Chapter

Luke 8:40

ESV Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
NIV Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.
NASB And as Jesus was returning, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.
CSB When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.
NLT On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him.
KJV And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
NKJV So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.

What does Luke 8:40 mean?

Jesus' goal for His ministry in Galilee is to preach (Mark 1:38). He performs miracles of healing and provision to validate that His words come from God and because He has compassion for abandoned and abused people. Miracles are not His primary ministry, but they are what He is known for.

In Galilee, especially on the shores of the sea, people often swarm Jesus. The crowds are so much that to teach, He must get into a boat and float away from the crowd (Mark 4:1). After one such exhausting time of teaching, He told the disciples to set sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He got a nap in a violent storm, which He calmed, on the way and then healed a demon-possessed man on shore before yet another crowd arrived—this time to ask Him to leave (Luke 8:22–39). Jesus got back in the boat to return to Galilee. This verse (Luke 8:40) describes His arrival there.

It seems that some in the crowd He'd previously left in Galilee had tried to follow (Mark 4:36). They might have turned back in the storm. Now, when Jesus lands back in Galilee, He's quickly enveloped by a crowd that had been awaiting His arrival. They are quite eager, even aggressive. "Pressed around" in Luke 8:42 is Greek for "choked," vaguely echoing the thorns that choked the seeds in an earlier parable (Luke 8:14).
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What is the Gospel?
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