Old/New Testament
18-19 When Jesus had seen the great crowds around him he gave orders for departure to the other side of the lake. But before they started, one of the scribes came up to Jesus and said to him, “Master, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 “Foxes have earths, birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere that he can call his own,” replied Jesus.
21 Another of his disciples said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Jesus shows his mastery over the forces of nature
23-25 Then he went aboard the boat, and his disciples followed him. Before long a terrific storm sprang up and the boat was awash with the waves. Jesus was sleeping soundly and the disciples went forward and woke him up. “Lord, save us!” they cried. “We are drowning!”
26-27 “What are you so frightened about, you little-faiths?” he replied. Then he got to his feet and rebuked the wind and the waters and there was a great calm. The men were filled with astonishment and kept saying, “Whatever sort of man is this—why, even the wind and the waves do what he tells them!”
28-29 When he arrived on the other side (which is the Gadarenes’ country) he was met by two devil-possessed men who came out from among the tombs. They were so violent that nobody dared to use that road. “What have you got to do with us, Jesus, you Son of God?” they screamed at him. “Have you come to torture us before the proper time?”
30-31 It happened that in the distance there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the devils implored him, “If you throw us out, send us into the herd of pigs!”
32 “Then go!” said Jesus to them. And the devils came out of the two men and went into the pigs. Then quite suddenly the whole herd rushed madly down a steep cliff into the lake and were drowned.
33-34 The swineherds took to their heels, and ran to the town. There they poured out the whole story, not forgetting what had happened to the two men who had been devil-possessed. Whereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him implored him to leave their territory.
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.