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Luke 8

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And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

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And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,

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And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

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And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

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A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

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And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

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And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

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And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

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And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

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Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

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Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

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They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

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And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

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But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

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No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.

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For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

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Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

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Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.

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And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.

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And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

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Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

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But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

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And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

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And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

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And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

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And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.

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When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.

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(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

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And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

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And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.

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And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.

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Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.

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When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.

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Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

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They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.

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Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.

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Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,

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Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

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And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.

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And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:

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For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.

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And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

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Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

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And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

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And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

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And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

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And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

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While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.

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But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

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And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.

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And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

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And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.

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And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.

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And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

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And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

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Luke 8

The chapter's opening note — that women including Mary Magdalene and Joanna supported the itinerant community from their own means — establishes the feminist dimension of the discipleship community. The Sower parable and its explanation frame the chapter's investigation of how the word of the kingdom is received: four soils producing four outcomes, with endurance through testing being the distinctive characteristic of the good soil. The lamp, the family redefined, the storm stilled (where is your faith?), the Gerasene demoniac (Legion expelled, man restored, community afraid), and the bleeding woman and Jairus's daughter form the chapter's miracle sequence. Each miracle illuminates a different dimension of faith — the hemorrhaging woman's touch-in-faith, the synagogue ruler's trust despite the death report, the inner three's witness of the private resurrection. The chapter closes with the most intimate detail: the raised twelve-year-old is hungry, and Jesus tells her parents to give her something to eat.

Luke 8:40

Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him — the return to the Jewish side of the lake is welcomed by a waiting crowd — the contrast with the Gerasene community that asked Jesus to leave. All expecting him: the anticipation has been built by the reports of his ministry.

Luke 8:41

Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus's feet, pleading with him to come to his house — Jairus is the named synagogue ruler who falls at Jesus' feet in the posture of desperation and worship. Come to his house: the home is the location of the sick child and the destination of the healing visit.

Luke 8:1

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him — the summary of Jesus' ongoing Galilean proclamation establishes the context for the women's discipleship note that follows. Traveled about (diōdeuon, went through) communicates the itinerant character of the ministry. The Twelve were with him: the twelve are a constant traveling presence, the formal community gathered around the proclamation.

Luke 8:2

And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others — Luke's unique identification of the women traveling with Jesus is a remarkable social observation: these women are part of the disciple community. Mary Magdalene's seven demons communicate the depth of her transformation. Joanna the wife of Herod's household manager communicates social status and the political sensitivity of her association with Jesus.

Luke 8:3

These women were helping to support them out of their own means — the financial support of the ministry by the women is Luke's unique information: these women had independent means and used them to support the itinerant teaching community. The supporting out of their own means communicates both the women's active agency and the ministry's practical needs. The kingdom community is sustained by the generosity of those it has transformed.

Luke 8:4

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable — the large crowd from town after town is the setting for the Parable of the Sower. The crowd's size creates the context for the question that will follow about why Jesus speaks in parables — the large crowd is the public audience; the disciples are the private recipients of explanation.

Luke 8:5

A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up — the path seed in Luke is trampled on (katepatethe) as well as eaten by birds — a harsher fate than in Mark. The trampling before the birds arrive communicates the vulnerability of the word that falls on unresponsive soil.

Luke 8:6

Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture — the rocky-ground failure in Luke is specified as the lack of moisture rather than the lack of soil depth (Mark). Luke's version identifies the dryness as the cause of withering — an agricultural detail appropriate to the Mediterranean climate where moisture is the limiting factor for growth.

Luke 8:7

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants — the thorny ground in Luke is the seed that grew up together with the thorns, unlike the path seed that never penetrated or the rocky seed that sprouted quickly and died. The together growing communicates the sustained competition — this soil supports life but also supports what will ultimately crowd out the intended fruit.

Luke 8:8

Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. When he said this, he called out, whoever has ears to hear, let them hear — the hundredfold yield is the single production level Luke gives (Mark gives three levels: thirty, sixty, one hundred). The hearing refrain (whoever has ears to hear, let them hear) punctuates the parable's conclusion — the parable requires more than hearing the story.

