Luke 8: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

Luke 8 opens with the women who traveled with Jesus and paid for the work out of their own means, then gives the parable of the sower and Jesus' explanation of it, along with short sayings about the lamp, hidden things, and how to listen. Jesus says his mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and do it. He then calms a windstorm on the lake, drives a legion of demons out of a man in the region of the Gadarenes into a herd of pigs, and returns across the lake. On the way to the house of Jairus, whose daughter is dying, a woman who had bled for twelve years is healed by touching his cloak; Jesus then raises the girl and tells her parents to tell no one.

Claim by Claim

1. 8:1
   • After this, Jesus traveled through every city and village.
   • He was preaching as he traveled.
   • He was proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
   • The twelve were with him.
2. 8:2
   • Certain women were also with him.
   • These women had been healed of evil spirits and of infirmities.
   • Mary called Magdalene was one of them.
   • Seven demons had gone out of Mary Magdalene.
3. 8:3
   • Joanna was one of the women.
   • Joanna was the wife of Chuza.
   • Chuza was Herod's steward.
   • Susanna was one of the women.
   • Many other women were also there.
   • These women provided for him out of their own possessions.
4. 8:4
   • A large crowd gathered.
   • People came to him out of every city.
   • He spoke to them by a parable.
5. 8:5
   • A sower went out to sow his seed.
   • As he sowed, some seed fell beside the path.
   • That seed was trampled underfoot.
   • The birds of the sky devoured that seed.
6. 8:6
   • Some seed fell on rock.
   • That seed sprang up.
   • It withered away.
   • It withered because it had no moisture.
7. 8:7
   • Some seed fell among thorns.
   • The thorns grew up together with it.
   • The thorns choked it.
8. 8:8
   • Other seed fell on good ground.
   • That seed sprang up.
   • It produced fruit a hundredfold.
   • When he had said these things, he called out.
   • He said that whoever has ears to hear should hear.
9. 8:9
   • His disciples asked him what this parable might mean.
10. 8:10
    • He said that to them it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
    • He said that to the rest it is given in parables.
    • He said the purpose is that seeing they may not see.
    • He said the purpose is that hearing they may not understand.
11. 8:11
    • He said this is the meaning of the parable.
    • He said the seed is the word of God.
12. 8:12
    • He said those beside the path are the ones who hear.
    • He said the devil then comes.
    • He said the devil takes the word away out of their hearts.
    • He said this is so that they may not believe and be saved.
13. 8:13
    • He said those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy.
    • He said these have no root.
    • He said they believe for a while.
    • He said in a time of testing they fall away.
14. 8:14
    • He said the seed that fell among the thorns is the ones who have heard.
    • He said that as they go on their way they are choked by cares.
    • He said they are choked by riches.
    • He said they are choked by the pleasures of this life.
    • He said they bring no fruit to maturity.
15. 8:15
    • He said the seed on the good ground is the ones who hear the word with an honest and good heart.
    • He said they hold fast to the word.
    • He said they bear fruit with endurance.
16. 8:16
    • No one who lights a lamp covers it with a vessel.
    • No one who lights a lamp puts it under a bed.
    • He sets it on a lampstand instead.
    • He does this so that those who come in may see the light.
17. 8:17
    • Nothing is secret that will not be made manifest.
    • Nothing is hidden that will not be known and come out into the open.
18. 8:18
    • He told them to take heed how they hear.
    • He said that to whoever has, more will be given.
    • He said that from whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken away.
19. 8:19
    • His mother and his brothers came to him.
    • They could not reach him because of the crowd.
20. 8:20
    • He was told that his mother and his brothers were standing outside.
    • He was told that they wanted to see him.
21. 8:21
    • He answered them.
    • He said his mother and his brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.
22. 8:22
    • On a certain day he got into a boat with his disciples.
    • He told them to cross over to the other side of the lake.
    • They set out.
23. 8:23
    • As they sailed, he fell asleep.
    • A windstorm came down on the lake.
    • The boat was filling with water.
    • They were in danger.
24. 8:24
    • They came to him and woke him.
    • They called him Master twice and said they were perishing.
    • He got up.
    • He rebuked the wind.
    • He rebuked the raging of the water.
    • The wind and water ceased.
    • There was a calm.
25. 8:25
    • He asked them where their faith was.
    • They were afraid.
    • They marveled.
    • They said to one another, asking what manner of man this is.
    • They said he commands even the winds and the water.
    • They said the winds and the water obey him.
26. 8:26
    • They landed in the country of the Gadarenes.
    • That country lies opposite Galilee.
27. 8:27
    • He went out onto the land.
    • A certain man from the city met him.
    • The man had demons.
    • For a long time the man had worn no clothes.
    • The man did not live in a house.
    • The man lived among the tombs.
28. 8:28
    • When the man saw Jesus, he cried out.
    • He fell down before Jesus.
    • He said with a loud voice, asking what he had to do with Jesus.
    • He called Jesus the Son of God Most High.
    • He begged Jesus not to torment him.
29. 8:29
    • Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.
    • The spirit had seized the man many times.
    • The man was kept bound with chains and fetters.
    • The man broke the bonds.
    • The man was driven by the demon into desolate places.
30. 8:30
    • Jesus asked him what his name was.
    • He said his name was Legion.
    • He said this because many demons had entered into him.
31. 8:31
    • They begged Jesus not to order them to go away into the abyss.
32. 8:32
    • A herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.
    • The demons begged Jesus to permit them to enter the swine.
    • Jesus permitted them.
33. 8:33
    • The demons went out of the man.
    • The demons entered into the swine.
    • The herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake.
    • The herd was drowned.
34. 8:34
    • Those who fed the swine saw what had happened.
    • They fled.
    • They reported it in the city.
    • They reported it in the countryside.
35. 8:35
    • People went out to see what had happened.
    • They came to Jesus.
    • They found the man out of whom the demons had gone sitting at Jesus' feet.
    • The man was clothed.
    • The man was in his right mind.
    • They were afraid.
36. 8:36
    • Those who had seen it reported to them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
37. 8:37
    • The whole multitude of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from them.
    • They asked this because they were gripped with great fear.
    • Jesus got into the boat.
    • Jesus returned.
38. 8:38
    • The man out of whom the demons had gone begged to be with him.
    • Jesus sent the man away.
    • Jesus spoke to him as he sent him away.
39. 8:39
    • Jesus told him to return to his own house.
    • Jesus told him to relate how much God had done for him.
    • The man went away.
    • The man proclaimed throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
40. 8:40
    • When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him gladly.
    • They had all been waiting for him.
41. 8:41
    • A man named Jairus came.
    • Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue.
    • He fell down at Jesus' feet.
    • He begged Jesus to come into his house.
42. 8:42
    • He had an only daughter.
    • She was about twelve years old.
    • She was dying.
    • As Jesus went, the crowds pressed hard against him.
43. 8:43
    • A woman had a flow of blood for twelve years.
    • She had spent all her living on physicians.
    • She could not be healed by anyone.
44. 8:44
    • She came up behind him.
    • She touched the border of his garment.
    • Immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45. 8:45
    • Jesus asked who touched him.
    • All denied it.
    • Peter and those with him said the multitude was crowding and pressing him.
    • Peter and those with him questioned his asking who touched him.
46. 8:46
    • Jesus said someone had touched him.
    • Jesus said he knew that power had gone out from him.
47. 8:47
    • The woman saw that she was not hidden.
    • She came trembling.
    • She fell down before him.
    • She declared before all the people the reason she had touched him.
    • She declared how she had been healed immediately.
48. 8:48
    • He called her daughter.
    • He told her to be of good comfort.
    • He said her faith had made her whole.
    • He told her to go in peace.
49. 8:49
    • While he was still speaking, someone came from the house of the ruler of the synagogue.
    • The messenger said his daughter was dead.
    • The messenger said not to trouble the Teacher any longer.
50. 8:50
    • Jesus heard it.
    • Jesus answered him.
    • Jesus told him not to fear.
    • Jesus told him only to believe.
    • Jesus said she would be made whole.
51. 8:51
    • He came into the house.
    • He allowed no one to go in with him except Peter, James, John, and the girl's father and mother.
52. 8:52
    • All were weeping and mourning for her.
    • He told them not to weep.
    • He said she was not dead but sleeping.
53. 8:53
    • They laughed him to scorn.
    • They knew that she was dead.
54. 8:54
    • He put them all outside.
    • He took her by the hand.
    • He called out, telling the girl to arise.
55. 8:55
    • Her spirit returned.
    • She got up immediately.
    • He commanded that she be given something to eat.
56. 8:56
    • Her parents were astonished.
    • He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

