Lucas 8

BLIVRE · Chapter 8/24

1E aconteceu depois disso, que [Jesus] andava de cidade em cidade, e de aldeia em aldeia, pregando e anunciando o evangelho do reino de Deus; e com ele os doze,

2e algumas mulheres que haviam sido curadas de espíritos malignos e de enfermidades: Maria, chamada Madalena, da qual saíram sete demônios;

3e Joana, a mulher de Cuza, mordomo de Herodes; e Susana, e muitas outras, que o serviam com seus bens.

4E quando se ajuntou uma multidão, e vindo a ele de todas as cidades, disse por parábola:

5Saiu um semeador a semear sua semente; e quando semeava, caiu uma [parte] junto ao caminho, e foi pisada, e as aves do céu a comeram.

6E outra [parte] caiu sobre a pedra; e nascida, secou-se, porque não tinha umidade.

7E outra [parte] caiu entre espinhos, e nascendo com ela, os espinhos a sufocaram.

8E outra [parte] caiu em boa terra, e nascida, produziu fruto a cem por um. Depois que disse coisas, exclamava: Quem tem ouvidos para ouvir, ouça.

9E os seus discípulos lhe perguntaram: Que parábola é esta?

10Ele disse: A vós é dado conhecer os mistérios do reino de Deus; mas aos outros por parábolas, para que vendo, não vejam; e ouvindo, não entendam.

11Esta é, pois, a parábola: a semente é a palavra de Deus.

12Os que estão junto ao caminho são os que ouvem; depois vem o diabo, e tira-lhes do coração a palavra, para que não creiam nem se salvem.

13E os que estão sobre a pedra são os que, quando ouvem, recebem a palavra com alegria, mas esses não têm raiz, pois creem por algum tempo, mas no tempo da tentação se desviam.

14E o que caiu entre espinhos são os que ouviram, e indo, sufocam-se com as preocupações, e riquezas, e prazeres da vida, e não produzem bom fruto.

15E o que caiu em boa terra, estes são os que, ouvindo a palavra, conservam-na num coração honesto e bom, e dão fruto que permanece.

16E ninguém, quando acende uma lâmpada, cobre-a com algum vaso, ou a põe debaixo da cama; em vez disso põe na luminária, para que os que entram vejam a luz.

17Porque não há coisa oculta que não venha a se manifestar; nem coisa escondida que não venha a ser conhecida, e chegada à luz.

18Portanto, prestai atenção a como ouvis; pois àquele que tiver lhe será dado; e àquele que não tiver, até o que lhe parece ter, dele será tirado.

19E vieram a ele sua mãe e seus irmãos, mas não conseguiam chegar a ele por causa da multidão.

20E foi-lhe anunciado, dizendo: “Tua mãe e teus irmãos estão fora, e querem te ver”.

21Porém, ele lhes respondeu: “Minha mãe e meus irmãos são aqueles que ouvem a palavra de Deus e a praticam”.

22E aconteceu, num daqueles dias, que [Jesus] entrou em um barco com seus discípulos, e disse-lhes: “Passemos para o outro lado do lago”. E partiram.

23E enquanto navegavam, [Jesus] adormeceu; então desceu uma tempestade de vento no lago, e enchiam-se [de água] , e estavam em perigo.

24Então se aproximaram dele e o despertaram, dizendo: “Mestre, Mestre, estamos perecendo!” E ele se levantou, repreendeu o vento e as ondas da água; e pararam, e fez-se bonança.

25E disse-lhes: “Onde está a vossa fé?” Mas eles, temendo, admiravam-se, e diziam uns aos outros: “Quem é este, que manda até aos ventos, e à água, e lhe obedecem?”

26E navegaram para a terra dos gadarenos, que é do lado oposto à Galileia.

27E quando ele desceu à terra, veio da cidade ao seu encontro um homem, que havia muito tempo que tinha demônios, e não andava vestido, nem habitava em casa nenhuma, mas sim, nos sepulcros.

28Ele viu Jesus, então exclamou, prostrou-se diante dele, e disse com grande voz: “O que eu tenho contigo, Jesus, Filho do Deus Altíssimo? Rogo-te que não me atormentes.”

29Porque ele havia mandado ao espírito imundo que saísse daquele homem; pois muitas vezes apoderava-se dele. E o mantinham preso com cadeias e grilhões; porém ele quebrava o que lhe prendia, e era conduzido pelo demônio aos desertos.

30E Jesus lhe perguntou: “Qual é teu nome?” E ele disse: “Legião” (porque muitos demônios tinham entrado nele).