Luke 8:9

His disciples asked him what this parable meant — the disciples' question about the parable's meaning is the private inquiry that produces the private explanation. What this parable meant: the single question assumes the parable is a unity requiring interpretation, not just a pleasant agricultural story.

Luke 8:10

He said, the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand — the secret (mystērion) of the kingdom given to the disciples versus the parables given to others echoes Isaiah 6:9–10. The explanation communicates that parables are not merely pedagogical devices but operate as a selective mechanism — revealing to those who seek understanding and concealing from those who do not.

Luke 8:11

This is the meaning of the parable: the seed is the word of God — the identification of the seed as the word of God (not the word of the kingdom as in Mark) is Luke's specific formulation. The word of God is the generative agent of the kingdom — the word that creates what it announces.

Luke 8:12

Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved — the path people: hear, then the devil comes and takes away. So that they may not believe and be saved: Luke's formulation makes the salvation connection explicit — the purpose of the devil's removal is to prevent faith that would produce salvation.

Luke 8:13

Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away — the rocky ground people believe for a while — Luke's they believe for a while is more specific than Mark's they believe. The time of testing (en kairō peirasmou, in the season of trial) is when the rootless faith collapses.

Luke 8:14

The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature — the thorns in Luke are life's worries, riches, and pleasures — Luke adds pleasures (hēdonai) to the worries and riches of Mark's list. They do not mature (ou telesphorousin, they do not bring to completion) — the failure is not death but incomplete development.

Luke 8:15

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop — the good soil people have a noble and good heart (kardia kalē kai agathē) — an ideal from Greek moral philosophy that Luke applies to the kingdom. Retain (kateochousin, hold firm) and persevering (en hypomonē, in patience/endurance) communicate the sustained faithfulness that produces fruit. Endurance through the trials that destroyed the rocky-ground faith is the distinctive characteristic.

Luke 8:16

No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light — the lamp on a stand is the same as Mark 4:21 — the kingdom's light is not meant to be hidden. The clay jar and the bed are both concealment devices; the stand is the disclosure device. The kingdom's presence cannot and should not be hidden.

Luke 8:17

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open — the disclosure principle: all that is hidden will be revealed. The application to the parables section: the concealment through parables is temporary — the full disclosure will come. The application to the listeners: the inner condition of their hearts, revealed by how they receive the word, will ultimately be disclosed.

Luke 8:18

Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them — consider carefully how you listen (blepete oun pōs akouete): the quality of listening determines the quality of understanding received. The paradox of kingdom receptivity: understanding produces more understanding; the lack of understanding produces the loss of what little one had.

Luke 8:19

Now Jesus's mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd — the visit of Jesus' mother and brothers is the occasion for the redefinition of family. They came to see him: Luke's formulation is less dramatic than Mark's (they came to seize him because they thought he was out of his mind). The inability to get near because of the crowd is the practical obstacle that produces the exchange.

Luke 8:20

Someone told him, your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you — the report of the family's presence outside is communicated to Jesus. The outside stands for the position outside the teaching circle — the family stands where the crowd stood before the disciples drew near.

Luke 8:21

He replied, my mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice — the redefinition of family: those who hear God's word and put it into practice. The two-part definition (hear and put into practice) mirrors the two-builder parable — the genuine disciple is identified by doing, not merely hearing. The family of God is constituted not by biology but by responsive obedience.

Luke 8:22

One day Jesus said to his disciples, let us go over to the other side of the lake. So they got into a boat and set out — the storm stilling is introduced as Jesus' initiative: let us go over to the other side. The disciples follow his direction. The setting out on the lake is the ordinary obedience that will lead into the extraordinary testing.

Luke 8:23

As they sailed he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger — Jesus asleep in a life-threatening storm is the same as Mark 4:38 — the one who knows the Father's sovereignty can rest in the storm that terrifies others. A squall (lailaps, a violent whirlwind storm) came down: the topography of the Sea of Galilee produces sudden severe storms. They were in great danger communicates the reality of the threat — experienced sailors recognize a life-threatening situation.

Luke 8:24

The disciples went and woke him, saying, master, master, we're going to drown! He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging water; the storm subsided, and all was calm — master, master (epistata, epistata) is Luke's distinctive address — not Rabbi (Mark) but Master (the one in charge). He rebuked the wind and the raging water: the same rebuke-language as the exorcisms — Jesus addresses the storm as a personal force. All was calm: the instant, complete calm communicates divine authority over the created order.

