Matthew 8:16-34

Tree of Life Version

¹⁶ When evening came, the people brought to Him many who were afflicted by demons. He forced out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. ¹⁷ So was fulfilled what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

Following the Call

¹⁸ Now when Yeshua saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to go to the other side of the sea. ¹⁹ Then a Torah scholar came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

²⁰ Yeshua tells him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

²¹ Then another of the disciples said, “Master, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Yeshua tells him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Master of the Storm

²³ As He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ Suddenly a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves. But Yeshua kept on sleeping. ²⁵ So they came and woke Him up, saying, “Master, save us! We’re perishing!”

²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became totally calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed, saying, “What kind of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

Freedom from Demons

²⁸ When He came to the other side, into the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-plagued men coming from the graveyard^[b] met Him. They were so violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they screamed, “What’s between You and us,^[c] Ben-Elohim? Have You come here to torment us, before the appointed time?”

³⁰ Now a large herd of pigs was feeding some distance away from them. ³¹ The demons kept begging Him, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² And He told them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned. ³³ The herdsmen ran away, went into the town, and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-plagued men. ³⁴ The whole town came out to meet Yeshua. And when they saw him, they begged Him to leave their region.