1When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2A man with a serious skin disease came and bowed down in front of him. The man said to Jesus, "Sir, if you're willing, you can make me clean." 3Jesus reached out, touched him, and said, "I'm willing. So be clean!" Immediately, his skin disease went away, and he was clean. 4Jesus said to him, "Don't tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean."

5When Jesus went to Capernaum, a Roman army officer came to beg him for help. 6The officer said, "Sir, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain." 7Jesus said to him, "I'll come to heal him." 8The officer responded, "Sir, I don't deserve to have you come into my house. But just give a command, and my servant will be healed. 9As you know, I'm in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, 'Go!' and he goes, and another, 'Come!' and he comes. I tell my servant, 'Do this!' and he does it." 10Jesus was amazed when he heard this. He said to those who were following him, "I can guarantee this truth: I haven't found faith as great as this in anyone in Israel. 11I can guarantee that many will come from all over the world. They will eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12The citizens of that kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there. 13Jesus told the officer, "Go! What you believed will be done for you." And at that moment the servant was healed.

14When Jesus went to Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law in bed with a fever. 15Jesus touched her hand, and the fever went away. So she got up and prepared a meal for him. 16In the evening the people brought him many who were possessed by demons. He forced the [evil] spirits out of people with a command and cured everyone who was sick. 17So what the prophet Isaiah had said came true: "He took away our weaknesses and removed our diseases."

18Now, when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he ordered [his disciples] to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 19A scribe came to him and said, "Teacher, I'll follow you wherever you go." 20Jesus told him, "Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep." 21Another disciple said to him, "Sir, first let me go to bury my father." 22But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

23Jesus' disciples went with him as he left in a boat. 24Suddenly, a severe storm came across the sea. The waves were covering the boat. Yet, Jesus was sleeping. 25So they woke him up, saying, "Lord! Save us! We're going to die!" 26Jesus said to them, "Why do you cowards have so little faith?" Then he got up, gave an order to the wind and the sea, and the sea became very calm. 27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!"

28When he arrived in the territory of the Gadarenes on the other side [of the Sea of Galilee], two men met him. They were possessed by demons and had come out of the tombs. No one could travel along that road because the men were so dangerous. 29They shouted, "Why are you bothering us now, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before it is time?" 30A large herd of pigs was feeding in the distance. 31The demons begged Jesus, "If you're going to force us out, send us into that herd of pigs." 32Jesus said to them, "Go!" The demons came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water. 33Those who took care of the pigs ran into the city. There they reported everything, especially about the men possessed by demons. 34Everyone from the city went to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.