Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,and then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?"

Jesus answered, "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."

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then 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."

Then Thomas (also known as Didymus ) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.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."Therefore 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."

Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all!You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the festival at all?"But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

John 11

The Death of Lazarus

1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived.t2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oilt and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)s3 So the sisters sent a messaget to Jesus,t “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.”4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death,ts but to God’s glory,t so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”s

5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.)s
6 So when he heard that Lazarust was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days.7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”s8 The disciples replied,t “Rabbi, the Jewish leaderst were just now tryingt to stone you to death! Aret you going there again?”9 Jesus replied,t “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble,t because he sees the light of this world.s

10 But if anyone walks around at night,t he stumbles,t because the light is not in him.”
11 After he said this, he added,t “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.t But I am going there to awaken him.”12 Then the disciples replied,t “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

13 (Now Jesus had been talking aboutt his death, but theyt thought he had been talking about real sleep.)ts
14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,15 and I am gladt for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.s But let us go to him.”

16 So Thomas (called Didymuss)s said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.”s

Speaking with Martha and Mary

17 Whent Jesus arrived,t he found that Lazarust had been in the tomb four days already.ts18 (Now Bethany was less than two milest from Jerusalem,s19 so many of the Jewish people of the regiont had come to Martha and Mary to console themt over the loss of their brother.)ts20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house.s21 Marthat said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grantt you.”s
23 Jesus replied,t “Your brother will come back to life again.”ts24 Martha said,t “I know that he will come back to life againt in the resurrection at the last day.”25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will livet even if he dies,26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die.t Do you believe this?”

27 She replied,t “Yes, Lord, I believet that you are the Christ,ts the Son of God who comes into the world.”t
28 And when she had said this, Marthat went and called her sister Mary, saying privately,t “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”t29 So when Maryt heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.30 (Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet him.)

31 Then the peoplet who were with Maryt in the house consoling her saw hert get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weept there.
32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the peoplet who had come with her weeping, he was intensely movedt in spirit and greatly distressed.t34 He asked,t “Where have you laid him?”t They replied,t “Lord, come and see.”35 Jesus wept.s36 Thus the people who had come to mournt said, “Look how much he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see!t Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarust from dying?”

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

38 Jesus, intensely movedt again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.)s39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”t Martha, the sister of the deceased,t replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell,t because he has been buriedt four days.”s40 Jesus responded,t “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?”41 So they took awayt the stone. Jesus looked upwardt and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me.t42 I knew that you always listen to me,t but I said thist for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.”43 Whent he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice,s “Lazarus, come out!”

44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth,s and a cloth wrapped around his face.t Jesus said to them, “Unwrap himt and let him go.”

The Response of the Jewish Leaders

45 Then many of the people,t who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesust did, believed in him.46 But some of them went to the Phariseess and reported to themt what Jesus had done.47 So the chief priests and the Phariseest called the councilt together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs.

48 If we allow him to go on in this way,t everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuaryt and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said,t “You know nothing at all!50 You do not realizet that it is more to your advantage to have one mant die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.”s51 (Now he did not say this on his own,t but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation,t52 and not for the Jewish nationt only,s but to gather togethert into one the children of God who are scattered.)s

53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.
54 Thus Jesus no longer wentt around publiclyt among the Judeans,t but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim,t and stayed there with his disciples.55 Now the Jewish feast of Passovert was near, and many people went up to Jerusalems from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually.t56 Thus they were looking for Jesus,t and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts,t “What do you think? That he won’t come to the feast?”

57 (Now the chief priests and the Phariseest had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesust was should report it, so that they could arrestt him.)s