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Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge.
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He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:
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"Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain.
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As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
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Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep.
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Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up.
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Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain.
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But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred."
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And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!"
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When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables.
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"You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God," Jesus answered. "But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables,
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so that, 'They may look and look, yet not see; they may listen and listen, yet not understand. For if they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them.' "
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Then Jesus asked them, "Don't you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable?
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The sower sows God's message.
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Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away.
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Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly.
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But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once.
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Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message,
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but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit.
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But other people are like seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred."
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Jesus continued, "Does anyone ever bring in a lamp and put it under a bowl or under the bed? Isn't it put on the lampstand?
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Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be uncovered.
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Listen, then, if you have ears!"
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He also said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear! The same rules you use to judge others will be used by God to judge you---but with even greater severity.
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Those who have something will be given more, and those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they have."
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Jesus went on to say, "The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field.
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He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens.
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The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain.
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When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come.
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"What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?" asked Jesus. "What parable shall we use to explain it?
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It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground.
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After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade."
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Jesus preached his message to the people, using many other parables like these; he told them as much as they could understand.
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He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.
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On the evening of that same day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake."
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So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too.
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Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water.
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Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?"
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Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, "Be quiet!" and he said to the waves, "Be still!" The wind died down, and there was a great calm.
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Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?"
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But they were terribly afraid and began to say to one another, "Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
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Jesus and his disciples arrived on the other side of Lake Galilee, in the territory of Gerasa.
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As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a man who came out of the burial caves there. This man had an evil spirit in him
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and lived among the tombs. Nobody could keep him tied with chains any more;
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many times his feet and his hands had been tied, but every time he broke the chains and smashed the irons on his feet. He was too strong for anyone to control him.
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Day and night he wandered among the tombs and through the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones.
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He was some distance away when he saw Jesus; so he ran, fell on his knees before him,
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and screamed in a loud voice, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? For God's sake, I beg you, don't punish me!"
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(He said this because Jesus was saying, "Evil spirit, come out of this man!")
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So Jesus asked him, "What is your name!" The man answered, "My name is 'Mob'---there are so many of us!"
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And he kept begging Jesus not to send the evil spirits out of that region.
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There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside.
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So the spirits begged Jesus, "Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them."
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He let them go, and the evil spirits went out of the man and entered the pigs. The whole herd---about two thousand pigs in all---rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.
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The men who had been taking care of the pigs ran away and spread the news in the town and among the farms. People went out to see what had happened,
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and when they came to Jesus, they saw the man who used to have the mob of demons in him. He was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid.
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Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the man with the demons, and about the pigs.
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So they asked Jesus to leave their territory.
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As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begged him, "Let me go with you!"
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But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, "Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind he has been to you."
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So the man left and went all through the Ten Towns, telling what Jesus had done for him. And all who heard it were amazed.
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Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake. There at the lakeside a large crowd gathered around him.
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Jairus, an official of the local synagogue, arrived, and when he saw Jesus, he threw himself down at his feet
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and begged him earnestly, "My little daughter is very sick. Please come and place your hands on her, so that she will get well and live!"
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Then Jesus started off with him. So many people were going along with Jesus that they were crowding him from every side.
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There was a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years,
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even though she had been treated by many doctors. She had spent all her money, but instead of getting better she got worse all the time.
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She had heard about Jesus, so she came in the crowd behind him,
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saying to herself, "If I just touch his clothes, I will get well."
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She touched his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once; and she had the feeling inside herself that she was healed of her trouble.
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At once Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
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His disciples answered, "You see how the people are crowding you; why do you ask who touched you?"
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But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
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The woman realized what had happened to her, so she came, trembling with fear, knelt at his feet, and told him the whole truth.
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Jesus said to her, "My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble."
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While Jesus was saying this, some messengers came from Jairus' house and told him, "Your daughter has died. Why bother the Teacher any longer?"
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Jesus paid no attention to what they said, but told him, "Don't be afraid, only believe."
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Then he did not let anyone else go on with him except Peter and James and his brother John.
