Luke 8

Jesus teaches the parable of the sower, showing how differently people receive God’s word, and then shows His authority in four great acts: He calms a storm, frees a man from a legion of demons, heals a suffering woman, and raises a dead girl. The chapter asks how we hear and whether we trust Him when things look hopeless.

Luke 8:1

Jesus moves through towns and villages, announcing that God’s rule is breaking into the world. The Twelve travel with Him and learn by watching. His message is not an idea to debate but good news to be told openly to everyone.

BSA: kingdom (“reign, dominion”): The kingdom is God’s active rule, not just a place; Jesus announces that His reign is now at work.

Greek: εὐαγγελιζόμενος (euangelizomenos, G2097) — “bringing good news.” The word is built on ‘good message’. Jesus comes as a herald with news that changes things, not as a teacher with a list of rules.

Luke 8:2-3

Several women travel with Jesus because He has healed them. Mary Magdalene had been freed from seven demons. Joanna came from Herod’s own household. They gave from their own means to support Jesus and His band, which shows how grateful hearts become practical help.

BSA: healed (“made whole, restored to health”): Their healing was more than relief from sickness; they were restored in body and life. ministering (“serving, providing for”): Their service was real, practical support that kept the mission going.

Greek: διηκόνουν (diēkonoun, G1247) — “were serving.” This is the root of the word ‘deacon’. These women did the very kind of service Jesus later said marks His followers.

Luke 8:4

Crowds are now coming from town after town. Jesus answers them with a story from everyday farm life. A parable lets ordinary people picture a truth, and it makes listeners decide whether they will go deeper.

See also: Mark 4:1-2.

Luke 8:5-7

A farmer scatters seed by hand, and it lands on different ground. On the hard path it is trampled and eaten by birds. On rock it springs up but withers without moisture. Among thorns it is choked. Each failure has a different cause.

Luke 8:8

Some seed lands on good soil and yields a hundredfold, a remarkable harvest. Jesus then calls out for His hearers to listen with real attention. Hearing is not just sound entering the ear; it means taking the word in.

BSA: hundredfold (“a hundred times more, abundantly”): God’s word, rightly received, produces fruit far beyond what the seed alone would suggest.

See also: Genesis 26:12.

Luke 8:9-10

The disciples ask what the parable means. Jesus says God is giving them insight into His kingdom’s secrets, while others hear only the story. He quotes Isaiah: people can look and listen yet not grasp it, if their hearts are closed.

BSA: mysteries (“secrets, hidden truths”): These are truths about God’s kingdom that no one could find alone and that God now reveals.

Greek: μυστήρια (mystēria, G3466) — “secrets.” In the New Testament a ‘mystery’ is not a puzzle but a secret God has now made known to those who come to Him.

See also: Isaiah 6:9-10.

Luke 8:11

Jesus explains plainly that the seed is the word of God. The sower scatters it freely, and everything depends on how the soil receives it. The same word goes to everyone, but the results differ.

BSA: word (“Logos, divine Expression”): God’s word is His own living expression of Himself, not merely human speech.

Luke 8:12

The path stands for those who hear but never take the word in. The devil snatches it away before it can take root. The goal of that theft is clear: to keep them from believing and being saved.

BSA: saved (“rescued, delivered from sin”): Salvation means being rescued from sin’s power and penalty, which is exactly what the enemy wants to prevent.

Luke 8:13

The rocky ground stands for people who welcome the word with joy but have no depth. Their faith lasts until trouble comes, and then it withers. Joy is good, but it needs roots that reach down to Christ.

BSA: testing (“in temptation, trial, or tribulation”): Hard times expose whether faith has real depth.

Greek: ῥίζαν (rhizan, G4491) — “root.” A plant’s hidden root draws water and holds it firm. Faith without such a root looks alive in good weather and dies in the heat.

Luke 8:14

Among thorns, people do hear, but life crowds the word out. Worries, wealth and pleasures slowly take over, and the plant never ripens. Notice that none of these is wicked in itself; they simply grow bigger than the word.

BSA: choked (“crowded out, blocked”): The word is not attacked but squeezed out by competing concerns.

See also: 1 Timothy 6:9-10.

Luke 8:15

Good soil is a heart that hears, holds on to the word, and keeps going until fruit comes. The harvest is not instant. Steady endurance is part of what the word produces in a life.

BSA: persevering (“enduring, patiently waiting”): Fruit comes through patient endurance, not a quick burst of enthusiasm.