Luke 8:25

Where is your faith? he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him — where is your faith: the question is diagnostic, not accusatory. The fear and amazement (phobēthentes de ethaumasan, they feared and marveled) produces the right question: who is this? The disciples' question is the chapter's recurring question about Jesus' identity — who is this who forgives sins, who is this who commands storms.

Luke 8:26

They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee — the arrival in Gerasene territory (Gentile, east of the lake) is the same transition as in Mark 5. Across the lake from Galilee communicates the crossing-over that the storm nearly prevented — the mission to Gentile territory required crossing through the storm.

Luke 8:27

When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs — the naked, tomb-dwelling, demon-possessed man is the most extreme expression of human desolation in the Gospels. For a long time communicates the duration of his suffering — this is not a recent condition but an established identity. The three negatives (no clothes, no house, no community) communicate complete social and human dissolution.

Luke 8:28

When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, what do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me — the prostration before Jesus and the demonic speech combine recognition with fear: Son of the Most High God (Gentile form of the divine title) with the plea don't torture me. The demon understands Jesus' arrival as the eschatological judgment it fears.

Luke 8:29

For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places — the flashback to the history of failed human restraint communicates the complete inability of human force to address the supernatural bondage. Many times, chains, guard — all ineffective. The demon drove him into solitary places: the possession has been the agent of his isolation.

Luke 8:30

Jesus asked him, what is your name? Legion, he replied, because many demons had gone into him — the name Legion communicates the scale of the possession (a Roman legion comprised approximately six thousand soldiers). Many demons had gone into him: Luke's clarification that Legion is a collective, not a personal name.

Luke 8:31

And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the abyss — the request not to be sent to the abyss (abyssos, the bottomless pit of eschatological imprisonment) is the demons' fear of premature judgment. Luke specifies the abyss where Mark specifies the region — the demons fear the eschatological confinement that Jesus' arrival signals.

Luke 8:32

A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission — the pigs on the hillside in Gentile territory are the preferred alternative to the abyss. The demons' begging for permission and Jesus' granting of it communicates Jesus' complete control of the encounter — the demons are reduced to supplicants.

Luke 8:33

When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned — the herd's rush into the lake and drowning immediately follows the possession — the demons get their request and immediately lose what they entered. The lake that the storm nearly used to drown the disciples has now drowned two thousand pigs.

Luke 8:34

When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside — the herdsmen's report spreads the news before the townspeople arrive. The running off communicates the immediate alarm — the loss of the herd and the circumstances of its loss are more than the herdsmen can process.

Luke 8:35

And the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus's feet, dressed and in his mind; and they were afraid — the transformation of the man is complete and visible: sitting (calm), at Jesus' feet (in the disciple's posture), dressed (restored to human dignity), in his right mind (sanity returned). They were afraid: the fear is the theophanic response — the presence of divine power producing terror.

Luke 8:36

Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured — the eyewitness report establishes that the transformation is not imagination but the documented result of a specific event. The how communicates the causal account: the demonic possession was addressed by Jesus and the man was cured.

Luke 8:37

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left — the community's request for Jesus to leave echoes the Nazareth rejection. Overcome with fear (phobō megalō synechonto, gripped by great fear): the fear is not hostility but terror — they cannot manage the presence of someone who does what Jesus has just done. He got into the boat and left: Jesus honors the request without argument.

Luke 8:38

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying — the liberated man's desire to follow echoes the disciples' calls: he wants to remain with the one who has transformed his life. Jesus sends him back — not rejection but commissioning. The man who was excluded from community becomes the missionary to his own community.

Luke 8:39

Return home and tell how much God has done for you. So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him — the commission (tell how much God has done for you) is fulfilled with the detail that he told how much Jesus had done — the narrator's identification of God's action with Jesus' action is the Christological point. All over town: the geographic scope of his testimony expands throughout the entire town.

Luke 8:42

Because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him — his only daughter (thygater monogenēs autō, only-begotten daughter) who is about twelve and dying — the detail of being the only child intensifies the urgency and the father's grief. The crowds almost crushing Jesus communicates the logistical challenge of the journey — the same crowd that provides the context for the next healing.