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They arrived at Jairus' house, where Jesus saw the confusion and heard all the loud crying and wailing.
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He went in and said to them, "Why all this confusion? Why are you crying? The child is not dead---she is only sleeping!"
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They started making fun of him, so he put them all out, took the child's father and mother and his three disciples, and went into the room where the child was lying.
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He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha, koum," which means, "Little girl, I tell you to get up!"
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She got up at once and started walking around. (She was twelve years old.) When this happened, they were completely amazed.
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But Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone, and he said, "Give her something to eat."
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Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples.
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On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. "Where did he get all this?" they asked. "What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles?
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Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him.
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Jesus said to them, "Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family."
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He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
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He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith. Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people.
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He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits
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and ordered them, "Don't take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick---no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets.
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Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt."
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He also told them, "Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place.
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If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!"
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So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins.
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They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.
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Now King Herod heard about all this, because Jesus' reputation had spread everywhere. Some people were saying, "John the Baptist has come back to life! That is why he has this power to perform miracles."
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Others, however, said, "He is Elijah." Others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."
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When Herod heard it, he said, "He is John the Baptist! I had his head cut off, but he has come back to life!"
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Herod himself had ordered John's arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, whom he had married, even though she was the wife of his brother Philip.
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John the Baptist kept telling Herod, "It isn't right for you to marry your brother's wife!"
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So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not because of Herod.
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Herod was afraid of John because he knew that John was a good and holy man, and so he kept him safe. He liked to listen to him, even though he became greatly disturbed every time he heard him.
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Finally Herodias got her chance. It was on Herod's birthday, when he gave a feast for all the top government officials, the military chiefs, and the leading citizens of Galilee.
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The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and his guests. So the king said to the girl, "What would you like to have? I will give you anything you want."
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With many vows he said to her, "I swear that I will give you anything you ask for, even as much as half my kingdom!"
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So the girl went out and asked her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.
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The girl hurried back at once to the king and demanded, "I want you to give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a plate!"
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This made the king very sad, but he could not refuse her because of the vows he had made in front of all his guests.
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So he sent off a guard at once with orders to bring John's head. The guard left, went to the prison, and cut John's head off;
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then he brought it on a plate and gave it to the girl, who gave it to her mother.
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When John's disciples heard about this, they came and got his body, and buried it.
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The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught.
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There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, "Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest a while."
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So they started out in a boat by themselves to a lonely place.
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Many people, however, saw them leave and knew at once who they were; so they went from all the towns and ran ahead by land and arrived at the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples.
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When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.
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When it was getting late, his disciples came to him and said, "It is already very late, and this is a lonely place.
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Send the people away, and let them go to the nearby farms and villages in order to buy themselves something to eat."
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"You yourselves give them something to eat," Jesus answered. They asked, "Do you want us to go and spend two hundred silver coins on bread in order to feed them?"
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So Jesus asked them, "How much bread do you have? Go and see." When they found out, they told him, "Five loaves and also two fish."
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Jesus then told his disciples to make all the people divide into groups and sit down on the green grass.
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So the people sat down in rows, in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty.
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Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.
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Everyone ate and had enough.
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Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left of the bread and the fish.
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The number of men who were fed was five thousand.
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At once Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida, on the other side of the lake, while he sent the crowd away.
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After saying good-bye to the people, he went away to a hill to pray.
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When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, while Jesus was alone on land.
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He saw that his disciples were straining at the oars, because they were rowing against the wind; so sometime between three and six o'clock in the morning, he came to them, walking on the water. He was going to pass them by,
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but they saw him walking on the water. "It's a ghost!" they thought, and screamed.
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They were all terrified when they saw him. Jesus spoke to them at once, "Courage!" he said. "It is I. Don't be afraid!"
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Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind died down. The disciples were completely amazed,
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because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the five thousand; their minds could not grasp it.
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They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat.
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As they left the boat, people recognized Jesus at once.
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So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats.
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And everywhere Jesus went, to villages, towns, or farms, people would take their sick to the marketplaces and beg him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak. And all who touched it were made well.