31E rogavam-lhe que não os mandasse ir para o abismo.

32E havia ali uma manada de muitos porcos, que pastavam no monte; e rogaram-lhe que lhes concedesse entrar neles; e ele lhes concedeu.

33Os demônios saíram daquele homem e entraram nos porcos; e a manada se lançou de um precipício no lago e se afogou.

34Quando os que cuidavam [dos porcos] viram o que havia acontecido, fugiram; então foram anunciar na cidade e nos campos.

35E saíram para ver o acontecido, e vieram até Jesus; e acharam ao homem de quem os demônios tinham saído, vestido e em pleno juízo, sentado aos pés de Jesus; e temeram.

36E os que tinham visto contaram-lhes também como aquele endemoninhado havia sido liberto.

37E toda o povo da terra dos gadarenos ao redor lhe rogou que se retirasse deles; porque foram tomados por grande temor. Então ele entrou no barco e voltou.

38E aquele homem, de quem os demônios tinham saído, rogou-lhe para que lhe permitisse estar com ele; mas Jesus o despediu, dizendo:

39“Volta para tua casa, e conta como foram grandes as coisas que Deus te fez”. Ele se foi, e pregou por toda a cidade, como foram grandes as coisas que Jesus lhe tinha feito.

40E aconteceu que, quando Jesus voltou, a multidão o recebeu; porque todos o estavam esperando.

41E eis que chegou um homem, cujo nome era Jairo, e era chefe da sinagoga. Então ele se prostrou aos pés de Jesus e rogou-lhe que entrasse em sua casa;

42porque tinha uma filha única, com doze anos de idade, que estava a ponto de morrer. E enquanto ele ia, as multidões o apertavam.

43E uma mulher que tinha um fluxo de sangue, havia doze anos, e já tinha gastado todos os seus pertences com médicos, e não pôde ser curada por nenhum.

44Ela se aproximou [de Jesus] por detrás, e tocou a borda de sua roupa; e logo o fluxo de seu sangue parou.

45E Jesus disse: “Quem me tocou?” Enquanto todos negavam, disse Pedro e os que com ele estavam: Mestre, as multidões te apertam e empurram, e dizes: Quem me tocou?

46Jesus disse: “Alguém me tocou, pois sei que poder saiu de mim”.

47Então a mulher, vendo que não podia se esconder, veio tremendo, prostrou-se diante dele, e declarou-lhe diante de todo o povo a causa por que o havia tocado, e como logo havia sarado.

48E ele lhe disse: “Tem bom ânimo, filha; a tua fé te sarou; vai em paz”.

49Estando ele ainda falando, veio um da [casa] do chefe da sinagoga, que lhe disse: “Tua filha já está morta, não incomodes o Mestre.”

50Porém quando Jesus o ouviu, respondeu-lhe: “Não temas; crê somente, e ela será curada”.

51E quando entrou na casa, a ninguém deixou entrar, a não ser a Pedro, Tiago, João, e ao pai e à mãe da menina.

52E todos choravam e lamentavam por ela; mas ele disse: “Não choreis; ela não está morta, mas dorme”.

53E riam dele, porque sabiam que estava morta.

54Porém ele, depois de expulsá-los todos, segurou a mão dela e clamou: “Levanta-te, menina”.

55Então seu espírito voltou, e ela logo se levantou; e [Jesus] mandou que dessem de comer a ela.

56E seus pais ficaram maravilhados, mas ele lhes mandou que a ninguém dissessem o que havia acontecido.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus teaches the parable of the sower and explains its meaning. He calms a storm, frees a demon-possessed man (Legion) in the region of the Gerasenes, heals a woman with a hemorrhage, and raises Jairus' daughter.

Explanation

The parable of the sower describes four types of response to God's word, depending on the condition of the heart — an invitation to sincere self-examination. The four miracles that follow (the storm, the demon-possessed man, the hemorrhage, death) progressively show Jesus' authority over nature, evil spirits, chronic illness, and death itself. The detail that women like Joanna and Susanna supported Jesus' ministry with their own resources (v.2-3) is remarkable for the time. The practical application is to examine what kind of 'soil' our heart is offering to the Word.

