Luke 8
The Voice
8 Soon after this incident, Jesus preached from city to city, village to village, carrying the good news of the kingdom of God. He was accompanied by a group called “the twelve,” 2 and also by a larger group including some women who had been rescued from evil spirits and healed of diseases. There was Mary, called Magdalene, who had been released from seven demons. 3 There were others like Susanna and Joanna, who was married to Chuza, a steward of King Herod. And there were many others too. These women played an important role in Jesus’ ministry, using their wealth to provide for Him and His other companions.
4 While a huge crowd gathered with people from many surrounding towns streaming to hear Jesus, He told them a parable.
Parables are works of art, specifically, works of short fiction. They are intricately constructed and complex in their intent. In some ways, they are intended to hide the truth; they don’t reduce truth to simple statements or formulae. Instead, they force the reader to take things to a deeper level, to engage the imagination, to think and think again. In this way, they invite people to ask questions; they stir curiosity; they create intrigue.
Jesus: 5 Once a farmer went out to scatter seed in his fields. Some seeds fell along a trail where they were crushed underfoot by people walking by. Birds flew in and ate those seeds. 6 Other seeds fell on gravel. Those seeds sprouted but soon withered, depleted of moisture under the scorching sun. 7 Still other seeds landed among thorns where they grew for a while, but eventually the thorns stunted them so they couldn’t thrive or bear fruit. 8 But some seeds fell into good soil—soft, moist, free from thorns. These seeds not only grew, but they also produced more seeds, a hundred times what the farmer originally planted. If you have ears, hear My meaning!
9 His disciples heard the words, but the deeper meaning eluded them.
Disciples: What were You trying to say?
10 Jesus: The kingdom of God contains many secrets.
They keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep observing, but do not understand.[a]
I want you to understand, so 11 here’s the interpretation: The voice of God falls on human hearts like seeds scattered across a field. 12 Some people hear that message, but the devil opposes the liberation that would come to them by believing. So he swoops in and steals the message from their hard hearts like birds stealing the seeds from the footpath. 13 Others receive the message enthusiastically, but their vitality is short-lived because the message cannot be deeply rooted in their shallow hearts. In the heat of temptation, their faith withers, like the seeds that sprouted in gravelly soil. 14 A third group hears the message, but as time passes, the daily anxieties, the pursuit of wealth, and life’s addicting delights outpace the growth of the message in their hearts. Even if the message blossoms and fruit begins to form, the fruit never fully matures because the thorns choke out the plants’ vitality.
15 But some people hear the message and let it take root deeply in receptive hearts made fertile by honesty and goodness. With patient dependability, they bear good fruit.
16 You wouldn’t light a lamp and cover it with a clay pot. You’re not going to hide it under your bed. No, when you light it, you’re going to put it out in the open so your guests can feel welcome and see where they’re going.
17 Hidden things will always come out into the open. Secret things will come to light and be exposed. 18 I hope you’re still listening. And I hope you’re listening carefully. If you get what I’m saying, you’ll get more. If you miss My meaning, even the understanding you think you have will be taken from you.
19 Around this time, Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people gathered in a house. His mother and brothers arrived to see Him, but the crowd around Him was so huge that they couldn’t even get through the door. 20 Word spread through the crowd.
Someone from the Crowd: Jesus, Your mother and brothers are outside the house hoping to see You.
Jesus: 21 Do you want to know who My mother and brothers are? They’re the ones who truly understand God’s message and obey it.
22 Picture this:
One day Jesus and His disciples get into a boat.
Jesus: Let’s cross the lake.
So they push off from shore and begin sailing to the far side. 23 As they progress across the lake, Jesus falls sound asleep. Soon a raging storm blows in. The waves wash over the sides of the boat, and the boat starts filling up with water. Every second the situation becomes more dangerous.
24 The disciples shake Jesus and wake Him.
Disciples (shouting): Master! Master! We’re all going to die!
Jesus wakes up and tells the wind to stop whipping them around, and He tells the furious waves to calm down. They do just that. 25 Then Jesus turns to the disciples.
Jesus: What happened to your faith?
The disciples had been terrified during the storm, but now they’re afraid in another way. They turn to each other and start whispering, chattering, and wondering.
Disciples: Who is this man? How can He command wind and water so they do what He says?
26 When they get to the other side of the lake, in the Gerasene country opposite Galilee, 27 a man from the city is waiting for Jesus when He steps out of the boat. The man is full of demonic spirits. He’s been running around for a long time stark naked, and he’s homeless, sleeping among the dead in a cemetery. 28-29 This man has on many occasions been tied up and chained and kept under guard, but each time he has broken free and the demonic power has driven him back into remote places away from human contact. Jesus commands the demonic force to leave him. The man looks at Jesus and starts screaming. He falls down in front of Jesus.
Possessed Man (shouting): Don’t torment me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! Why are You here?
Jesus (calmly and simply): 30 What’s your name?
