Mat 8 | Comm | STEP | When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.

Matthew 8

1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3 Then Jesus put out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be clean." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help, 6 and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." 7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go, ‘and he goes; and to another, ‘Come, ‘and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this, ‘and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down 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. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13 Then to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

14 When Jesus come into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and served him. 16 When evening had come, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed. And he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases."

18 Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20 And 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 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 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But he was asleep. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 26 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

28 When he had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" 30 Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." 32 And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the water. 33 Then those who kept them fled, and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.