Read | Matthew 8:18–34
When Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave the order to go to the other side of the sea. A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
“Lord,” another of his disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.”
But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves—but Jesus kept sleeping. So the disciples came and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to die!”
He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!”
When he had come to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him as they came out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What do you have to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
A long way off from them, a large herd of pigs was feeding. “If you drive us out,” the demons begged him, “send us into the herd of pigs.”
“Go!” he told them. So when they had come out, they entered the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. Then the men who tended them fled. They went into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to those who were demon-possessed. At that, the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
Click here to listen to the Scripture in ESV.
Notice Christ’s willingness to be interrupted. What does that show us about his pace of life?
Focus
Say “yes” to an interruption today. If someone asks for a few minutes of your time, or if an unexpected need pops up that derails your perfectly planned schedule, consciously choose to pause your day and give them your full attention without checking your watch.
Pray
Pray for God to use you as a gift to others.
Going Deeper
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.