The Gospels

by Sarah Ruden

  The dead awaken, the destitute get good news.’*73

  23 “And it’s a happy person who isn’t tripped up by me.”

  24 Once the messengers of Iōannēs had gone away, he started to speak to the crowds about Iōannēs: “What did you go out to the wasteland to gape at? A reed shaking in the wind? 25 No? Then what did you go out there to see? A man dressed in luxurious clothes? Take a look: people in splendid apparel, living coddled lives, are in palaces. 26 So then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and somebody greater than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it’s been written:

  “ ‘Look, I’m sending my messenger ahead of you,

  And he’ll build your road in front of you.’*74

  28 “I tell you, among all the people who are born from women, there’s no one greater than Iōannēs. But the person with the least stature in god’s kingdom is greater than him.”

  29 And all the people listening, including the tax-collectors, agreed that god was right because they had been baptized the way Iōannēs baptized. 30 But the Farisaioi and the experts in the law rejected god’s plan for them, because they hadn’t been baptized by him.*75

  31 “To whom should I compare the people of this generation, and who are they like? 32 They’re like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other and saying:

  “ ‘We played the flute for you—no dancing to the sound!

  We sang the mourning song—your chests you didn’t pound!’*76

  33 “Iōannēs the baptizer, you know, has come without eating a loaf of bread or drinking wine, and you all say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ 34 The son of mankind has come eating and drinking, and you all say, ‘Look, that guy’s an eater—and a drinker of wine! He’s a friend of tax-collectors and other wrongdoers.’ 35 But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”*77

  36 A certain one of the Farisaioi asked him to eat with him, and he came into the house of the Farisaios and reclined at the table. 37 And look, a woman who was a wrongdoer in the city: she had found out that Iēsous was reclining at the table in the house of the Farisaios, and had brought an alabaster jar of perfume; 38 now she stood behind him at his feet, crying, and she began to rain tears on his feet, which she wiped dry with the actual hair on her head, all the time kissing his feet and rubbing the perfume on them.*78

  39 And when the Farisaios who had invited him there saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he’d know who this woman is who’s touching him, and what kind of woman she is: he’d know that she’s a wrongdoer.” 40 But in response, Iēsous said to him, “Simōn, I have something to say to you.” “Say it, teacher,” he replied. 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. The one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.*79 42 As neither of them was able to pay him back, he let the loans go as a favor. Now which of them is going to love him more?” 43 Simōn responded by saying, “I assume that it’s the one for whom he did the bigger favor.” And he told him, “You judged that right.” 44 And turning to the woman, he spoke to Simōn: “Do you see this woman? I came into your house, but you didn’t even give me water for my feet. She rained tears on my feet and wiped them dry with her hair. 45 You didn’t give me a kiss. Ever since she came in, she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn’t rub olive oil on my head; she rubbed perfume on my feet. 47 So I tell you, she’s absolved from her offenses, as many as they are, which is why she’s shown great love. But whoever’s absolved from just a little loves only a little.” 48 Then he said to her, “You’re absolved from your offenses.” 49 Then those who were reclining at the table with him said among themselves, “Who is this, who actually absolves people from their offenses?” 50 But he said to the woman, “Your trust has rescued you. Go in peace.”

  Chapter 8

  1 And it happened that right afterward he traveled on from one town to another and from one village to another, bringing word and announcing the good news of god’s kingdom, and the twelve went with him. 2 And there were certain women who had been treated for troublesome spirits in them, or for debilities. There was Maria who was called Magdalēnē,*80 from whom seven demons had gone out; 3 and there was Iōanna the wife of Chouzas, Hērōdēs’ steward, and Sousanna, and many others who looked after them, using their financial means.

  4 Now when a large crowd came together, with people traveling to him from one town after another, he addressed them through an analogy: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the road and was trampled down, and the birds of the sky made short work of it. 6 And other seed fell on stone, and once it started to grow, it withered, as it didn’t have any moisture. 7 And other seed fell in the middle of the thorny weeds, and as the thorny weeds grew up with it, they strangled it. 8 But other seed fell onto good ground, and when it grew, every kernel yielded a hundred more.” And as he said these things, he cried, “Whoever has ears for hearing had better hear!”

  9 His students asked him what the analogy was about. 10 And he said, “The secrets of god’s kingdom have been granted to you to know;*81 but to everyone else, it happens through analogies, so that,

  “ ‘Though looking, they don’t look,

  And though hearing, they don’t have any understanding.’*82

  11 “This is the comparison. The seed is god’s true account. 12 The people along the road are those who hear it, but then comes the slanderer, and he takes the account out of their hearts, so that they can’t trust and be rescued. 13 As for those landing on stone, when they hear the account, they take it in with joy, but they don’t take root: they trust for the time being, but at the time of testing, they pull out. 14 The seed that falls into the thorny weeds is the people who do hear, but as they continue on their way, they’re strangled by anxieties or wealth or life’s pleasures, and they bring no grain to ripeness. 15 But the seed on good ground is the people who hear the account and hold it firmly in their good and worthy hearts and produce a harvest through endurance.

