Lazarus Raised

Overview

• Testament: New
• Book: John
• Chapters: John 11:1-57
• Summary: Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb; declared “I am the resurrection and the life”; the miracle precipitated the final decision of the Jewish council to execute Jesus.

Details

Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Mary and Martha, fell sick. The sisters sent word to Jesus, who was across the Jordan. Jesus delayed two more days before going, saying “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God.” He then told his disciples plainly: “Lazarus is dead.” They arrived in Bethany to find Lazarus four days entombed — four days being significant because Jewish belief held that the spirit lingered near the body for three days; by the fourth day, decomposition was certain and all hope was gone.

Martha met Jesus on the road and expressed both grief and faith: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” Jesus told her “Thy brother shall rise again.” When she understood this as the general resurrection, Jesus corrected her with the sixth of his seven “I am” sayings: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Mary came and fell at his feet weeping, and those with her wept. The shortest verse in scripture records the response of God incarnate to human grief: “Jesus wept.” He came to the tomb — a cave with a stone against it — and commanded the stone removed. Martha objected to the smell. Jesus prayed publicly for the crowd’s benefit, then called with a loud voice: “Lazarus, come forth.” Lazarus came out bound in graveclothes, and Jesus commanded: “Loose him, and let him go.” Many who witnessed this believed; others reported it to the Pharisees. The chief priests and Pharisees convened and decided Jesus must die — Caiaphas, the high priest, prophesied unwittingly: “one man should die for the people.”

Key People Involved

• Jesus Christ — The one who raised Lazarus; declared himself the resurrection
• Lazarus — Raised from the dead after four days
• Martha — Made the great confession; received the “I am” declaration
• Mary (sister of Martha) — Whose weeping moved Jesus to tears
• Caiaphas — High priest who prophesied Jesus’ substitutionary death

Key Places

• Bethany — The village near Jerusalem where Lazarus lived

Important Verses

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” — John 11:25

“Jesus wept.” — John 11:35

Cross-References

• Related: Healing at Bethesda — Jesus’ earlier claim to be the source of life
• Preceded by: Resurrection — Lazarus was raised to mortal life; Jesus rose to immortal
• Related: Sea of Tiberias — Another appearance near Bethany’s geography
• Followed by: Triumphal Entry — John places this miracle as the immediate trigger
• Related books: John

Notes

The raising of Lazarus is John’s seventh and climactic sign. The four-day detail is theologically precise — it eliminates any possibility that Lazarus was merely in a coma or cataleptic state. The event functions as a public dress rehearsal for the resurrection of Jesus: both involve a sealed tomb, both involve a word of command, both result in emergence from burial garments. Caiaphas’s unwitting prophecy (11:51-52) is one of John’s characteristic ironies — the plan to kill Jesus is the very mechanism by which Jesus dies for the people.