Possessed Man: Battalion.
He says this because an army of demons is inside of him. 31 The demons start begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. 32 They plead instead to enter into a herd of pigs feeding on a steep hillside near the shore. Jesus gives them permission to do so. 33 Suddenly the man is liberated from the demons, but the pigs—they stampede, squealing down the hill and into the lake where they drown themselves.
34 The pig owners see all this. They run back to their town and tell everyone in the region about it. 35 Soon a crowd rushes from the town to see what’s going on out by the lake. There they find Jesus seated to teach with the newly liberated man sitting at His feet learning in the posture of a disciple. This former madman is now properly dressed and completely sane. This frightens the people. 36 The pig owners tell them the whole story—the healing, the pigs’ mass suicide, everything.
37 The people are scared to death, and they don’t want this scary abnormality happening in their territory. They ask Jesus to leave immediately. Jesus doesn’t argue. He prepares to leave, 38 but before they embark, the newly liberated man begs to come along and join the band of disciples.
Jesus: 39 No. Go home. Tell your people this amazing story about how much God has done for you.
The man does so. In fact, he tells everyone in the whole city how much Jesus did for him that day on the shore.
40 When Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake, another crowd was waiting to welcome Him. 41 A man made his way through the crowd. His name was Jairus, and he was a synagogue official. Like the man on the other side of the lake, this dignified man also fell at Jesus’ feet, begging Jesus to visit his home 42 where his only daughter, a girl of 12, lay dying. Jesus set out with Jairus. The crowd came along, too, pressing hard against Him.
43 In the crowd was a woman. She had suffered from an incurable menstrual disorder for 12 years [and had spent her livelihood on doctors with no effect].[b] It had kept her miserable and ritually unclean, unable to participate fully in Jewish life. 44 She followed Jesus, until she could reach Him. She touched the fringe of the robe Jesus wore, and at that moment the bleeding stopped.
Jesus (stopping and looking about): 45 Who touched Me?
Some in the Crowd (everyone speaking at once): Not me.
Another in the Crowd: It wasn’t me either.
Peter [and those with him][c] (intervening): Master, what kind of question is that, with this huge crowd all around You and many people touching You on all sides?
Jesus: 46 I felt something. I felt power going out from Me. I know that somebody touched Me.
47 The woman now realized her secret was going to come out sooner or later, so she stepped out of the crowd, shaking with fear, and she fell down in front of Jesus. Then she told her story in front of everyone—why she touched Him, what happened as a result.
Jesus: 48 Your faith has made you well again, daughter. Go in peace.
49 Right at that instant, one of Jairus’s household servants arrived.
Servant: Sir, your daughter is dead. It’s no use bothering the Teacher with this anymore.
Jesus (interrupting Jairus before he could speak): 50 Don’t be afraid. Just believe. She’ll be well again.
51-52 As they approached the house, the whole neighborhood was full of the sound of mourning—weeping, wailing, loud crying. Jesus told everyone to stay outside—everyone except Peter, John, James, and, of course, the girl’s father and mother.
Jesus (to the mourners): Please stop weeping. The girl isn’t dead. She’s only asleep.
53 They knew for certain that she was dead, so their bitter tears now mixed with mocking laughter.
54 Meanwhile, inside, Jesus took the girl’s hand.
Jesus: Child, get up!
55 She started breathing again, and she sat right up.
Jesus: Get her something to eat.
56 Her parents were amazed, but Jesus sternly told them to keep what had happened a secret.
Footnotes
- 8:10 Isaiah 6:9
- 8:43 This portion is omitted in some early manuscripts.
- 8:45 The earliest manuscripts omit this portion.
Luke 8
Worldwide English (New Testament)
8 Soon after this, Jesus went through the cities and towns. He told the people God's word about the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve disciples were with him.
2 Some women were also with him. They had bad spirits and had been sick. But they had been healed. One was Mary, called Magdalene. Seven bad spirits had gone out of her.
3 Another one was Joanna, the wife of Chuza, who worked for Herod. Another one was Susanna. And there were many others who gave what they could to help him.
4 Many people came to him from many towns. Then he told them a story.
5 He said, `A man went out to sow his seed. As he sowed it, some seed fell on the road. People stepped on the seed. Birds ate it.
6 Some seed fell on the stony ground. It grew but soon died because the place was too dry.
7 Some seed fell among the weeds. The weeds grew up and made the new plants die.
8 But some seed fell on good ground and it grew well. Those plants gave a hundred times as much grain as the man sowed.' When Jesus had said this, he called out, `Everyone who has ears to hear, listen!'
9 His disciples asked Jesus what this story meant.
10 He said to them, `You can learn the secret things about the kingdom of God. But other people must have stories. They will look, but they will not see. They will hear, but they will not understand.'
11 `Now here is what the story means. The seed is God's word.
12 Some seeds fell on the road. They are like the people who hear the word of God. Then the devil comes and takes the word out of their hearts. He does not want them to believe and be saved.
13 Some seeds fell on the stones. They are like people who are glad when they hear the word. But it does not go down deep into their hearts. They believe for a short time. But when they have trouble they stop believing.
14 Some seeds fell among the weeds. They are like people who hear the word. But they think about the things of this world. They want to get money and things to be happy in this life. As they go on in life, these things push the message out of their hearts and no good comes from them.
15 Some seeds fell on good ground. They are like people who hear the word and remember it. Their hearts are honest and good. These people keep on believing, and much good comes from them.'
16 `No person lights a lamp and covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed. But he puts it on the place for a lamp. Then people who come in can see the light.
17 Everything that is hidden will be seen. Everything that is secret will be known and come out to be seen.
18 So take care how you listen. Anyone who has something will get more. But he who does not have anything, even the little that he has will be taken away from him.'
19 The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him. They could not reach him because there were so many people around him.
20 Someone told him, `Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to talk to you.'
21 But he said to them, `These people who hear the word of God and do it, they are my mother and my brothers.'
22 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples. He said to them, `Let us cross over to the other side of the sea.' So they started out.
23 While they were going, Jesus was sleeping. A bad storm came on the sea. Water was coming into the boat, and they were in trouble.
24 The disciples came to Jesus and woke him. They shouted, `Master! Master! We will die!' Jesus woke and said to the wind and the water, `Stop!' They stopped. Then all was quiet
25 He said to the disciples, `Why do you not believe God?' They were afraid and surprised. They said to each other, `What kind of man is this? He tells the wind and the sea what to do and they obey him.'
26 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarene people. Their country is on the other side of the sea from Galilee.
27 As Jesus got out of the boat a man met him from the town. He had bad spirits in him. He had not worn clothes for a long time. He did not live in a house, but among the graves.
28 When he saw Jesus, he screamed loudly and bowed down in front of him. He called out loud, `Jesus, Son of the Highest One! What do you want to do to me? I beg you, do not hurt me.'
29 He said this because Jesus had told the bad spirit to come out of the man. Many times the spirit had taken hold of the man. People had guarded him. They had tied him with chains and strong ropes. But he broke the chains and ropes. The bad spirit drove him into the desert.
30 Jesus asked him, `What is your name?' He answered, `My name is An Army.' He said this because many bad spirits had gone into him.
31 The spirits begged Jesus not to send them away to the big hole that has no bottom.
32 Many pigs were feeding on the hill there. The spirits begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. Jesus let them.
33 The spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. They ran fast down the steep hill into the sea. They died in the water.
34 The men who cared for the pigs saw what happened. They ran and told it to the people in the town and in the country.
35 The people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus. They saw the man from whom the bad spirits had gone. He was sitting near the feet of Jesus. He had clothes on and was not crazy any more. The people were afraid.
36 Those who had seen it told the people how the man had been saved from the bad spirits.
37 All the people in the country around the Gadarenes asked Jesus to go away from them to some other place. They were very much afraid. So Jesus got into a boat and went back.
38 The man from whom the bad spirits had gone begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him away.
39 He said, `Go home and tell the people what God has done for you.' So the man went away and told the people all through the town what Jesus had done for him.
40 When Jesus came back, the people were very glad to see him. They were all waiting for him.
41 A man named Jairus came to him. He was a ruler in the meeting house. He bowed down in front of Jesus and begged him to come to his house.
42 He had only one daughter She was about twelve years old. And she was dying. Many people went with Jesus and pushed against him.
43 A woman among them had a sickness for twelve years. She was bleeding all the time. She had given all her money to the doctors, but no one had been able to heal her.
44 She came behind Jesus and touched his clothes. The bleeding stopped right away.
45 Jesus said, `Who touched me?' Everyone said, `Not I!' Peter said, `Master, the people are all around you and push you.'
46 But Jesus said, `Someone touched me. I know that power to heal went out from me.'
47 The woman saw that he knew about her. So she came trembling and bowed down in front of him. She told him in front of all the people why she had touched him. She told him that she had been healed right away.
48 Jesus said to her, `Daughter, you were healed because you believed. Go and do not be troubled.'
49 While he was still talking, a man came from the ruler's house. He said, `Your daughter has died. Do not trouble the Teacher any more.'
50 Jesus heard it. He said, `Do not fear. Only believe and she will be healed.'
51 When Jesus came to the house, he did not let the people go in with him. The only people he let go in were Peter, John and James, and the girl's father and mother.
52 All the people were crying and making a lot of noise because she had died. But he said, `Do not cry. She is not dead, but sleeping.'
53 They laughed at him because they knew she was dead.
54 He took her hand and called out, `Little girl, get up.'
55 Her life came back and she got up right away. He told them to give her something to eat.
56 Her parents were very much surprised. Jesus said, `Do not tell anyone what has happened.'
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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