Mat 8 | BSB | STEP | When [Jesus] came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

Matthew 8

The Leper's Prayer

1 When [Jesus] came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. 2 Suddenly a leper ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term used for various skin diseases. See Leviticus 13.} came [and] knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 3 [Jesus] reached out [His] hand [and] touched [the man] . “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion

5 When [Jesus] had entered Capernaum, a centurion came [and] pleaded with Him, 6 “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed [and] in terrible agony.” 7 “I will go [and] heal him,” [Jesus] replied. 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell [one] to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. [I tell] my servant to do something, and he does [it] .” 10 When Jesus heard [this] , He marveled and said to those following [Him] , “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel [with] such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from [the] east and [the] west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness, [where] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, [so] will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Jesus Heals at Peter's House

14 When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, He saw [Peter’s] mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. 15 So He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve them. 16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to [Jesus] , and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took on our infirmities, and carried our diseases.” ^{▼▼Isaiah 53:4}

The Cost of Discipleship

18 [When] Jesus saw [a] large crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side [of the sea] . ^{▼▼That is the Sea of Galilee; Greek lacks of the sea.} 19 And one of the scribes came to Him [and] said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the air [have] nests, but [the] Son of Man has no [place] to lay [His] head.” 21 Another of His disciples requested, “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 the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but [Jesus] was sleeping. 25 [The disciples] went [and] woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 “ [You] of little faith,” [Jesus] replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up [and] rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm. 27 [The] men were amazed [and] asked, “What kind [of man] is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

The Demons and the Pigs

28 When [Jesus] arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, ^{▼▼BYZ and TR Gergesenes; other manuscripts Gerasenes} He was met by two demon-possessed [men] coming from the tombs. [They were] so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 “What do You [want] with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before [the] appointed time?” 30 In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 So the demons begged [Jesus] , “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 “Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. 33 Those tending [the pigs] ran off into the town [and] reported all this, including the [account] of the demon-possessed [men] . 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged [Him] to leave their region.