling God’s subduing of the waters representing chaos in the OT; Ps. 65:7; 89:9; 107:29].

²⁷ The men were amazed and said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the ·waves [^Lsea] obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons^(F)

²⁸ When Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the ·area [region; territory] of the Gadarene^[a] people [^Cfrom Gadara, an area southeast of Lake Galilee; the exact location is uncertain], two ·men who had demons in them [demon-possessed men; demoniacs] came out of the ·burial caves [tombs] and met him. These men were so ·dangerous [violent; fierce] that people could not ·use the road by those caves [^Lpass that way]. ²⁹ They shouted, “·What do you want with us [or Leave us alone; What business do we have with each other?; ^LWhat to me and to you?], Son of God? Did you come here to ·torture [torment] us before the ·right time [or appointed time; ^Ltime; ^Cthe day of judgment]?”

³⁰ ·Near that place there [In the distance] was a large herd of pigs feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you ·make us leave these men [^Ldrive/cast us out], please send us into that herd of pigs [^Critually unclean animals].”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons ·left [came out of] the men and went into the pigs. Then [^Llook; ^Tbehold] the whole herd rushed down the ·hill [steep bank; precipice] into the ·lake [sea] and ·were drowned [^Ldied in the waters]. ³³ The herdsmen ·ran away [fled] and went into town, where they told about all of this and what had happened to the ·men who had demons [demon-possessed men; demoniacs]. ³⁴ Then [^Llook; ^Tbehold] the whole town went out to ·see [meet] Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their ·area [region; territory].