Book of Luke

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue.
He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me,
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’

In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon.
He cried out at the top of his voice,
‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’
‘Be quiet!’
‘Come out of him!’
Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

All the people were amazed and said to each other, ‘What words these are! With authority and power, he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!’ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Peter.
His mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.
He bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up at once and began to wait on them.

At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.
When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him,
‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
‘I am willing’.
‘Be clean!’
And immediately the leprosy left him.

Crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sickness.
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there.
And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal those who were sick.
Some men came carrying a paralysed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.
When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’
Which is easier: to say,
“Your sins are forgiven,” or to say,
“Get up and walk”?
“But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
Get up, take your mat and go home.”
Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.

Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.
They were filled with awe and said, ‘We have seen remarkable things today.’

On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching.
A man was there whose right hand was shrivelled.
Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand,
‘Get up and stand in front of everyone.’
He got up and stood there.

He looked round at them all, and then said to the man,
‘Stretch out your hand.’
He did so, and his hand was completely restored.

A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.
Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum.
There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.
The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.
When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him,
‘This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.’
So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: ‘Lord, say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.
I tell this one, “Go”, and he goes;
and that one, “Come”, and he comes.’
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him,
and turning to the crowd he said
‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.’
Then the men returned to the house and found the servant well.

Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.
As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
And a large crowd from the town was with her.
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’
Then he went up and touched the coffin.
‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’
The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

They were all filled with awe and praised God.
‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’
‘God has come to help his people.’

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.

‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard:
the blind receive sight,
the lame walk,
those who have leprosy are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.’

After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Joanna the wife of the manager of Herod’s household; and many others.
These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Then a man named Jairus came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.
She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
‘Who touched me?’
‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’
‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’
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.
‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus,
‘Your daughter is dead,’
‘Don’t bother the teacher anymore.’
Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus,
‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’
He took her by the hand and said, ‘My child, get up!’
Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.
Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
Her parents were astonished.

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal those who were sick.

They set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed,
and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.
A man in the crowd called out, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.’
‘Bring your son here.’
Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

‘When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.
Heal those there who are sick and tell them,
“The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

The seventy-two returned with joy and said,
‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’

‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
I have given you authority to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute.
When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.
She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.
When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her,
‘Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.’
Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
‘Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years,
be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?’

When he said this, the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee.
There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body.
Taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice,
‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’
When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’
And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.
‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’

‘Jesus, have mercy on me!’

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him.
‘What do you want me to do for you?’

‘Lord, I want to see.’
‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God.
When all the people saw it, they also praised God.