Lazarus Dies at Bethany
1Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany,11:1 Mk 11:1 the village of Mary and her sister Martha.11:1 Lk 10:38–42
2Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair,11:2 Lk 7:38; Jn 12:3 and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.
3So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,11:4 Lk 9:32; Jn 9:3; 10:38; 11:40; 17:24; 2Co 3:18; 2Pt 3:18 so that the Son of God11:4 Jn 5:19; Heb 1:2 may be glorified through it.”
5Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.
6So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.
12Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”
13Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep.
14So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died.
15I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
The Resurrection and the Life
18Bethany was near Jerusalem11:18 Mt 23:37 (less than two miles11:18 Lit fifteen stadia; one stadion = 600 feet away).
19Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.
20As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
21Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.
22Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Jesus Shares the Sorrow of Death
28Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
30Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
33When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved11:33 Or angry, also in v. 38 in his spirit11:33 Ps 51:12 and troubled.
34“Where have you put him?” he asked.
“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”
The Seventh Sign: Raising Lazarus from the Dead
38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.11:38 Mt 27:60; Mk 15:46; Lk 24:2; Jn 20:1
39“Remove the stone,” Jesus said.
Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”
41So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank11:41 Mk 8:6; Rm 1:8 you that you heard me.11:41 Jn 9:31
42I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent11:42 Mk 9:37; Jn 1:6 me.”
43After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
49One of them, Caiaphas,11:49 Mt 26:3,57; Lk 3:2; Jn 18:13–14,24,28; Ac 4:6 who was high priest11:49 Lv 16:32 that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all!
50You’re not considering that it is to your11:50 Other mss read to our advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”11:50 Is 53:8; Jn 18:14
55Now the Jewish Passover11:55 Ex 12:11 was near, and many went up to Jerusalem11:55 Mt 23:37 from the country to purify themselves before the Passover.
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