8:1

"The kingdom of God" renders a phrase meaning God's rule or reign as king, an active exercise of authority, rather than a territory with borders. "The twelve" is Luke's shorthand for the twelve men Jesus had chosen as his closest followers, listed in chapter 6.

8:2

Where the King James says "devils" here and through the rest of the chapter, the Greek word is daimonion, a lesser spirit. It is a different word from the one translated "the devil" in verse 12. Magdalene is not a family name but a place name: she came from Magdala, a town on the western shore of the lake.

8:3

A "steward" was the manager of a great household and its money, a post of real rank. This Herod is Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee under Rome, so Joanna came from the ruler's own court. "Of their substance" uses "substance" in its older sense of property and wealth.

8:4

A parable is a comparison drawn from ordinary life and told to make a point. The Greek word covers everything from a one line proverb to an extended story like this one.

8:5

Seed was scattered by hand across the whole field and often plowed in afterward, so some of it inevitably landed on the footpaths that ran through and between fields, where the ground was beaten hard by traffic.

8:6

Much of Galilee has a shelf of limestone lying just under a thin skin of soil. Seed there sprouts quickly because shallow ground warms fast, but the roots cannot reach down to water.

8:7

Thorn bushes cut back at the surface leave living roots below, which send up new growth alongside the sown crop and take the light and water.

