Dual Panel1NOT long after this incident, Jesus went through every town and village preaching and telling the people the good news of the kingdom of God. He was accompanied by the twelve
2and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and illnessesMary, known as "the woman from Magdala" (who had once been possessed by seven evil spirits),
3Joanna the wife of Chuza, an agent of Herod, Susanna, and many others who used to look after Jesus' and his companions' comfort from their own resources.
4When a large crowd had collected and people were coming to him from one town after another, he spoke to them and gave them this parable:
5"A sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, some of the seed fell by the roadside and was trodden down and the birds gobbled it up.
6Some fell on the rock, and when it sprouted it withered for lack of moisture.
7Some fell among thornbushes which grew up with the seeds and choked the life out of them.
8And some seed fell on good soil and grew and produced a cropa hundred times what had been sown." And when he had said this, he called out, "Let the man who has ears to hear use them!"
9Then his disciples asked him the meaning of the parable,
10To, which Jesus replied, "You have been given the privilege of understanding the secrets of the kingdom of God, but the others are given parables so that they may go through life with their eyes open and see nothing, and with their ears open, and understand nothing of what they hear.
11"This is what the parable means. The seed is the message of God.
12The seed sown by the roadside represents those who hear the message, and then the devil comes and takes it away from their hearts so that they cannot believe it and be saved.
13That sown on the rock represents those who accept the message with great delight when they hear it, but have no real root. They believe for a little while but when the time of temptation comes, they lose faith.
14And the seed sown among the thorns represents the people who hear the message and go on their way, and with the worries and riches and pleasures of living, the life is choked out of them, and in the and they produce nothing.
15But the seed sown on good soil means the men who hear the message and grasp it with a good and honest heart, and go on steadily producing a good crop.
16"Nobody lights a lamp and covers it with a bash or puts it under the bed. No, a man puts his lamp on a lampstand so that those who come in can see the light.
17For there is nothing hidden now which will not become perfectly plain and there are no secrets now which will not become as clear as daylight.
18So take care how you listenmore will be given to the man who has something already, but the man who has nothing will lose even what he thinks he has."
19Then his mother and his brothers arrived to see him, but could not get near him because of the crowd.
20So a message was passed to him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to see you."
21To which he replied, "My mother and my brothers? They are those who listen to God's message and obey it."
22It happened on one of these days that he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." So they set sail,
23and when they were under way he fell asleep. Then a squall of wind swept down upon the lake and they were in grave danger of being swamped.
24Coming forward, they woke him up, saying, "Master, master, we're drowning!" Then he got up and reprimanded the wind and the stormy waters, and they died down, and everything was still.
25Then he said to them, "What has happened to your faith?" But they were frightened and bewildered and kept saying to each other, "Who ever can this be? He gives orders even to the winds and waters and they obey him."
26They sailed on to the country of the Gergesenes which is on the opposite side of the lake to Galilee.
27And as Jesus disembarked, a man from the town who was possessed by evil spirits met him. He had worn no clothes for a long time and did not live inside a home, but among the tombs.
28When he saw Jesus, he let out a howl and fell down in front of him, yelling, "What have you got to do with me, you Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, please, don't torment me."
29For Jesus was commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. Again and again the evil spirit had taken control of him, and though he was bound with chains and fetters and closely watched, he would snap his bonds and go off into the desert with the devil at his heels.
30Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion!" he replied. For many evil spirits had gone into him,
31and were now begging Jesus not to order them off to the bottomless pit.
32It happened that there was a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside, so they implored him to allow them to go into the pigs, and he let them go.
33And when the evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs, the whole herd stampeded down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.
34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they took to their heels, pouring out the story to the people in the town and countryside.
35These people came out to see what had happened, and approached Jesus. They found the man, whom the evil spirits had left, sitting down at Jesus' feet, properly clothed and quite sane. That frightened them.
36Those who had seen it told the others how the men with the evil spirits had been cured.
37And the whole crowd of people from the district surrounding the Gergesenes' country begged Jesus to go away from them, for they were thoroughly frightened. Then he reembarked on the boat and turned back.
38The man who had had the evil spirits kept begging to go with Jesus, but he sent him away with the words,
39"Go back home and tell them all that God has done for you." So the man went away and told the story of what Jesus had done for him, all over the town.
40On Jesus' return, the crowd welcomed him back, for they had all been looking for him.
41Then up came Jairus (who was president of the synagogue), and fell at Jesus' feet, begging him to come into his house,
42for his daughter, an only child about twelve years old, was dying. But as he went, the crowds nearly suffocated him.
43Among them was a woman, who had had a chronic hemorrhage for twelve years and who had derived no benefit from anybody's treatment.
44She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her hemorrhage stopped at once.
45"Who was that who touched me?" said Jesus. And when everybody denied it, Peter remonstrated, "Master, the crowds are all round you and are pressing you on all sides...."
46But Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, for I felt that power went out from me."
47When the women realised that she had not escaped notice she came forward trembling, and fell at his feet and admitted before everybody why she had had to touch him, and how she had been instantly cured.
48"Daughter," said Jesus, "It is your faith that has healed yougo in peace."
49While he was still speaking, somebody came from the synagogue president's house to say, "Your daughter is deadthere is no need to trouble the master any further."
50But when Jesus heard this, he said to him, "Now don't be afraid, go on believing and she will be all right."
51Then when he came to the house, he would not allow anyone to go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's parents.
52All those already there were weeping and wailing over her, but he said, "Stop crying! She is not dead, she is fast asleep."
53This drew a scornful laugh from them, for they were quite certain that she had died.
54But he took the little girl's hand and called out to her, "Get up, my child!"
55And her spirit came back and she got to her feet at once, and Jesus told them to give her some food.
56Her parents were nearly out of their minds with joy, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened.