Matthew 8
- 1
After he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
- 2
And a leper approached and bowed low before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
- 3
He stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
- 4
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
- 5
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help:
- 6
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.”
- 7
Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
- 8
But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof! Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed.
- 9
For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
- 10
When Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel!
- 11
I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
- 12
but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- 13
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant was healed at that hour.
- 14
Now when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down, sick with a fever.
- 15
He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began to serve them.
- 16
When it was evening, many demon-possessed people were brought to him. He drove out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.
- 17
In this way what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled: “He took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.”
- 18
Now when Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake.
- 19
Then an expert in the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
- 20
Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
- 21
Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
- 22
But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
- 23
As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
- 24
And a great storm developed on the sea so that the waves began to swamp the boat. But he was asleep.
- 25
So they came and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!”
- 26
But he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was dead calm.
- 27
And the men were amazed and said, “What sort of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!”
- 28
When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.
- 29
They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
- 30
A large herd of pigs was feeding some distance from them.
- 31
Then the demons begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
- 32
And he said, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water.
- 33
The herdsmen ran off, went into the town, and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men.
- 34
Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.