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Jesus shows his power over death

11 1-3 Now there was a man by the name of Lazarus who became seriously ill. He lived in Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Lazarus was the brother of the Mary who poured perfume upon the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus: “Lord, your friend is ill.”

When Jesus received the message, he said, “This illness is not meant to end in death; it is going to bring glory to God—for it will show the glory of the Son of God.”

5-7 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard of Lazarus’ illness he stayed where he was two days longer. Only then did he say to the disciples, “Let us go back into Judea.”

“Master!” returned the disciples, “only a few days ago, the Jews were trying to stone you to death—are you going there again?”

9-10 “There are twelve hours of daylight every day, are there not?” replied Jesus. “If a man walks in the daytime, he does not stumble, for he has the daylight to see by. But if he walks at night he stumbles, because he cannot see where he is going.”

11 Jesus spoke these words; then after a pause he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him up.”

12 At this, his disciples said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.”

13-15 Actually Jesus had spoken about his death, but they thought that he was speaking about falling into natural sleep. This made Jesus tell them quite plainly, “Lazarus has died, and I am glad that I was not there—for your sakes, that you may learn to believe. And now, let us go to him.”

16 Thomas (known as the twin) then said to his fellow-disciples, “Come on, then, let us all go and die with him!”

17-20 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the grave four days. Now Bethany is quite near Jerusalem, rather less than two miles away, and a good many of the Jews had come out to see Martha and Mary to offer them sympathy over their brother’s death. When Martha heard that Jesus was on his way, she went out and met him, while Mary stayed in the house.

21-22 “If only you had been here, Lord,” said Martha, “my brother would never have died. And I know that, even now, God will give you whatever you ask from him.”

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

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

25-26 “I myself am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus told her. “The man who believes in me will live even though he dies, and anyone who is alive and believes in me will never die at all. Can you believe that?”

27-31 “Yes, Lord,” replied Martha. “I do believe that you are Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into the world.” Saying this she went away and called Mary her sister, whispering, “The master’s here and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this she sprang to her feet and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet arrived at the village itself, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who had been condoling with Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and go out, they followed her, imagining that she was going to the grave to weep there.

32 When Mary met Jesus, she looked at him, and then fell down at his feet. “If only you had been here, Lord,” she said, “my brother would never have died.”

33 When Jesus saw Mary weep and noticed the tears of the Jews who came with her, he was deeply moved and visibly distressed.

34 “Where have you put him?” he asked.

35 “Lord, come and see,” they replied, and at this Jesus himself wept.

36-37 “Look how much he loved him!” remarked the Jews, though some of them asked, “Could he not have kept this man from dying if he could open that blind man’s eyes?”

38 Jesus was again deeply moved at these words, and went on to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay in front of it.

39 “Take away the stone,” said Jesus. “But Lord,” said Martha, the dead man’s sister, “he has been dead four days. By this time he will be decaying ....”

40 “Did I not tell you,” replied Jesus, “that if you believed, you would see the wonder of what God can do?”

41-42 Then they took the stone away and Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of these people standing here so that they may believe that you have sent me.”

43 And when he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with grave-clothes and his face muffled with a handkerchief. “Now unbind him,” Jesus told them, “and let him go home.”

Jesus’ miracle leads to deadly hostility

45-48 After this many of the Jews who had accompanied Mary and observed what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went off to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Consequently, the Pharisees and chief priests summoned the council and said, “What can we do? This man obviously shows many remarkable signs. If we let him go on doing this sort of thing we shall have everybody believing in him. Then we shall have the Romans coming and that will be the end of our holy place and our very existence as a nation.”

49-56 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, addressed the meeting: “You plainly don’t understand what is involved here. You do not realise that it would be a good thing for us if one man should die for the sake of the people—instead of the whole nation being destroyed.” (He did not make this remark on his own initiative but, since he was High Priest that year, he was in fact inspired to say that Jesus was going to die for the nation’s sake—and in fact not for that nation only, but to bring together into one family all the children of God scattered throughout the world.) From that day then, they planned to kill him. As a consequence Jesus made no further public appearance among the Jews but went away to the countryside on the edge of the desert, and stayed with his disciples in a town called Ephraim. The Jewish Passover was approaching and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem before the actual Passover, to go through a ceremonial cleansing. They were looking for Jesus there and kept saying to one another as they stood in the Temple, “What do you think? Surely he won’t come to the festival?”

