John 11:1–45

Lazarus Dies

11A man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. ²Mary would later pour perfume on the Lord. She would also wipe his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was sick in bed. ³So the sisters sent a message to Jesus. “Lord,” they told him, “the one you love is sick.”

⁴When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory. God’s Son will receive glory because of it.”

⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶But after he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.

⁷Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short time ago the Jews tried to kill you with stones. Are you still going back there?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Aren’t there 12 hours of daylight? A person who walks during the day won’t trip and fall. He can see because of this world’s light. ¹⁰But when he walks at night, he’ll trip and fall. He has no light.”

¹¹After he said this, Jesus went on speaking to them. “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,” he said. “But I am going there to wake him up.”

¹²His disciples replied, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he will get better.”

¹³Jesus had been speaking about the death of Lazarus. But his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵For your benefit, I am glad I was not there. Now you will believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas, who was called Didymus, spoke to the rest of the disciples. “Let us go also,” he said. “Then we can die with Jesus.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters

¹⁷When Jesus arrived, he found out that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁹Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary. They had come to comfort them because their brother was dead.

²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him. But Mary stayed at home.

²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “I wish you had been here! Then my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask for.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha answered, “I know he will rise again. This will happen when people are raised from the dead on the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even if he dies. ²⁶And those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God. I believe that you are the One who was supposed to come into the world.”

²⁸After she said this, she went back home. She called her sister Mary to one side to talk to her. “The Teacher is here,” Martha said. “He is asking for you.”

²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Jesus had not yet entered the village. He was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹Some Jews had been comforting Mary in the house. They noticed how quickly she got up and went out. So they followed her. They thought she was going to the tomb to cry there.

³²Mary reached the place where Jesus was. When she saw him, she fell at his feet. She said, “Lord, I wish you had been here! Then my brother would not have died.”

³³Jesus saw her crying. He saw that the Jews who had come along with her were crying also. His spirit became very sad, and he was troubled.

³⁴“Where have you put him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵Jesus sobbed.

³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “He opened the eyes of the blind man. Couldn’t he have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

³⁸Once more Jesus felt very sad. He came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone in front of the entrance.

³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad smell. Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.”

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone.

Then Jesus looked up. He said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. ⁴²I know that you always hear me. But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here. I said it so they will believe that you sent me.”

⁴³Then Jesus called in a loud voice. He said, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴The dead man came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of linen. A cloth was around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the clothes he was buried in and let him go.”

The Plan to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did. So they put their faith in him.