Journey Through God's Word

¹⁴Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region.

¹⁵He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

¹⁶When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.

¹⁷The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,

¹⁹and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come. ”

²⁰He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.

²¹Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

²²Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’ — meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’

²⁴But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

²⁵“Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land.

²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner — a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

²⁷And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

²⁸When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.

²⁹Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff,

³⁰but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

³¹Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day.

³²There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

³³Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon — an evil spirit — cried out, shouting,

³⁴“Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!”

³⁵But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

³⁶Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!”

³⁷The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

³⁸After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged.

³⁹Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

⁴⁰As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.

⁴¹Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

⁴²Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them.

⁴³But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”

⁴⁴So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

¹Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him,

²along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons;

³Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

⁴One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him:

⁵“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it.

⁶Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants.

⁸Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

⁹His disciples asked him what this parable meant.

¹⁰He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’

¹¹“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word.

¹²The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.

¹³The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.

¹⁴The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

¹⁵And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

¹⁶“No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.

¹⁷For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.

¹⁸“So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.”

¹⁹Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd.

²⁰Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see you.”

²¹Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

²²One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out.

²³As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.

²⁴The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm.

²⁵Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”

²⁶So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee.

²⁷As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town.

²⁸As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!”

²⁹For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power.

³⁰Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons.

³¹The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.

³²There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission.

³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.

³⁴When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran.

³⁵People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.

³⁶Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed.

³⁷And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake.

³⁸The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying,

³⁹“No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him.

⁴¹Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him.

⁴²His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds.

⁴³A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure.

⁴⁴Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.”

⁴⁷When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.

⁴⁸“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.”

⁵¹When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother.

⁵²The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”

⁵³But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died.

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

⁵⁵And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

⁵⁶Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.

¹Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.

²This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people — even eating with them!

³So Jesus told them this story:

⁴“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

⁵And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.

⁶When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

⁷In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

⁸“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?

⁹And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’

¹⁰In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

¹¹To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.

¹²The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.

¹⁴About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

¹⁵He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.

¹⁶The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!

¹⁸I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,

¹⁹and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

²⁰“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

²¹His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. ’

²²“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.

²³And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,

²⁴for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house,

²⁶and he asked one of the servants what was going on.

²⁷‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

²⁸“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,

²⁹but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.

³⁰Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

³¹“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.

³²We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”