Fun facts

  • The name 'Legion' that the spirit gives itself (v.30) referred to a unit of the Roman army made up of about 6,000 soldiers, a dramatic way of indicating the multitude of spirits afflicting the man.
  • Touching the edge of Jesus' cloak (v.44) carried religious meaning: the tassels (tzitzit) prescribed in Numbers 15:38-39 were meant to recall God's commandments, and the woman was likely reaching for that symbol of faith.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Lucas 8:1This summary shows the shape of Jesus’s ministry at this stage: traveling from town to town and village to village, always accompanied by the twelve.
  2. Lucas 8:2Mary Magdalene is mentioned here as someone healed of seven demons — the text does not identify her with the sinful woman of the previous chapter; that link only arose much later in tradition, with no basis in the Gospel itself.
  3. Lucas 8:3Women covering the expenses of an itinerant group of preachers out of their own pocket was unusual for the time — most did not have the resources for it, let alone the freedom to travel with a teacher. Luke is the only Gospel that records this detail, naming and highlighting these women.
  4. Lucas 8:4Facing a crowd gathered from several towns, Jesus begins teaching in parables — a method He Himself explains to the disciples shortly afterward.
  5. Lucas 8:5The seed that falls along the path, ground that is trampled and exposed, is eaten by the birds before it can even sprout.
  6. Lucas 8:6The seed on the rock sprouts but quickly withers for lack of depth and moisture in the soil — it grows without ever putting down a real root.
  7. Lucas 8:7The seed among thorns comes up together with them, but ends up choked by the stronger growth of the competing plants.
  8. Lucas 8:8Only the seed in good soil produces a hundred times what was sown, a yield well above normal — and Jesus closes by calling for the attention of anyone truly willing to listen.
  9. Lucas 8:9The disciples, not understanding the meaning of the story, ask directly what it means.
  10. Lucas 8:10Jesus explains that the disciples are given the direct explanation of the mysteries of the kingdom, while for others He uses parables — a reference to Isaiah 6, about people who see and hear without truly understanding.
  11. Lucas 8:11Here comes the key to interpreting the parable: the seed represents the word of God.
  12. Lucas 8:12Those along the path represent people who receive the message, but the devil takes it from their heart before it can produce faith and salvation — an immediate interference, right after they hear it.
  13. Lucas 8:13Those on the rock receive the word with joy but without root — their faith lasts only until a real difficulty arrives, and then they fall away.
  14. Lucas 8:14Those among the thorns hear, but over time let themselves be choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of life, never maturing enough to bear fruit.
  15. Lucas 8:15The good soil represents those who hear the word and keep it with an honest heart, producing fruit gradually, with perseverance — unlike the other three reactions, whose failure comes more quickly.
  16. Lucas 8:16The image of the lamp set out in view, and not hidden under a jar or a bed, connects directly to the disciples’ role: they received the explanation of the parable so they could later make it visible to others.
  17. Lucas 8:17This statement warns that nothing will stay hidden forever — the teaching given privately to the disciples will, in time, become public.
  18. Lucas 8:18The warning “take heed therefore how ye hear” calls for genuine attention: whoever already has something will be given more, and whoever does not truly have it will lose even the little they seemed to have.
  19. Lucas 8:19Jesus’s mother and brothers try to reach Him, but the crowd is too large for them to get close.
  20. Lucas 8:20Someone tells Jesus that His family is waiting outside, wanting to see Him.
  21. Lucas 8:21Jesus redefines family in spiritual terms: whoever hears the word of God and puts it into practice is, to Him, as close as mother and brothers — without rejecting His own biological family, He broadens the standard for true kinship.
  22. Lucas 8:22Jesus gets into a boat with the disciples, suggesting they cross to the other side of the lake — the start of the episode of the calmed storm.
  23. Lucas 8:23While they sail, Jesus falls asleep, and a storm arises strong enough to fill the boat with water — His sleep shows real physical exhaustion, not indifference.
  24. Lucas 8:24Woken by the panicked disciples, Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, and everything calms down at once — the same kind of direct authority He had already shown over diseases and spirits.
  25. Lucas 8:25The disciples’ question — “What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him” — is rhetorical: according to the psalms, only God had that kind of dominion over nature.
  26. Lucas 8:26The country of the Gadarenes lay on the other side of the lake, in mostly Gentile territory — which explains the presence of a herd of pigs further on, something that would not exist in a Jewish region.
  27. Lucas 8:27Living among the tombs made this man ritually unclean through contact with the dead, on top of already being feared for the violence the spirits caused in him — he was excluded from the town in practically every possible sense. No one there saw him as someone who could be recovered.
  28. Lucas 8:28The demon-possessed man recognizes Jesus as “Son of God most high” — one more case in which unclean spirits show they know exactly who Jesus is.