8:8

A hundred times the seed sown is an extraordinary return. Ordinary yields in this farming were a few times the seed, so the figure marks the harvest as far beyond what a farmer would expect.

8:10

"Mysteries" does not mean puzzles. The Greek word means something previously hidden that is now being disclosed, and disclosed to a particular group. The words "seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand" quote Isaiah 6:9, spoken when Isaiah was sent to a people who would not listen.

8:12

The devil is an evil spirit who works against God.

8:13

"Temptation" in the King James covers any kind of testing or trial, including hardship and pressure from outside, not only enticement to do wrong.

8:14

"Bring no fruit to perfection" uses "perfection" in its older sense of completion or ripening. The plants grow, but the grain never fills out and there is nothing to harvest.

8:15

"Patience" in 1611 meant steady endurance under pressure over a long stretch of time, not an even temper.

8:16

There are no candles in this scene. The King James "candle" and "candlestick" stand for a small clay oil lamp, which burned olive oil through a wick, and the stand it was set on. One lamp gave about as much light as a single flame, so where it sat in a one room house mattered.

8:19

"Brethren" simply means brothers. Whether these were later sons of Mary, sons of Joseph from an earlier marriage, or more distant kin has been argued since ancient times, and the Greek word by itself does not settle it. "The press" means the crush of the crowd.

8:22

The "lake" is the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake roughly thirteen miles long and seven across, lying about seven hundred feet below sea level. Several of the disciples had made their living fishing on it.

8:23

Cold air funneling down the ravines onto the warm surface of a lake set that far below sea level produces violent squalls with very little warning. The boats were open, and swamping was a real danger.

8:24

"Master" here translates a word meaning commander or the person in charge, not teacher. Luke uses it when the disciples want Jesus to act. A different word, meaning teacher, appears in verse 49.

8:26

The manuscripts differ between Gadarenes, Gerasenes and Gergesenes, and modern translations divide accordingly. Gadara and Gerasa were both cities in the largely non Jewish territory east of the lake. "Over against" means opposite, on the far shore.

8:27

Tombs in this region were commonly caves or chambers cut into rock, big enough to shelter in. For a Jew, contact with a tomb or a corpse made a person ritually unclean, so a man living among them was cut off from ordinary community life altogether.

8:28

"What have I to do with thee" is a fixed idiom in Hebrew and Greek, found several times in the Old Testament. It means roughly "what business is there between you and me?" and it is a demand to be left alone. "God most high" renders a title for God used widely by non Jews as well as Jews.

8:29

"Fetters" are shackles for the ankles, as the chains here are for the wrists. "Driven of the devil" uses "of" in its older sense of "by."

8:30

A legion was the largest unit of the Roman army, nominally five to six thousand soldiers. The answer gives both a number and the picture of an occupying force.

8:31

"The deep" translates abyssos, the abyss: a bottomless place, used in Jewish writing of this period for the place where rebellious spirits are confined.

8:32

Pigs were unclean animals under Jewish law and were not raised by observant Jews, so a herd this size fits the largely non Jewish population on the eastern side of the lake.

8:33

A herd that big was worth a lot of money. Losing it was a big loss for the town.

8:35

To sit "at the feet" of someone was the ordinary posture of a student listening to a teacher.

8:39

"Publish" in 1611 English simply meant to announce something openly in public. It has nothing to do with books or printing.

8:41

A "ruler of the synagogue" was the lay official who ran the local assembly: arranging who read and taught at the services, looking after the building, keeping order. It was a position of standing in the town, not a priesthood.

8:42

The Greek says she was his only child. Twelve was close to the age at which a girl could be betrothed.

8:43

Continuous bleeding of this kind made a woman ritually unclean under the law in Leviticus 15, and whatever and whoever she touched became unclean as well. Twelve years of that meant twelve years shut out of normal contact, which is why she approaches from behind and says nothing. "Spent all her living" means she had spent everything she had to live on.

8:44

The "border" of the garment is the tassel at the corner of a man's outer cloak. Israelite men were told in Numbers 15 to wear such tassels on the four corners of their clothing as a reminder of God's commands. "Stanched" simply means stopped.

8:46

"Virtue" in 1611 meant power or effective force, not moral goodness. The sentence says that power had gone out of him.

8:48

"Made thee whole" translates a verb that means both to heal and to rescue or save, and the same word carries both senses elsewhere in this chapter.

8:49

This "Master" is a different Greek word from the one in verse 24. Here it means teacher.

8:51

"Suffered no man" means allowed no one. "Suffer" in the King James regularly means permit, as it does in verse 32. "Maiden" means girl.

8:52

Mourning in this culture began the moment death occurred and was loud and public: wailing, beating the breast, and often people who came in specifically to lead the lament. The noise in the house is part of why the crowd is certain the girl is dead.

8:53

"Laughed him to scorn" is older English for ridiculed him, laughed him down.

8:54

"Maid" in the King James just means a girl.

8:55

"Meat" in the King James means food of any kind, not flesh in particular.