I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb ^(A)four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[a] off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary ^(B)to console them concerning their brother. ^20 (C)So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to ^(D)Jesus, “Lord, ^(E)if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, ^(F)God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ^24 (G)Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ^(H)the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, ^(I)“I am the resurrection and ^(J)the life.^[b] Whoever believes in me, ^(K)though he die, ^(L)yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me ^(M)shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; ^(N)I believe that ^(O)you are the Christ, the Son of God, ^(P)who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

³⁸ Then Jesus, ^(A)deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ^(B)a cave, and ^(C)a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for ^(D)he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, ^(E)“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see ^(F)the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus ^(G)lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ^42 (H)I knew that you always hear me, but I said this ^(I)on account of the people standing around, ^(J)that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ^44 (K)The man who had died came out, ^(L)his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and ^(M)his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

^45 (N)Many of the Jews therefore, ^(O)who had come with Mary and ^(P)had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶ but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(Q)gathered ^(R)the council and said, ^(S)“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and ^(T)the Romans will come and take away both our ^(U)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(V)Caiaphas, ^(W)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that ^(X)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ He did not say this of his own accord, but ^(Y)being high priest that year ^(Z)he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and ^(AA)not for the nation only, but also ^(AB)to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(AC)made plans to put him to death.