Raising Lazarus from the Dead Story - Bible

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany. He was the brother of Mary and Martha. Mary was the same woman who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.

The sisters sent a message to Jesus. They said, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.'

When Jesus heard this, he said, 'This sickness will not end in death. It is for God's glory. God's Son will receive glory through it.'

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. But when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. Then he said to his disciples, 'Let us go back to Judea.'

The disciples said to him, 'But Rabbi, a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you. Are you going back there?'

Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk in the daytime will not trip. They can see the light of this world. It is when they walk at night that they trip. 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.'

The disciples replied, 'Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get better.' They thought Jesus meant natural sleep. But he meant that Lazarus had died.

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

Then Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to the rest of the disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him.'

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, he found out that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary. They had come 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.

Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, 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. Anyone who believes in me will live, even if they die. And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'

Martha replied, 'Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. You are the one who was supposed to come into the world.'

After she said this, she went back home. She called her sister Mary to one side. She told her, 'The Teacher is here. He is asking for you.' When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.

Jesus had not yet entered the village. He was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who had been comforting Mary in the house followed her. They saw how quickly she got up and went out. They thought 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. She said, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'

When Jesus saw her crying, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. He asked, 'Where have you laid him?'

They replied, 'Come and see, Lord.'

Jesus wept. The Jews said, 'See how much 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?'

Once again Jesus was deeply moved. Then he came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.'

Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, 'But Lord, by this time there is a bad odor. He has been there for four days.'

Jesus said to her, '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. I said it so they may believe that you sent me.'

When he had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!'

The 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 grave clothes and let him go.'

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did. They 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, which was the Jewish council. They asked, 'What are we accomplishing? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.'

One of them, named Caiaphas, was the high priest that year. He said, '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. As high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. He would die not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God. He would die to bring them together and make them one.

So from that day on, they plotted to take Jesus' life. Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness. He stayed in the village of Ephraim with his disciples.

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

Jesus had power over death itself. He raised Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb. This miracle showed everyone that Jesus is the Son of God. He is the resurrection and the life. Everyone who believes in him will live forever, even if they die.

The Raising Lazarus from the Dead story teaches the power of God and hope. It shows that faith can overcome death and despair. This story highlights miracles and trust.