III. Ministry and Mission in Galilee*

The Cleansing of a Leper. 1a When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2And then a leper* approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” 3He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. 4* Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;b that will be proof for them.”

The Healing of a Centurion’s Servant.* 5c When he entered Capernaum,* a centurion approached him and appealed to him, 6saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” 7He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8The centurion said in reply,* “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. 9For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel* have I found such faith. 11d I say to you,* many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, 12but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” 13And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.

The Cure of Peter’s Mother-in-Law.* 14e Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him.f

Other Healings. 16When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word* and cured all the sick, 17to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:* g

The Would-be Followers of Jesus.* 18h When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side.* 19i A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher,* I will follow you wherever you go.” 20Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man* has nowhere to rest his head.” 21Another of [his] disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” 22* But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

The Calming of the Storm at Sea. 23* j He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. 24Suddenly a violent storm* came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. 25k They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!* We are perishing!” 26He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”* Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. 27The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

The Healing of the Gadarene Demoniacs. 28l When he came to the other side, to the territory of the Gadarenes,* two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. 29They cried out, “What have you to do with us,* Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?” 30Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.* 31The demons pleaded with him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”m 32And he said to them, “Go then!” They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. 33The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. 34Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.