Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac
And he went over the whole region of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
So he called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
So they went out and preached that people should repent. They cast out many demons, anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. And King Herod heard about him, for his name had become famous. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” Others were saying, “He is Elijah.” Still others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets.” But when Herod heard about it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead.” For Herod had sent and seized John and bound him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And although he wanted to put him to death, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded him as a prophet.
When Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here John the Baptist’s head on a platter.” And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered it to be given, and he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
When Jesus heard it, he withdrew from there by boat to a remote place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. And he went out and saw a great crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it is now late. Send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to me.” And he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. And he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowds. And he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on land. And he saw them struggling with the waves, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he was about to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were troubled. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” And he wanted to get into the boat with them, and immediately the boat reached the land to which they were going.
Now when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him, and they ran through that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he entered, into villages, or towns, or country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak. And as many as touched it were made well.