Discipleship Tested

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, (A)He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 (B)Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but (C)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus *said to him, (D)Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

23 (E)When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And behold, a [a]violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “(F)Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26 He *said to them, “Why are you [b]afraid, (G)you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and [c]it became perfectly calm. 27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus Sends Demons into Pigs

28 (H)And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two (I)demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29 And they cried out, saying, “[d](J)What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before [e]the time?” 30 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. 31 And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and [f]drowned in the waters. 33 And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, [g]including what had happened to the (K)demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, (L)they pleaded with Him to leave their region.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 8:24 Lit great
  2. Matthew 8:26 Or cowardly
  3. Matthew 8:26 Lit a great calm occurred
  4. Matthew 8:29 Lit What to us and to you (an ancient idiom)
  5. Matthew 8:29 I.e., the appointed time of judgment
  6. Matthew 8:32 Lit died
  7. Matthew 8:33 Lit and the things of

The Cost of Following Jesus(A)

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.(B) 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man(C) has no place to lay his head.”

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

22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me,(D) and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm(E)(F)

23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 He replied, “You of little faith,(G) why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.(H)

27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men(I)

28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,[a] two demon-possessed(J) men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 “What do you want with us,(K) Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”(L)

30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 8:28 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; other manuscripts Gerasenes