Chapter 8

   Upon descending from the hill country He was followed by immense crowds.  

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   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.'  

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   So Jesus put out His hand and touched him, and said, 'I am willing: be cleansed.' Instantly he was cleansed from his leprosy;  

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   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.'  

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   After His entry into Capernaum a Captain came to Him, and entreated Him.  

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   'Sir,' he said, 'my servant at home is lying ill with paralysis, and is suffering great pain.'  

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   'I will come and cure him,' said Jesus.  

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   '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.  

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   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.'  

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   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.  

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   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,  

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   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.'  

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   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.  

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   After this Jesus went to the house of Peter, whose mother-in-law he found ill in bed with fever.  

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   He touched her hand and the fever left her: and then she rose and waited upon Him.  

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   In the evening many demoniacs were brought to Him, and with a word He expelled the demons; and He cured all the sick,  

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   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.'  

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   Seeing great crowds about Him Jesus had given directions to cross to the other side of the Lake,  

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   when a Scribe came and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.'  

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   'Foxes have holes,' replied Jesus, 'and birds have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'  

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   Another of the disciples said to Him, 'Sir, allow me first to go and bury my father.'  

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   'Follow me,' said Jesus, 'and leave the dead to bury their own dead.'  

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   Then He went on board a fishing-boat, and His disciples followed Him.  

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   But suddenly there arose a great storm on the Lake, so that the waves threatened to engulf the boat; but He was asleep.  

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   So they came and woke Him, crying, 'Master, save us, we are drowning!'  

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   '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;  

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   and the men, filled with amazement, exclaimed, 'What kind of man is this? for the very winds and waves obey him!'  

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   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.  

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   They cried aloud, 'What hast Thou to do with us, Thou Son of God? Hast Thou come here to torment us before the time?'  

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   Now at some distance from them a vast herd of swine were feeding.  

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   So the demons entreated Him. 'If Thou drivest us out,' they said, 'send us into the herd of swine.'  

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   '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.  

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   The swineherds fled, and went and told the whole story in the town, including what had happened to the demoniacs.  

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   So at once the whole population came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they besought Him to leave their country.  

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