Greek: ὑπομονῇ (hypomonē, G5281) — “patient endurance.” It literally means ‘remaining under’ a load. It describes someone who stays put and keeps going under pressure.

Luke 8:16-17

A lamp is meant to give light, not to be hidden. God’s truth is given to be seen, and in the end nothing will stay concealed. What the disciples learn privately is meant to shine, and what is hidden in anyone’s heart will be revealed.

See also: Matthew 5:14-16.

Luke 8:18

Jesus warns the disciples to take care how they listen. Those who receive the word and act on it will be given more understanding. Those who treat it lightly will lose even what they thought they had.

BSA: listen (“hear and obey, give heed to”): Real listening includes acting on what is heard.

Greek: βλέπετε (blepete, G991) — “watch, take care.” This is the ordinary word for seeing, used here as a call to be alert. Listening is something we are to watch over carefully.

Luke 8:19-21

Jesus’ mother and brothers cannot get through the crowd. He uses the moment to say that His true family is made up of those who hear God’s word and do it. This does not dishonor His mother. It opens His family to all who obey.

BSA: carry (“obey, fulfill”): Belonging to Jesus’ family is shown by doing what God says.

See also: Luke 11:27-28; John 1:12-13.

Luke 8:22-23

Jesus says they will cross the lake, and then He falls asleep in the boat. A sudden storm comes down, as often happens on the Sea of Galilee’s surrounding hills, and the boat begins to fill. Even seasoned fishermen are in real danger.

Greek: λαῖλαψ (lailaps, G2978) — “squall, violent whirlwind.” The word pictures a sudden furious burst of wind, not a slow-building storm. It explains why the disciples had so little warning.

Luke 8:24

The terrified disciples wake Jesus, and He speaks to the wind and waves as one gives an order. At once all is calm. The One they thought was asleep is in fact Lord over creation itself.

BSA: rebuked (“warned, scolded”): Jesus speaks to the storm with authority, as to something that must obey.

Greek: ἐπετίμησεν (epetimēsen, G2008) — “rebuked, commanded sternly.” It is the word used when Jesus commands demons. The storm is treated as a force that must submit to His voice.

See also: Psalm 107:28-30.

Luke 8:25

Jesus asks gently where their faith is. They have been with Him and should have trusted His presence. Their fear turns to awe, and they ask the question the whole Gospel answers: who is this?

BSA: faith (“trust, confidence in God”): Jesus is asking for trust that rests on who He is, even when He seems asleep.

Luke 8:26-27

They land on the far shore, in largely Gentile territory. There a man meets Jesus who has lost everything human: clothes, home, and ordinary life. He lives among tombs, the place of the dead, a picture of how far the demons had dragged him down.

Luke 8:28

The demon in the man recognizes Jesus at once and calls Him Son of the Most High God. It begs not to be tormented. Even evil spirits know who Jesus is and cannot stand against Him.

BSA: torture (“torment, afflict”): The demon fears the suffering that Jesus’ authority will bring on it.

See also: James 2:19.

Luke 8:29

Jesus had already ordered the spirit out. Luke explains how bad things had been: the spirit seized the man often, and no chains could hold him. Human strength could not restrain what only Jesus could break.

BSA: unclean (“impure, morally defiled”): These spirits are spiritually defiling and are opposed to God’s holiness.

Luke 8:30

Jesus asks the man’s name. He answers ‘Legion’, for many demons were in him. A Roman legion held thousands of soldiers, so the name speaks of overwhelming numbers. Still, one word from Jesus is enough.

Greek: Λεγιών (Legiōn, G3003) — “legion.” This was a Roman military unit of several thousand men. The name pictures an occupying force that had taken over a man’s life.

Luke 8:31

The demons beg Jesus not to send them into the Abyss, the place of confinement for evil spirits. They know their final fate lies in His hands. They plead because they know He has the power to decide.

BSA: Abyss (“the deep, a place of punishment”): It is the deep prison where evil spirits are held, which they dread.

Greek: ἄβυσσον (abysson, G12) — “bottomless deep.” It means a place without bottom. In Scripture it is the dark prison reserved for demonic powers.

See also: Revelation 20:1-3.

Luke 8:32-33

The demons ask to enter a nearby herd of pigs, and Jesus permits it. They rush into the lake and drown. The scene shows how destructive the demons were. It also shows that they could do nothing without His permission.

BSA: permission (“allowed, suffered them to enter”): The demons act only within the limits Jesus allows.

