119. The Raising of Lazarus

Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany, was sick. The sisters sent to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified.” Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, but when he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed two days where he was. After this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”

The disciples told him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”

Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If you walk in the day, you don’t stumble, because you see the light of this world. But if you walk in the night, you stumble, because the light isn’t in you.” After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him from his sleep.”

The disciples said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought he spoke of sleeping. He said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. I am glad for your sakes I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”

Thomas said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus came, he learned Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already. Bethany was near Jerusalem, less than two miles away, and many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. When Martha heard Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now I know whatever you ask, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even after death. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, who comes into the world.”

When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here, and is calling you.”

When Mary heard, she rose quickly, and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him. The Jews in her house consoling her, when they saw Mary rise up and go out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” When Mary came to where Jesus was, she fell down at his feet, saying, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in his spirit, and was troubled, saying, “Where have you laid him?”

They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus wept.

The Jews said, “See how much affection he had for him!” Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of the one who was blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb, a cave with a stone against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha said, “Lord, by this time there is a stench; he’s been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”

They took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. I know that you always listen to me, but because of the crowd standing around I said this, that they may believe you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

The one who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face wrapped with a cloth.

Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”

Reflection

The tension in this story comes from Jesus not being there when Lazarus was sick and delaying his coming until after he had died. Have you ever been upset with God for something terrible that happened? In retrospect, can you see ways in which God was present and involved through it all? 

Prayer: Open my eyes to see your presence in the darkest days, Lord, and know you are still at work.