  16 “Nobody lights a lamp and then hides it in a container or puts it under a bed, but instead puts it on a lamp-stand, so that the people who find their way in see the light. 17 Nothing’s hidden, you see, that won’t become clear as light, and nothing’s hidden away that won’t be known and come into the clear light.

  18 “So keep an eye on how you listen! If somebody has something, more will be given to him; but if somebody doesn’t have anything, even what he seems to have will be taken away from him.”

  19 Then his mother and brothers arrived where he was, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. 20 But a message was sent to him: “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 But he answered by saying to them: “My mother and my brothers are these, who hear the true account and put it into practice.”*83

  22 Now it happened that on one of those days he boarded a boat along with his students, and said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake,”*84 and they set off. 23 And as they were sailing along, he fell asleep. Then a squall fell on the lake, and they were being swamped and were in danger of sinking. 24 So they came to him and woke him up, saying, “Boss, boss, we’re going under!” But when he woke up, he simply scolded the wind and the rough water, and they stopped, and there was calm. 25 Then he said to them, “Where’s your trust?” But they were awed and astounded and said to each other, “Who is this, then? He commands the winds and the water, and they submit.”

  26 Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasēnoi, which is on the shore opposite Galilaia.*85 27 As he got out of the boat and stepped onto dry land, a certain man from the city met him. He had demons in him, and for a considerable time now he wouldn’t wear clothing or stay in a house, but instead lived among the tombs. 28 But when he saw Iēsous, he screamed and fell down in front of him, and said in a loud voice, “What’s your business with me, Iēsous the son of god who’s abov
e everything? I beg you, don’t torture me”— 29 Iēsous had in fact ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times, in fact, it had seized him violently, and he was confined in chains and shackles and kept under guard, but he would break his restraints and be driven by the demon into the wilderness. 30 But now Iēsous asked him, “What’s your name?” And he said “Legion,” since so many demons had gone into him.*86 31 Then they pleaded with Iēsous fervently not to command them to go back into the abyss.*87 32 Now, there was a substantial herd of pigs grazing on the mountain, so the demons begged him for permission to go into them; and he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons went out of the human being and went into the pigs, and the herd barreled down the crag into the lake and drowned.

  34 When the herders saw what had happened, they ran for it and brought the news to the city and the farms. 35 Then the people came out to see what had happened, and they came to Iēsous and found the man the demons had gone out of: he was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, at Iēsous’ feet—and they were terrified. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then the whole mass of people from the surrounding district of the Gerasēnoi asked Iēsous to leave them, because they were overcome with terrible fear. And he boarded the boat and returned to where he’d come from. 38 But the man the demons had gone out of begged to be allowed to go with him. But he sent him away, telling him, 39 “Return home and tell the story of everything god has done for you.” Then he went and spread the word through the city about everything Iēsous had done for him.

  40 Now when Iēsous returned, the crowd welcomed him: they had all been waiting for him. 41 And look, there came a man whose name was Iaïros, who was the leader of a synagogue, and he fell at Iēsous’ feet and pleaded with him to come to his house: 42 he had an only daughter who was about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as Iēsous went to her, the crowd was nearly crushing the life out of him. 43 Now there was a woman who’d been afflicted with a flow of blood for twelve years. [She’d spent on doctors all the money she had to live on,] yet she couldn’t manage to be healed by anyone. 44 Coming up behind Iēsous, she touched the hem of his cloak, and then and there, the flow of her blood stood still. 45 But Iēsous said, “Who was it who touched me?” When everybody denied it, Petros said, “Boss, the crowds around you are pushing in hard enough to crush the life out of you!” 46 But Iēsous said, “Somebody touched me, because I sensed that power had gone out of me.” 47 Now the woman, seeing she hadn’t gone unnoticed, came up trembling and fell down in front of him, and told him, with all the people looking on, the reason she’d touched him, and how she was healed on the spot. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your trust has healed you: go on your way in peace.” 49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the home of the synagogue’s leader and said, “Your daughter has died. Don’t bother the teacher any longer.” 50 But Iēsous heard and responded to him: “Don’t be afraid; only trust, and she’ll be saved.” 51 But when he came to the house, he wouldn’t allow anyone to go in with him except Petros and Iōannēs and Iakōbos and the girl’s father and her mother. 52 Everyone was crying and beating their breasts for her. But he said, “Don’t cry! She didn’t die: she’s just sleeping.” 53 But they jeered at him, as they knew she was dead. 54 But he took hold of her hand and called out, saying, “Wake up, little girl!” 55 Her breath returned, and then and there she stood up, and he told them to give her something to eat.*88 56 And her parents were absolutely stunned. But he ordered them to tell nobody what had happened.*89

  Chapter 9

  1 Then he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the ability to treat diseases, 2 and he sent them out to announce god’s kingdom and cure [debilities]. 3 And he said to them, “Don’t take anything on the road with you, not even a staff or a bag or a loaf of bread or silver coins or two tunics [each].*90 4 And whatever house you go into, stay there, and leave from there when you leave the locale. 5 And if any people don’t take you in hospitably, when you go out of that town shake the dust off your feet as testimony against them.”*91 6 And they went out and went to village after village, spreading the good news and treating illness everywhere.

