New Testament in a Year

Follow Jesus

¹⁸ When Jesus saw a large crowd gathering around him, he gave orders to go over to the other shore.

¹⁹ Then an expert in the law came and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

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

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

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a terrible storm came up on the sea, so that their boat was covered by the waves. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ They went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to die!”

²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a complete calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed, saying, “What kind of a man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

Two Demon-Possessed Men and a Herd of Pigs

²⁸ When he arrived at the other side, in the region of the Gergesenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him there. They were very dangerous, so that nobody could pass that way. ²⁹ Suddenly they cried out, “What do we have to do with you, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ There was a large herd of pigs feeding some distance away from them. ³¹ The demons begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² He told them, “Go!”

So the demons came out of the men and went into the pigs. Immediately the whole herd of pigs rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water. ³³ Those who were feeding the pigs fled and went into the town. They reported everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.