Bible
Story
Jesus and Lazarus
In
the small village of Bethany, two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived with their
brother, Lazarus. The three siblings were close friends of Jesus, and they
often welcomed him into their home. One day, Lazarus fell seriously ill. His
condition worsened rapidly, and Mary and Martha grew increasingly anxious. In
their desperation, they sent a message to Jesus, who was in a town a few days'
journey away. The message was simple yet urgent: "Lord, the one you love
is sick."
When
Jesus received the news, he responded in a way that puzzled his disciples.
"This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that
God's Son may be glorified through it." Despite the urgency, Jesus stayed
where he was for two more days before finally saying to his disciples,
"Let us go back to Judea."
The
disciples were concerned. "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while
ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?"
Jesus
replied, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the
daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light. It is when a
person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light." He then
told them plainly, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going
there to wake him up."
The
disciples, still not understanding, said, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get
better." Jesus had been speaking of Lazarus's death, but his disciples
thought he meant natural sleep. So he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,
and for your sake, I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let
us go to him."
When
Jesus arrived in Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb
for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews
had come to comfort Mary and Martha in their loss. When Martha heard that Jesus
was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
"Lord,"
Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have
died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
Jesus
said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
Martha
answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last
day."
Jesus
said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in
me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will
never die. Do you believe this?"
"Yes,
Lord," she replied, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of
God, who is to come into the world."
After
she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The
Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." When Mary
heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered
the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews
who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she
got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to
mourn there.
When
Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and
said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
When
Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,
he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid
him?" he asked.
"Come
and see, Lord," they replied.
Jesus
wept.
Then
the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
But
some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have
kept this man from dying?"
Jesus,
once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid
across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said.
"But,
Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there
is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
Then
Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the
glory of God?"
So
they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank
you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for
the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent
me."
When
he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
The
dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth
around his face.
Jesus
said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Many
of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed
in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had
done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the
Sanhedrin.
"What
are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many
signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then
the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation."
From
that day on, they plotted to take his life.
