The Raising of Lazarus

(Gospel of John  11:1 - 11:44)

  A man named Lazarus lay ill at Bethany, the town where his sisters Mary and Martha lived.  (Mary was the one who would pour expensive aromatic oil on Jesus' feet and wipe them with her hair.)  As their brother was sick, the two sisters sent this word to Jesus: "Sir, your dear friend is gravely ill."

However, when Jesus received the message, he declared, "This illness will not result in death; its purpose is to reveal the glory of God and to bring glory to the Son of God." So even though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, he remained where he was for two days after he had received word of Lazarus' illness.   After that time, though, he said to his disciples, "Let’s return to Judea."

But his disciples protested, "Rabbi, it was only a little while ago that the Judeans were trying to stone you.  And now you're going back there?"

Jesus responded, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight?  Those who go abroad during the day do not stumble because there is light in the world by which to see.  But, at night, they are apt to stumble, because there is no light."  He then told his disciples, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him."

His disciples remarked, "If he sleeps, Master, then he will get better."  (They assumed that Jesus was referring to natural sleep when, in fact, he was speaking of Lazarus' death.)

Jesus finally told his disciples bluntly, "Lazarus is dead.  For your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there, so that you see and believe for yourselves.  Let's go to him."

Thomas, who was known as the Twin, said to the other disciples, "Let’s go, too, so we can die with Jesus."

By the time Jesus had arrived, Lazarus had been in his tomb for 4 days.  As Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about 15 stadia away, many Judeans had visited Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him while Mary stayed at home.  Martha said to Jesus, "Oh, sir, if you had only been with him, he would not have died.  But even now I know that God will grant to you whatever you may ask of him."

"You brother will rise again!" Jesus proclaimed to her.

"Yes, I know," she answered. "He will rise again during the resurrection of the Last Day."

Jesus told her, "I am the means of resurrection to life everlasting.  Those who believe in me will live again after they have died.  And those now living who believe in me will never die.  Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Master," she replied.  "I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God who has come into the world."  After she had made this declaration, she returned home and taking her sister Mary aside, confided to her, "The Rabbi's here and he's asking for you."  Hearing this, Mary rose quickly and went out to him.  Jesus had not yet entered the village but was still at the place where he had stopped to talk to Martha.  The Judeans who had been with Mary in the house consoling her noticed how hastily she got up and went out, so they followed her, thinking she was going to the burial place to mourn.

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet.  "Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died," she said.  When Jesus saw her weeping and saw that the Judeans who had followed her also wept, he was disturbed and deeply moved.

"Where have you interred him?" he demanded of them.

"Master, come and see," they said.  And Jesus began to weep.

At this, some of the Judeans observed, "See how much Jesus loved him," but others carped, "You'd think that someone who had cured a blind man could have kept this man from dying."

Jesus, who was again overcome with emotion, arrived at the tomb, which was a cave sealed by a large stone.  "Roll away the stone," he bid them.

Martha, the sister of the deceased, warned him, "But, Master, he has been dead for four days; by this time there will be a terrible stench."

Jesus reassured her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would witness the glory of God?"  The stone was rolled aside.  Jesus looked up to the sky and said, "Thank you, Father, for hearing me.  Of course you always hear me, but I have spoken aloud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they may believe that you have sent me."

Jesus then called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!”

The dead man, his hands and feet still bound by linen strips and his face wrapped in a headcloth, did emerge.

“Unwrap his grave clothes and let him go on his way," Jesus told them.

Notes
1.  Bethany was a small town near Jerusalem, specifically 15 stadia, or about two miles away.  It is to the east of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives.  It should be noted that this is a different place from the Bethany (also called Bethabara), situated on the other side of the River Jordan, where John the Baptist was earlier interrogated by the Pharisees. 

2.  Jesus, unlike his disciples, seems unconcerned that he is risking his life by returning to Judea, on the other side of the River Jordan.  One of them, Thomas, accompanies Jesus with the belief that he will be killed and the disciples with him.

3.  Lazarus is apparently a close friend of Jesus, but when he is deathly ill and his sisters send word for Jesus to come to him, Jesus tarries for two days.  Why does he do this?  He does not hurry to Bethany, where he lies ill, to heal him.  It is in his interest to let Lazarus die.  He has preternatural knowledge of Lazarus' death and seems to want Lazarus well in his tomb before he arrives.  Everything seems a set up for a miracle.  This is an opportunity for Jesus to really show off his stuff.  Jesus wants his friend dead so he can raise him.  And he wants him already moldering in his grave so that there is no doubt about his death.  It seems that other people, even friends, are mere tools to promote Jesus' status as a divine healer.  Jesus doesn't care if others suffer as long as he can use them in one of his miracles.  In fact, he seems callously unconcerned that he arrived too late to heal his friend Lazarus and is moved to emotion only when he is brought to the tomb and sees how others are mourning for his friend.

4.  In referring to her brother, Martha states what was probably a prevalent belief among her people, that the dead are to be resurrected on the Last Day.  This would contradict any belief that, upon death, the good go to Heaven and the bad go to Hell. 

5.  Jesus not only claims that those who are dead, and had believe in him, will be raised from the dead and live again, he says that those who are alive and believe won’t die at all.  The first claim cannot be disproven, but the second was obviously not fulfilled.  Most translations muddle the meaning of this passage.  The King James Version’s “he that liveth and believeth in me” incorrectly suggests belief in him and adherence to his teaching, not what it really says.  It is common that biblical passages that are patently false are purposely made obscure by translators so as not to discomfit unquestioning believers.

 6.  The resurrection of Lazarus is, from a dramatic standpoint, really lame.  A stone is rolled away from the cave.  Jesus calls upon his Father.  The Father doesn't answer so that anyone can hear him.  Jesus calls to Lazarus to come out of the cave and he does so, still wrapped in burial clothes.  That's it!  The emergence would make a good scene for a horror film, but is emotionally unsatisfying.  What is the reaction of those viewing this?  What is Lazarus' physical and mental condition?  Why doesn't he say something?  Why doesn't Jesus say something?  Why don't the sisters run to embrace him?

7. In past miracles, Jesus seems to accomplish them on his own, but for this one, involving the raising of the dead, he needs to ask directly for his Father's help.  This would lead one to believe that the powers of the Son of God were limited.  He could only do so much on his own.  For the really big things, like the resurrection of the dead, he would need the Father’s personal assistance.