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Some of the Cowgirls Who Rode with Jesus

¹ After all this, Jesus rode from ranch to ranch and village to village spreading the good news about God's outfit. The twelve appointed cowboys were with him. ² There were also some women with him who had been cured of various ailments. Among them were Mary, sometimes called Magdalene, who was cured of seven demons; ³ Joanna, whose husband Chuza had been a boss for Herod; Susanna; and a few more women. They are the ones who provided the funds for Jesus and his cowboys.

Seed Plantin'

⁴ One day there was such a large crowd that he used this story to teach them. ⁵ "A farmer went out to plant his fields. As he spread the seed, some fell on the road, and the birds ate it all up. ⁶ Other seed fell next to some rocks where there wasn't much dirt. The seed took root quickly in the shallow soil, but they withered quickly because there was nowhere for the roots to go. ⁷ Other seed fell among the cactus and thistles. They sprouted, but were choked out by the thorns. ⁸ And finally, some seed found good soil and produced a lot of grain. Some of it yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and still some a hundred times. Whoever has ears should be listening."

⁹ Later on, when they were alone, some of his cowboys asked about the stories. ¹⁰ He told them, "The secret of the Boss's outfit has been given to you. But for the sake of everyone else, I teach with stories. They look, but cannot see. They hear, but they cannot understand. If they could see and understand, they would turn to me and be forgiven."

¹¹ Then Jesus said, "This is what that story means. The farmer spreads God's good news to others. ¹² The seed that fell on the road stands for those who hear the good news, but Satan convinces 'em not to listen. ¹³ The seed in the rocks stands for those who love the good news and immediately act like it changes their whole world. But they don't last long because it was all emotion and no faith. They wither quickly when faced with any kind of adversity. ¹⁴ The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear God's good news, but the words that could save them are choked out by worry, lusting after money, and the desire for materialistic things. ¹⁵ And finally, the seed that found good ground are those people who hear the good news and do something with it."

Lamp Lightin'

¹⁶ Then Jesus asked, "Would you light a lamp and then stick it in your bedroll? Of course

not. A lamp is lifted up high so that its light can shine far. ¹⁷ Everything in the dark will eventually be revealed."

¹⁸ Then he added, "Don't let what I'm saying go in one ear and out the other. The closer you listen the more you'll start getting—and when you start getting it, you'll be given even more. But if you ignore the things I say, you'll end up losing more than you started with."

Real Family

¹⁹ Then Jesus's mom and brothers came to see him, but they couldn't get close because of the big crowd. ²⁰ Someone hollered to him and said, "Your mom and brothers are outside and want to talk to you!"

²¹ He answered back, "My real family are those who ride for the Boss and do what he says."

Faith in the Storm

²² One day, Jesus jumped in a boat and they headed for the other side of the lake. ²³ As they sailed, Jesus put his hat down over his eyes and went to sleep. A huge storm swept in and they were about to be capsized. ²⁴ The disciples were frettin' and fearin' that this was gonna be the end of them all. They finally woke Jesus up by shakin' him and saying, "Jesus, save us! We're gonna drown!"

Jesus got up, stretched, and told the wind to shut up and the waves to sit down . . . and they did. ²⁵ He asked them, "Where is your faith during the storm?"

The hands were shocked, stunned, and amazed and asked, "What kind of hombre is this? Even the wind and the waves listen at him!"

Demons and Pigs

²⁶ The next day, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes on other side of the lake. ²⁷ They had no more than got both feet on the ground when a naked man possessed by an evil spirit started trotting out of the cemetery to go and talk to them. He lived among the tombs because he wouldn't stay in a house. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he ran out and bowed real low in front of him. With an unearthly shriek, he yelled, "Why have you come to stop me, Son of God? By God's good name, please don't torture me." ²⁹ Jesus had already told the spirit to leave the man. When he was put in chains and shackles, he snapped them like paper. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Then the demon would force the man into the desert.

³⁰ Jesus asked, "What do they call you?"

The demon responded, "They call me Legion. We are too many to count." ³¹ They begged Jesus not to send them to hell. ³² There was a herd of pigs grazing nearby and the demonic spirits asked to be sent into the pigs. Jesus told them to go ahead. ³³ The evil spirits rushed in and filled the pigs. Then the herd of two thousand pigs rushed off the bank into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ Now the people who had been taking care of that herd of pigs ran off to tell everyone what had happened. ³⁵ People came running and the first thing they saw was Jesus sitting there talking to the now clothed man who had been possessed, but this time he was in his right mind. ³⁶ Word spread quickly around the Gerasenes about what happened, but the people were afraid and begged Jesus to leave the area.

³⁷ As Jesus threw his saddle back in the boat, ³⁸ the former demon-possessed man asked to ride with him, but Jesus told him to go home. ³⁹ "Go home to your family and tell them what God has done for you today." Off the guy went, telling everyone what Jesus had done for him.

A Church Leader and a Bleeder

⁴⁰ When Jesus returned, a big crowd was waiting on him. ⁴¹ A local church leader named Jairus came up and bowed down in front of Jesus. He begged Jesus to come to his home. ⁴² His twelve-year-old daughter was dying. Jesus left with him at once and was followed by a lot of folks.

⁴³ In the crowd following Jesus was a woman who'd been bleeding for nearly twelve years and no one had been able to help her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind Jesus and touched his vest. Immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ Jesus turned and asked, "Who touched me?"

Everyone turned around all innocent like and then Pete said, "Boss, there's a bunch of people. Maybe someone accidentally bumped ya."

⁴⁶ But Jesus replied, "I felt the healing power leave me. Someone touched me on purpose."

⁴⁷ The woman was real scared now and she trembled as she took a knee before Jesus. She then explained why she had touched his vest and how she had immediately been cured.

⁴⁸ Jesus smiled kindly at her and said, "Daughter, your faith in me has healed you. Go in peace!"

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still talking to her, someone came running up from the church leader's home and told Jairus, "Your daughter is dead. No need to bring Jesus anymore."

⁵⁰ When Jesus heard the man, he told Jairus, "It's never too late to believe that she will get better." ⁵¹ They went to the house and Jesus didn't let anyone go in except the girl's parents, Pete, John, and James. ⁵² Everyone was bawling and squalling, but Jesus said, "Why are y'all carryin' on like this? She's just sleeping."

⁵³ This was the last straw for some of these people. They all started mocking him and laughing at him because they knew she was dead. ⁵⁴ But Jesus had the last laugh when he walked over, held her hand, and said, "Get up, little lady."

⁵⁵ She opened up her eyes and got up at once. Jesus told her parents to get her something to eat. ⁵⁶ They just stood there for a second with a dumbfounded look, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what happened as he walked out the door.