John 11:38–53

³⁸Deeply moved again, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take the stone away.” 

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.” 

⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” ⁴¹So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb. 

Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. ⁴²I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” ⁴³After Jesus had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!” 

⁴⁴The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Jesus told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.” 

The Jewish Council Plans to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵Many Jews who had visited Mary and had seen what Jesus had done believed in him. ⁴⁶But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What are we doing? This man is performing a lot of miracles. ⁴⁸If we let him continue what he’s doing, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will take away our position and our nation.” 

⁴⁹One of them, Caiaphas, who was chief priest that year, told them, “You people don’t know anything. ⁵⁰You haven’t even considered this: It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” 

⁵¹Caiaphas didn’t say this on his own. As chief priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. ⁵²He prophesied that Jesus wouldn’t die merely for this nation, but that Jesus would die to bring God’s scattered children together and make them one. 

⁵³From that day on, the Jewish council planned to kill Jesus.