Lazarus of Bethany11:0 I take it that the events recorded in Luke 14:25-18:17, or most of the ministry in Perea, occurred between 10:42 and 11:1, here.

1Now a certain man, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha, was sick.

2(It was the Mary who [later] ³²⁵anointed the Lord with myrrh and wiped His feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

3So the sisters sent to Him saying, “Lord, please, the one you love is sick!”

Jesus lets Lazarus die on purpose

4Upon hearing it Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5(Now Jesus loved ³²⁶Martha and her sister and Lazarus.)

6So, when He heard that he was sick He stayed where He was two more days! ³²⁷

7Then after this He says to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” ³²⁸

8The disciples say to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and you are going back there?”

9Jesus answered: “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day he doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10But if anyone walks in the night he does stumble, because the light is not in him.” ³²⁹

11Having said these things He says to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going in order to awaken him.”

12His disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he is sleeping he will get well.”

13But Jesus had spoken of his death, while they thought He was talking about natural sleep.

14So then Jesus 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 us go to him.” ³³⁰

16Then Thomas (called Twin) said to his fellow disciples, “Let's us go too, so that we may die with Him.” ³³¹

17So when Jesus had come, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ³³²

18(Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away,

19and many of the Jews had joined the women around ³³³Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.)

20Then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, ³³⁴went to meet Him; but Mary remained sitting at home. ³³⁵

Martha

21Then Martha said to Jesus: “Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died.

22But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

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

24Martha says to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25Jesus said to her: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes into me, though he may die, will live;

26and everyone who both lives and believes into me will never ever die. ³³⁶Do you believe this?”

27She says to Him, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One coming into the world.” ³³⁷

Mary

28Having said these things she went and called her sister Mary, saying privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling you!”

29Upon hearing it she gets up quickly and goes to Him.

30(Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was in the place where Martha met Him.

31Then the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, when they saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”)

32Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, upon seeing Him she fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died!” ³³⁸

Jesus is troubled

33So when Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³³⁹

34And He said, “Where have you put him?” They say to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

35Jesus wept. ³⁴⁰

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

37But some of them said, “Couldn't this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have also kept this one from dying?”

38Then, groaning within Himself again, Jesus arrived at the tomb. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.

39Jesus says, “Remove the stone!” Martha, the sister of the deceased, says to Him, “Lord, he already stinks; it's been four days!” ³⁴¹

40Jesus says to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” ³⁴²

41Then they took away the stone from where the deceased was lying. Jesus raised His eyes and said: “Father, I thank You that You heard me. ³⁴³

42I know that You always hear me, but I spoke for the sake of the crowd standing around, so that they may believe that You sent me.” ³⁴⁴

43Upon saying these things He shouted with a loud voice, ³⁴⁵“Lazarus, come out!” ³⁴⁶

44And out the deceased came! Bound hand and foot with bandages, ³⁴⁷and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus says to them, “Loose him and let him go.” ³⁴⁸

The reaction

45So many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed into Him.

46But some of them went off to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council ³⁴⁹and said: “What can we do? Because this man performs many miraculous signs;

48if we let him go on like this everybody will believe into him; and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation!” ³⁵⁰

49But one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them: “You know nothing at all! ³⁵¹

50Nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us ³⁵²that one man should die on behalf of the people, rather than the whole nation perish!”

51(Now he did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die on behalf of the nation; ³⁵³

52and not only on behalf of the nation, but also to gather into one all the scattered children of God.) ³⁵⁴

53So from that day on they really plotted to kill Him. ³⁵⁵

A tactical withdrawal

54Therefore Jesus no longer moved about openly among the Jews, but went away from there into the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and He stayed there with His disciples. ³⁵⁶

The Passover is near

55Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many from the country went up to Jerusalem before the Passover in order to purify themselves.

56So they were looking for Jesus, ³⁵⁷and as they stood in the temple they were saying to each other, “What do you think—that he won't come to the feast at all?”

57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had together issued an edict that if anyone knew where He was he should report it, so they could arrest Him.