The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus

1Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with [a]ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not [b]meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5(Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.) 6So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” 8The disciples *said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and yet You are going there again?” 9Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in [c]him.” 11This He said, and after this He *said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep.” 12The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will [d]come out of it.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about [e]actual sleep. 14So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus died, 15and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.” 16Therefore Thomas, who was called [f]Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!”

17So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about [g]fifteen stadia away; 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. 20So then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary [h]stayed in the house. 21Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” 24Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are the [i]Christ, the Son of God, and [j]He who comes into the world.”

28When she had said this, she left and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard this, she *got up quickly and came to Him.

30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha met Him. 31Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw that Mary had gotten up quickly and left, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and [k]was troubled, 34and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could this man, who opened the eyes of the man who was blind, not have also [l]kept this man from dying?”

38So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time [m]there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41So they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, because of the [n]people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44Out came the man who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

45Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Conspiracy to Kill Jesus

47Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council meeting, and they were saying, “What are we [o]doing in regard to the fact that this man is performing many [p]signs? 48If we let Him go on like this, all the people will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take over both our [q]place and our nation.” 49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50nor are you taking into account that it is in your best interest that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish instead.” 51Now he did not say this [r]on his own, but as he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation; 52and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

54Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

55Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the country prior to the Passover, in order to [s]purify themselves. 56So they were looking for Jesus, and saying to one another as they stood in the temple area, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might arrest Him.

[a] 2 Or perfume
[b] 4 Lit toward death
[c] 10 Or it; i.e., the world
[d] 12 Lit be saved
[e] 13 Lit the slumber of sleep
[f] 16 I.e., the Twin
[g] 18 Possibly 2 miles or 3 km; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m
[h] 20 Lit was sitting
[i] 27 I.e., Messiah
[j] 27 The Coming One was a Messianic title
[k] 33 Lit troubled Himself
[l] 37 Lit done so that this man also would not die
[m] 39 Lit he stinks
[n] 42 Lit crowd
[o] 47 Or doing? For this
[p] 47 I.e., confirming miracles
[q] 48 Possibly meaning the temple
[r] 51 Lit from himself
[s] 55 I.e., undergo required cleansing rituals