  29. Lucas 8:29The text explains the severity of the man’s history: he had already been bound many times with chains and shackles, but he always broke them, being driven by the demon into the wilderness.
  30. Lucas 8:30“Legion” was a Roman military term for a huge unit of thousands of soldiers — using that word here is a way of saying there were very many spirits, not just one. For listeners in that Rome-occupied region, the word also carried an ironic echo of the very military power that oppressed them.
  31. Lucas 8:31The demons beg not to be sent into the abyss, a place of confinement reserved for evil spirits in the Jewish thinking of the time, different from simple destruction.
  32. Lucas 8:32The herd of pigs feeding there only makes sense in Gentile territory, since Jews did not raise these animals, considered unclean by the law.
  33. Lucas 8:33When they come out of the man and enter the pigs, the demons drive the whole herd to drown in the lake — a visible, dramatic proof that the expulsion really happened.
  34. Lucas 8:34Those who tended the pigs flee and spread the news through the town and the countryside.
  35. Lucas 8:35The contrast is striking: the man who used to live naked and out of control is now clothed, in his right mind, sitting at Jesus’s feet like a disciple — and this fills those who see it with fear.
  36. Lucas 8:36The witnesses tell the others exactly how that man was healed.
  37. Lucas 8:37Instead of celebrating the miracle, the whole population of the region asks Jesus to leave, gripped by fear — perhaps also by the loss of the herd.
  38. Lucas 8:38The healed man asks to go with Jesus, but Jesus sends him back home.
  39. Lucas 8:39Unlike other cases where Jesus asks for silence, here He tells the man to declare everything God has done for him — a Gentile becomes the first to publicly announce this miracle in his own region.
  40. Lucas 8:40Back on the Jewish side of the lake, Jesus is warmly received by a crowd that was already waiting for Him — a direct contrast with the Gadarenes’ rejection.
  41. Lucas 8:41Jairus was a synagogue ruler, a position of religious respect, and even so he falls publicly at Jesus’s feet, pleading for his daughter.
  42. Lucas 8:42Jairus’s only daughter, nearly twelve years old, is at the point of death — the crowd presses in on Jesus as He makes His way to her house.
  43. Lucas 8:43The woman who had suffered bleeding for twelve years had already spent everything she had on physicians without finding a cure — the same number twelve links this story to the age of Jairus’s daughter, whose case is happening at the same time.
  44. Lucas 8:44This continuous bleeding had made the woman ritually unclean for twelve years, meaning that anyone she touched would also become unclean — so she approaches from behind, unseen, and touches only the edge of His garment. This edge, called the hem, was the fringe the law required Jewish men to wear on their clothing; touching it, even lightly, was a calculated act of faith meant to go unnoticed.
  45. Lucas 8:45Faced with Jesus’s question about who touched Him, everyone denies it, and Peter points out that the whole crowd is pressing in on Jesus from every side — it seems like an impossible question to answer.
  46. Lucas 8:46Jesus insists that someone touched Him on purpose, because He felt power going out from Him — distinguishing an intentional touch of faith from the crowd’s ordinary jostling.
  47. Lucas 8:47Seeing that she can no longer hide, the woman approaches trembling and publicly declares, in front of everyone, why she touched Him and how she was healed — a courageous public confession, given the shame tied to her condition.
  48. Lucas 8:48Jesus calls her “Daughter” and confirms that it was her faith that healed her, sending her away in peace.
  49. Lucas 8:49While Jesus is still speaking with the woman, news arrives that Jairus’s daughter has already died, and they suggest not troubling the Teacher any further — it seems help has come too late.
  50. Lucas 8:50Jesus ignores that conclusion and answers Jairus directly: do not fear, only believe, and she will be healed — asking for faith even in the face of what seemed final.
  51. Lucas 8:51On entering the house, Jesus allows only Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents inside — a small, intimate group, a pattern He repeats at other important moments.
  52. Lucas 8:52The people there laugh because they knew how to recognize death — there were probably even professional mourners hired for the ritual weeping, as was customary. Jesus is not denying that she died; He is announcing that, to Him, this death will be reversed like someone waking from sleep.
  53. Lucas 8:53The people present laugh at Jesus, certain that the girl was dead — this reaction of disbelief shows the gap between their certainty and Jesus’s confidence.
  54. Lucas 8:54Jesus sends everyone out, takes the girl’s hand, and says, “Maid, arise” — a direct command paired with physical touch, just as He did with the young man at Nain.
  55. Lucas 8:55Her spirit returns and she gets up at once; Jesus then asks that she be given something to eat — a practical detail confirming that she is truly back to life, not an apparition.
  56. Lucas 8:56Her parents are astonished, and Jesus asks them not to tell anyone what happened — a request for secrecy similar to other moments when He controls the pace of His own fame.

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