Luke 8:43

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her — the woman who has bled for twelve years (the same age as Jairus's daughter) cannot be healed by anyone. Luke the physician omits the detail about suffering under many doctors and growing worse (Mark 5:26) — perhaps professional courtesy.

Luke 8:44

She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped — the touching of the edge of his cloak (the tassel, the tzitzit that Orthodox Jewish men wore) is the minimum contact — the faith that Jesus' holiness can transfer through the garment. Immediately her bleeding stopped: the instantaneous healing at the moment of faith-contact.

Luke 8:45

Who touched me? Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, master, the crowds are pressing and jostling against you — the question who touched me in a crushing crowd is inexplicable from the disciples' perspective. Peter's response points to the physical impossibility of singling out one touch from the many. The master address is Luke's characteristic term.

Luke 8:46

But Jesus said, someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me — Jesus' awareness of the power going out distinguishes the intentional faith-contact from the accidental crowd-pressing. Power has gone out from me (exelēlythuian dynastin ap' emou): the present-perfect communicates the continuing effect — the power that went out has produced a healing that is still in effect.

Luke 8:47

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed — the woman's trembling coming forward and falling at his feet communicates the fear and the surrender to full disclosure. In the presence of all the people: the testimony is public — the healing that began in anonymity is completed in public confession.

Luke 8:48

Then he said to her, daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace — daughter is the intimate address — the same as in the sinful woman scene (7:50 in spirit). Your faith has healed you (hē pistis sou sesōken se, your faith has saved you — the same soteriological verb as 7:50). Go in peace: the shalom declaration sending her into the comprehensive wholeness of restored life.

Luke 8:49

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. Your daughter is dead, he said. Don't bother the teacher anymore — the interruption of the bleeding woman's healing has allowed time for the worst news to arrive: your daughter is dead. Don't bother the teacher anymore: the pragmatic advice of people who have not yet understood who Jesus is. Death terminates the need for a healer — or so they think.

Luke 8:50

Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed — the don't be afraid; just believe is the most direct faith-command in the healing narratives. Hearing the death report and giving the don't be afraid command in the same breath communicates Jesus' complete confidence in the face of death. She will be healed: the resurrection is described as healing — the same power that heals the sick will restore the dead.

Luke 8:51

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother — the inner three and the parents are the sole witnesses of the resurrection — the intimacy of the miracle requiring privacy. The Messianic Secret applies: the raising of the dead daughter is not a public spectacle but a private act of restoration.

Luke 8:52

Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. Stop wailing, Jesus said. She is not dead but asleep — the mourning is genuine and the professional mourners have already arrived. Stop wailing: Jesus' command to the mourners communicates certainty about the child's condition. She is not dead but asleep: the sleep-language communicates that what is death from the human perspective is temporary from Jesus' perspective — a sleep from which he will wake her.

Luke 8:53

They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead — the laughter at Jesus is the mourners' confident certainty against his claim. Knowing (eidotes) that she was dead: they have the evidence of the body; they mock the apparent naivety of the one who claims she is sleeping. The laughter is not malicious but incredulous — the response of people certain about death confronted with an absurd-seeming claim.

Luke 8:54

But he took her by the hand and said, my child, get up — the taking by the hand and the personal address (pais, child — tender, not clinical) are the most intimate elements of the resurrection scene. My child, get up (ēgeire): the command is simple, direct, spoken to the dead girl as though she could hear it — which she can.

Luke 8:55

Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat — her spirit returned (epestrepsen to pneuma autēs, her spirit came back): Luke's description of the resurrection as the return of the spirit communicates the completeness of the death and the completeness of the restoration. At once she stood up: immediately, completely. Give her something to eat: the tender domestic instruction — the girl who was dead is alive and hungry, and her physical needs are the first priority.

Luke 8:56

Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened — the astonishment of the parents is the appropriate response to the return of their daughter from death. The Messianic Secret command (not to tell anyone) is paradoxical — the girl will be publicly visible, alive. But the specific manner of the restoration is to be kept private: the raising of the dead, the word spoken, the hand taken — these are not for public circulation.