Bible Reading Plan – Day 291

₃₆A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him, and Jesus went to his house and sat down to eat. ₃₇In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee's house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume ₃₈and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them. ₃₉When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!”

₄₀Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Teacher,” he said, “tell me.”

₄₁“There were two men who owed money to a moneylender,” Jesus began. “One owed him 500 silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. ₄₂Neither of them could pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?”

₄₃“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are right,” said Jesus. ₄₄Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ₄₅You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. ₄₆You provided no olive oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. ₄₇I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”

₄₈Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

₄₉The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

₅₀But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

₁Some time later Jesus travelled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him, ₂and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had been driven out; ₃Joanna, whose husband Chuza was an officer in Herod's court; and Susanna, and many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.

₄People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable:

₅“Once there was a man who went out to sow corn. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up. ₆Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture. ₇Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up with the plants and choked them. ₈And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and produced corn, a hundred each.”

And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

₉His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant, ₁₀and he answered, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.

₁₁“This is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. ₁₂The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved. ₁₃The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away. ₁₄The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens. ₁₅The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.

₁₆“People do not light a lamp and cover it with a bowl or put it under a bed. Instead, they put it on the lampstand, so that people will see the light as they come in.

₁₇“Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be found and brought to light.

₁₈“Be careful, then, how you listen; because those who have something will be given more, but those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they think they have.”

₁₉Jesus' mother and brothers came to him, but were unable to join him because of the crowd. ₂₀Someone said to Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

₂₁Jesus said to them all, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

₂₂One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they started out. ₂₃As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on the lake, and the boat began to fill with water, so that they were all in great danger. ₂₄The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up, saying, “Master, Master! We are about to die!”

Jesus got up and gave an order to the wind and the stormy water; they died down, and there was a great calm. ₂₅Then he said to the disciples, “Where is your faith?”

But they were amazed and afraid, and said to one another, “Who is this man? He gives orders to the winds and waves, and they obey him!”

₂₆Jesus and his disciples sailed on over to the territory of Gerasa, which is across the lake from Galilee. ₂₇As Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a man from the town who had demons in him. For a long time this man had gone without clothes and would not stay at home, but spent his time in the burial caves. ₂₈When he saw Jesus, he gave a loud cry, threw himself down at his feet, and shouted, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't punish me!” ₂₉He said this because Jesus had ordered the evil spirit to go out of him. Many times it had seized him, and even though he was kept a prisoner, his hands and feet fastened with chains, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon out into the desert.

₃₀Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is ‘Mob’,” he answered — because many demons had gone into him. ₃₁The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss.

₃₂There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he let them. ₃₃They went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

₃₄The men who had been taking care of the pigs saw what happened, so they ran off and spread the news in the town and among the farms. ₃₅People went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid. ₃₆Those who had seen it told the people how the man had been cured. ₃₇Then all the people from that territory asked Jesus to go away, because they were terribly afraid. So Jesus got into the boat and left. ₃₈The man from whom the demons had gone out begged Jesus, “Let me go with you.”

But Jesus sent him away, saying, ₃₉“Go back home and tell what God has done for you.”

The man went through the town, telling what Jesus had done for him.

₄₀When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake, the people welcomed him, because they had all been waiting for him. ₄₁Then a man named Jairus arrived; he was an official in the local synagogue. He threw himself down at Jesus' feet and begged him to go to his home, ₄₂because his only daughter, who was twelve years old, was dying.

As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every side. ₄₃Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her. ₄₄She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once. ₄₅Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”

Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, the people are all round you and crowding in on you.”

₄₆But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me.” ₄₇The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus' feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once. ₄₈Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

₄₉While Jesus was saying this, a messenger came from the official's house. “Your daughter has died,” he told Jairus; “don't bother the Teacher any longer.”

₅₀But Jesus heard it and said to Jairus, “Don't be afraid; only believe, and she will be well.”

₅₁When he arrived at the house, he would not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother. ₅₂Everyone there was crying and mourning for the child. Jesus said, “Don't cry; the child is not dead — she is only sleeping!”

₅₃They all laughed at him, because they knew that she was dead. ₅₄But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, “Get up, my child!” ₅₅Her life returned, and she got up at once, and Jesus ordered them to give her something to eat. ₅₆Her parents were astounded, but Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened.