< Matthew 8 >
1 Upon descending from the hill country He was followed by immense crowds.
2 And a leper came to Him, and throwing himself at His feet, said, "Sir, if only you are willing you are able to cleanse me."
3 So Jesus put out His hand and touched him, and said, "I am willing: be cleansed." Instantly he was cleansed from his leprosy;
4 and Jesus said to him, "Be careful to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses appointed as evidence for them."
5 After His entry into Capernaum a Captain came to Him, and entreated Him.
6 "Sir," he said, "my servant at home is lying ill with paralysis, and is suffering great pain."
7 "I will come and cure him," said Jesus.
8 "Sir," replied the Captain, "I am not a fit person to receive you under my roof: merely say the word, and my servant will be cured.
9 For I myself am also under authority, and have soldiers under me. To one I say 'Go,' and he goes, to another 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this or that,' and he does it."
10 Jesus listened to this reply, and was astonished, and said to the people following Him, "I solemnly tell you that in no Israelite have I found faith as great as this.
11 And I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west and will recline at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of the Heavens,
12 while the natural heirs of the Kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside: there will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth."
13 And Jesus said to the Captain, "Go, and just as you have believed, so be it for you." And the servant recovered precisely at that time.
14 After this Jesus went to the house of Peter, whose mother-in-law he found ill in bed with fever.
15 He touched her hand and the fever left her: and then she rose and waited upon Him.
16 In the evening many demoniacs were brought to Him, and with a word He expelled the demons; and He cured all the sick,
17 in order that this prediction of the Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, "He took on Him our weaknesses, and bore the burden of our diseases."
18 Seeing great crowds about Him Jesus had given directions to cross to the other side of the Lake,
19 when a Scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
20 "Foxes have holes," replied Jesus, "and birds have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
21 Another of the disciples said to Him, "Sir, allow me first to go and bury my father."
22 "Follow me," said Jesus, "and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
23 Then He went on board a fishing-boat, and His disciples followed Him.
24 But suddenly there arose a great storm on the Lake, so that the waves threatened to engulf the boat; but He was asleep.
25 So they came and woke Him, crying, "Master, save us, we are drowning!"
26 "Why are you so easily frightened," He replied, "you men of little faith?" Then He rose and reproved the winds and the waves, and there was a perfect calm;
27 and the men, filled with amazement, exclaimed, "What kind of man is this? for the very winds and waves obey him!"
28 On His arrival at the other side, in the country of the Gadarenes, there met Him two men possessed by demons, coming from among the tombs: they were so dangerously fierce that no one was able to pass that way.
29 They cried aloud, "What hast Thou to do with us, Thou Son of God? Hast Thou come here to torment us before the time?"
30 Now at some distance from them a vast herd of swine were feeding.
31 So the demons entreated Him. "If Thou drivest us out," they said, "send us into the herd of swine."
32 "Go," He replied. Then they came out from the men and went into the swine, whereupon the entire herd instantly rushed down the cliff into the Lake and perished in the water.
33 The swineherds fled, and went and told the whole story in the town, including what had happened to the demoniacs.
34 So at once the whole population came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they besought Him to leave their country.
