"Christ Follower"
Matthew 8 (NASB)
1 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.2 And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.3 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.4 And Jesus said to him, See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him,6 and saying, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.7 Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him.8 But the centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, Go! and he goes, and to another, Come! and he comes, and to my slave, Do this! and he does it.10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.13 And Jesus said to the centurion, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed. And the servant was healed that very moment.14 When Jesus came into Peters home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.20 Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.21 Another of the disciples said to Him, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.22 But Jesus said to him, Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, Save us, Lord; we are perishing!26 He said to them, Why are you afraid, you men of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.27 The men were amazed, and said, What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?28 When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.29 And they cried out, saying, What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?30 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.31 The demons began to entreat Him, saying, If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.32 And He said to them, Go! And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.33 The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.
Mark 4 (NASB)
1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,3 Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.6 And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.9 And He was saying, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.10 As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.11 And He was saying to them, To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,12 so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.13 And He said to them, Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?14 The sower sows the word.15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.16 In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.18 And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.20 And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.21 And He was saying to them, A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.24 And He was saying to them, Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.26 And He was saying, The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know.28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.29 But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.30 And He said, How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE.33 With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;34 and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.35 On that day, when evening came, He said to them, Let us go over to the other side.36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush, be still. And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.40 And He said to them, Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?
1 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.2 And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.3 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.4 And Jesus said to him, See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him,6 and saying, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.7 Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him.8 But the centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, Go! and he goes, and to another, Come! and he comes, and to my slave, Do this! and he does it.10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.13 And Jesus said to the centurion, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed. And the servant was healed that very moment.14 When Jesus came into Peters home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.20 Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.21 Another of the disciples said to Him, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.22 But Jesus said to him, Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, Save us, Lord; we are perishing!26 He said to them, Why are you afraid, you men of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.27 The men were amazed, and said, What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?28 When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.29 And they cried out, saying, What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?30 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.31 The demons began to entreat Him, saying, If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.32 And He said to them, Go! And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.33 The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.
Mark 4 (NASB)
1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,3 Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.6 And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.9 And He was saying, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.10 As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.11 And He was saying to them, To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,12 so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.13 And He said to them, Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?14 The sower sows the word.15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.16 In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.18 And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.20 And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.21 And He was saying to them, A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.24 And He was saying to them, Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.26 And He was saying, The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know.28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.29 But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.30 And He said, How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE.33 With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;34 and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.35 On that day, when evening came, He said to them, Let us go over to the other side.36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush, be still. And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.40 And He said to them, Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?