  7 Now Hērōdēs the client ruler*92 heard all that had happened, and he was at a loss in dealing with it, since it was said by some people that Iōannēs had awaked from among the dead, 8 and by some that Ēlias had appeared, and by still others that someone else among the ancient prophets had risen again. 9 And Hērōdēs said, “I beheaded Iōannēs. Who is it I’m hearing things like this about?” And he was seeking to see him.

  10 Then the envoys returned and went through for Iēsous what they’d done. And he withdrew and took them along with him privately to the town that’s called Bēthsaïda.*93 11 But the crowds found out about it and followed him. And he welcomed them and spoke about god’s kingdom, and he healed those who needed treatment.

  12 Then night began to fall, and the twelve approached and said to him, “Let the crowd go so that they can make their way to the surrounding villages and farms, get lodgings, and find some provisions, because right here we’re in a place no one lived in.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” But they replied, “We haven’t got anything other than five loaves and two fish; unless—but of course we couldn’t—we were to get on the road ourselves and buy food for this entire gathering.” 14 There were in fact around five thousand grown men. But he said to his students, “Have them recline to dine in groups of [around] fifty.”*94 15 The students did as they were told and had them all recline. 16 Then he took the five loaves and two fish and, looking up to the sky, he blessed them and broke them into pieces and gave them to his students to set in front of the crowd. 17 And they all ate until they were full, and the excess that was gathered up afterward came to twelve baskets full of broken pieces.

  18 And it happened what while he was praying on his own, and only his students were with him, he questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds say I am?” 19 And they answered by saying, “Iōannēs the baptizer—but other people say you’re Ēlias, and still others that one of the ancient prophets is on his feet again.” 20 But he said to them, “Who do you say I am?” Petros said in answer, “God’s anointed one.” 21 Then he spoke sternly to them, ordering them to tell no one about this, 22 and saying that it was necessary for the son of mankind to endure many things and be tested and rejected by the elders and the high priests and the scholars, and to be killed, but to awaken on the third day.

  23 And he said to everyone, “If someone wants to come along behind me, he needs to renounce all claim to himself and lift up day by day the stake he’ll be hung on and follow me. 24 Whoever wants to save his life is going to lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me—he’ll save it. 25 What kind of profit, tell me, does a person realize from the entire universe, if he loses or forfeits himself? 26 Whoever, in fact, is ashamed of me and the things I’ve said, the son of mankind, when he comes in glory—his own, and his father’s, and that of the holy messengers—will be ashamed of him. 27 I tell you truly, there are some of you standing here who definitely won’t taste death before they see god’s kingdom.”*95

  28 It happened that about eight days after he said these things, he climbed up onto a mountain to pray, taking Petros and Iōannēs and Iakōbos along. 29 And it happened that while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his apparel turned a flashing, lightning white.*96 30 And look, two men were talking with him, and they were Mōüsēs and Ēlias. 31 And they appeared in glory, speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Ierousalēm.*97 32 Now Petros and those with him were weighed down by drowsiness. But once they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men standing together with him. 33 And it happened that, as those were withdrawing from him, Petros said to Iēsous, “Boss, it’s good that we’re here: Let’s make three shelters, one for you and one for Mō
üsēs and one for Ēlias”—but he didn’t know what he was saying.*98 34 But once he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified while they went into the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my son, my chosen one: listen to him.” 36 And after the voice had come, Iēsous alone was found there. But they were silent, and in those days they reported to no one anything of what they’d seen.

  37 Now it happened that, on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 And look, a man in the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I need you to give some attention to my son, because he’s the only one born to me, 39 and look, a spirit seizes him, and immediately he screams, and it throws him into convulsions and makes him foam at the mouth, and it hardly backs off him but practically pounds him to pieces. 40 I did beg your students to expel it, but they couldn’t.” 41 And Iēsous answered by saying, “Oh, this faithless generation, completely distorted! How long will I be with you and put up with you?*99 Bring your son here.” 42 And while the boy was still only approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and sent him into terrible convulsions. But Iēsous berated the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And everyone was stunned at the magnificent power of god.

  While everyone was marveling over everything he was doing, he said to his students, 44 “Store up what I’m going to say in your ears: the son of humankind is going to be turned over to human hands.” 45 But they didn’t realize what this statement meant, and its meaning was disguised and hidden away from them, so that they couldn’t understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

  46 Now a dispute found its way in among them, as to who was greatest. 47 But Iēsous perceived the dispute that was in their hearts, so he took a child and stood it next to himself 48 and said to them, ‘Whoever takes in this child in my name, takes me in, and whoever takes me in, takes in the one who sent me. Whoever’s smallest among all of you, in fact, he’s the great one.”