57 It should be understood that the chief priests and the Pharisees had issued an order that anyone who knew of Jesus’ whereabouts should tell them, so they could arrest him.

Lazarus Dies

11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) So the sisters sent word[a] to him, saying, “Lord, behold, the one whom you love is sick.” And when he[b] heard it,[c] Jesus said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) So when he heard that he was sick, then he remained in the place where[d] he was two days.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were seeking just now to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus replied, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks around in the daylight, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks around in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. 11 He said these things, and after this he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I can awaken him.” 12 So the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” 13 (Now Jesus had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was speaking about real sleep.[e]) 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and I am glad for your sake[f] that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (the one who is called Didymus)[g] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go also, so that we may die with him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

17 So when he[h] arrived, Jesus found he had already been four days in the tomb. 18 (Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia.[i] 19 So many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary in order to console them concerning their[j] brother.) 20 Now Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 So Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Even[k] now I know that whatever you ask God, God will grant you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die forever.[l] Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 And when she[m] had said this, she went and called her sister Mary privately, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 So that one, when she heard it,[n] got up quickly and went to him. 30 (Now Jesus has not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha went to meet him.) 31 So the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they[o] saw Mary—that she stood up quickly and went out—followed her, because they[p] thought that she was going to the tomb in order to weep there.

32 Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and[q] saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 Then Jesus, when he saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled within himself. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Was not this man who opened the eyes of the blind able to do something[r] so that this man also would not have died?”

Lazarus Is Raised

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved within himself again, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying on it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the one who had died, said to him, “Lord, he is stinking already, because it has been four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his[s] eyes above and said, “Father, I give thanks to you that you hear me. 42 And I know that you always hear me, but for the sake of the crowd standing around I said it,[t] so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 And when he[u] had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The one who had died came out, his[v] feet and his[w] hands bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped with a facecloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

The Jewish Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Then many of the Jews who had come with Mary and saw the things which he did believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs! 48 If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place[x] and our[y] nation.”

49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas (who was high priest in that year), said to them, “You do not know anything at all! 50 Nor do you consider that it is profitable for you that one man should die for the people, and the whole nation not perish.” 51 (Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest in that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also that the children of God who are scattered would be gathered into one.) 53 So from that day they resolved that they should kill him. 54 So Jesus was no longer walking openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the surrounding country before the Passover, so that they could purify themselves. 56 So they were looking for Jesus, and were speaking with one another while[z] standing in the temple courts,[aa] “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?” 57 (Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, they should report it,[ab] in order that they could arrest him.)

Footnotes

  1. John 11:3 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  2. John 11:4 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  3. John 11:4 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. John 11:6 Literally “in which”
  5. John 11:13 Literally “the sleep of slumber”
  6. John 11:15 Literally “for the sake of you”
  7. John 11:16 “Didymus” means “the twin” in Greek
  8. John 11:17 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“arrived”) which is understood as temporal
  9. John 11:18 A “stade” or “stadium” (plur. “stadia”) is about 607 ft (187 m), so this was just under two miles (3 km)
  10. John 11:19 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  11. John 11:22 Some manuscripts have “But even”
  12. John 11:26 Literally “for the age”
  13. John 11:28 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had said”) which is understood as temporal
  14. John 11:29 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  15. John 11:31 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
  16. John 11:31 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“thought”) which is understood as causal
  17. John 11:32 Here “and” is supplied because the participle (“saw”) has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style
  18. John 11:37 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  19. John 11:41 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  20. John 11:42 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  21. John 11:43 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had said”) which is understood as temporal
  22. John 11:44 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  23. John 11:44 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  24. John 11:48 Generally understood to be a reference to the Jerusalem temple
  25. John 11:48 Literally “both the place and the nation of us”; the possessive pronoun is repeated in the translation (rather than the article) in keeping with English style
  26. John 11:56 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“standing”) which is understood as temporal
  27. John 11:56 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
  28. John 11:57 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation