Mark 4:26-5:20

Living Bible

²⁶ “Here is another story illustrating what the Kingdom of God is like:

“A farmer sowed his field ²⁷ and went away, and as the days went by, the seeds grew and grew without his help. ²⁸ For the soil made the seeds grow. First a leaf blade pushed through, and later the heads of wheat formed, and finally the grain ripened, ²⁹ and then the farmer came at once with his sickle and harvested it.”

³⁰ Jesus asked, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story shall I use to illustrate it? ^31-32 It is like a tiny mustard seed! Though this is one of the smallest of seeds, yet it grows to become one of the largest of plants, with long branches where birds can build their nests and be sheltered.”

³³ He used many such illustrations to teach the people as much as they were ready to understand.^{[a] 34} In fact, he taught only by illustrations in his public teaching, but afterwards, when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain his meaning to them.

³⁵ As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed). ³⁷ But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink. ³⁸ Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?”

³⁹ Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet down!” And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!

⁴⁰ And he asked them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?”

⁴¹ And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?”

5 ^1-2 When they arrived at the other side of the lake, a demon-possessed man ran out from a graveyard, just as Jesus was climbing from the boat.

^3-4 This man lived among the gravestones and had such strength that whenever he was put into handcuffs and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the handcuffs from his wrists and smashed the shackles and walked away. No one was strong enough to control him. ⁵ All day long and through the night he would wander among the tombs and in the wild hills, screaming and cutting himself with sharp pieces of stone.

⁶ When Jesus was still far out on the water, the man had seen him and had run to meet him, and fell down before him.

^7-8 Then Jesus spoke to the demon within the man and said, “Come out, you evil spirit.”

It gave a terrible scream, shrieking, “What are you going to do to me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, don’t torture me!”

⁹ “What is your name?” Jesus asked, and the demon replied, “Legion, for there are many of us here within this man.”

¹⁰ Then the demons begged him again and again not to send them to some distant land.

¹¹ Now as it happened there was a huge herd of hogs rooting around on the hill above the lake. ¹² “Send us into those hogs,” the demons begged.

¹³ And Jesus gave them permission. Then the evil spirits came out of the man and entered the hogs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.

¹⁴ The herdsmen fled to the nearby towns and countryside, spreading the news as they ran. Everyone rushed out to see for themselves. ¹⁵ And a large crowd soon gathered where Jesus was; but as they saw the man sitting there, fully clothed and perfectly sane, they were frightened. ¹⁶ Those who saw what happened were telling everyone about it, ¹⁷ and the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone! ¹⁸ So he got back into the boat. The man who had been possessed by the demons begged Jesus to let him go along. ¹⁹ But Jesus said no.

“Go home to your friends,” he told him, “and tell them what wonderful things God has done for you; and how merciful he has been.”

²⁰ So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns^[b] of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and they were awestruck by his story.