Bible Story · John 11:1–44
The Raising of Lazarus
The Story
Mary and Martha had sent word to Jesus: "Lord, the one you love is sick." Jesus delayed. Two days He stayed where He was, and Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Many mourners had come from Jerusalem. Martha came out to meet Jesus on the road. "Lord," she said, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." "Your brother will rise again," Jesus said. Martha answered with the theology she knew: "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." "I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus said to her. "The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die." Then Mary came, fell at His feet weeping. The mourners with her were weeping. And John records one of Scripture's most striking verses: Jesus wept. He who was about to raise the dead wept at the grave. Grief did not embarrass the Son of God. The shortness of this verse is its eloquence: He who was the resurrection and the life, who knew the ending of the story, still wept with the grieving. They came to the tomb — a cave with a stone across the entrance. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha objected: "By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Jesus replied, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" They took away the stone. Jesus looked up and prayed, then called out in a loud voice: "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, his face wrapped in a cloth. "Take off the grave clothes," Jesus said, "and let him go." From that day on they plotted to kill Jesus. This miracle, more than any other, accelerated the path to the cross.
Background
Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, making it a suburb of the holy city. The family of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus appears to have been well-connected and respected — many mourners came from Jerusalem, suggesting social prominence. Jewish burial customs of the time required burial on the day of death whenever possible, and the body was wrapped in linen strips with spices. The mention of four days is significant: a popular belief held that the soul hovered near the body for three days, so four days placed Lazarus unmistakably beyond any hope of natural resuscitation. Jesus' delay was not indifference but divine strategy — the miracle would be undeniable.
Truth
This miracle is the climax of John's seven "signs" and the most direct preview of the resurrection to come. Jesus' declaration — "I am the resurrection and the life" — is not a theological abstraction but a personal claim: the power of resurrection is not a process God administers from a distance but a Person standing before Martha in grief. The fact that Jesus wept, knowing He was about to raise Lazarus, teaches that entering into human grief is not a weakness or a failure of faith — it is love. The raising of Lazarus did not rescue Lazarus from death permanently; he would die again. But it was a sign pointing beyond itself to the One who conquered death forever.
Application
Where are you standing before a "sealed tomb" in your life — a situation that seems beyond hope or past the point of intervention? Jesus asked Martha, "Do you believe this?" How would you answer Him today?