Luke 8:34-35

The herdsmen run to tell what happened, and the people come out to look. They find the man sitting calmly at Jesus’ feet, dressed and sane. The change is complete, and instead of rejoicing they are afraid.

Greek: σωφρονοῦντα (sōphronounta, G4993) — “being sound-minded.” The word means thinking clearly and soundly. It describes a mind that is whole and in order again, not just calm.

Luke 8:36-37

Eyewitnesses explain how the man was healed. The whole region responds by asking Jesus to leave. They feared the power they could not control, and perhaps the cost of losing the herd. Sadly, they chose to be left alone.

BSA: fear (“alarm, terror”): Their fear was not reverent awe but alarm at His power breaking into their lives.

Luke 8:38-39

The healed man wants to stay with Jesus. Jesus sends him home instead, to tell what God has done. He becomes the first missionary to this region. Notice how what God did and what Jesus did are told as one story.

BSA: proclaimed (“preached, heralded, published”): The man did not keep quiet but spread the news publicly all across the town.

See also: Mark 5:19-20.

Luke 8:40

Back on the Galilee side, a crowd is waiting for Jesus and welcomes Him gladly. After the cold response across the lake, the contrast is sharp. People who are looking for Him find Him.

BSA: waiting (“looking forward, anticipating”): They were eagerly expecting Him, not merely standing around.

Luke 8:41-42

Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, falls at Jesus’ feet. His only daughter, about twelve, is dying. A man of standing sets his dignity aside out of need. Jesus goes with him, though crowds press in and slow the journey.

BSA: begged (“pleaded, besought”): Jairus came in desperate need, with nothing to offer but his plea.

Luke 8:43-44

A woman has bled for twelve years, the same length as the girl’s life. She has spent everything on doctors, with no cure. Under Jewish law her condition made her ceremonially unclean and cut her off from community. She touches Jesus’ cloak and is healed at once.

BSA: fringe (“edge, border, tassel”): The tassels on a Jewish garment recalled God’s commandments; she reached for the edge of His cloak in hope.

See also: Leviticus 15:25-27; Numbers 15:38-39.

Luke 8:45-46

Jesus asks who touched Him. Peter thinks the question absurd in such a crowd. But Jesus knows the difference between jostling and a touch of faith, and He knows healing power has gone out from Him.

BSA: power (“miraculous ability, divine strength”): Healing was real power flowing from Jesus Himself, not a trick or an accident.

Luke 8:47-48

The woman, trembling, comes forward and tells everything in front of the crowd. Jesus calls her ‘Daughter’ and sends her away in peace. He does not want her healed in secret. He wants her known, restored and welcomed.

BSA: healed (“saved or delivered from harm”): Jesus’ words reach beyond her body to her whole well-being.

Greek: σέσωκέν (sesōken, G4982) — “has saved, has made well.” The same verb is used for being saved. Her faith brought her wholeness in body and standing, and it points to the deeper rescue Jesus gives.

Luke 8:49-50

News arrives that Jairus’ daughter has died, and he is told not to trouble the Teacher further. Jesus answers at once: do not be afraid, only believe. Hope is not ended while Jesus is present.

BSA: believe (“trust and have faith”): Jesus asks Jairus to keep trusting Him even when the situation looks finished.

See also: John 11:25-26.

Luke 8:51

At the house Jesus lets in only Peter, John, James, and the girl’s parents. These three disciples will also be with Him at the Transfiguration. The small group keeps the moment quiet and private.

See also: Luke 9:28.

Luke 8:52-53

The house is full of mourners. Jesus says she is not dead but asleep, speaking of the death as something He can undo, as one wakes a sleeper. They laugh at Him, since they know she is dead. Doubt can feel very certain.

BSA: asleep (“sleeping, resting”): For Jesus death is like sleep because He can wake the one who has died.

Luke 8:54-55

Jesus takes the girl by the hand and tells her to get up. Her spirit returns and she rises at once. He then asks that she be given food, a tender and practical detail showing His care for her.

Greek: ἔγειρε (egeire, G1453) — “rise, be raised.” This is the same word used elsewhere for resurrection. A simple command from Jesus is enough to bring the dead back to life.

See also: Mark 5:41-42.

Luke 8:56

The parents are astonished, and Jesus tells them to say nothing about it. He did not want to be seen only as a wonder-worker. In His own time the full meaning of who He is would be made known.

BSA: astounded (“to amaze, shocked or confused”): They were overwhelmed by what they had seen, beyond ordinary surprise.