Read the Gospels in 40 Days

The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from ^(A)Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister ^(B)Martha. ² And it was the Mary who ^(C)anointed ^(D)the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “^(E)Lord, behold, ^(F)he whom You love is sick.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but is for ^(G)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved ^(H)Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days in the place where He was. ⁷ Then after this He *said to the disciples, “^(I)Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples *said to Him, “^(J)Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking ^(K)to stone You, and are You going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, “^(L)Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹ He said these things, and after that He *said to them, “Our ^(M)friend Lazarus ^(N)has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him.” ¹² The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will ^[a]be saved from his sickness.” ¹³ Now ^(O)Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of ^[b]actual sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus then said to them ^[c]plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” ^16 (P)Therefore Thomas, who is called ^[d](Q)Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb ^(R)four days. ¹⁸ Now ^(S)Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^[e]fifteen stadia away; ¹⁹ and many of ^(T)the Jews had come to ^(U)Martha and Mary, ^(V)to console them about their brother. ^20 (W)Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but ^(X)Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹ Martha then said to Jesus, “^(Y)Lord, ^(Z)if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that ^(AA)whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” ²³ Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha *said to Him, “^(AB)I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “^(AC)I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me ^(AD)will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are ^(AE)the ^[f]Christ, the Son of God, ^[g](AF)the One who comes into the world.”

²⁸ And when she had said this, she ^(AG)went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “^(AH)The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him.

³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but ^(AI)was still in the place where Martha met Him. ^31 (AJ)Then the Jews—who were with her in the house and ^(AK)consoling her—when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to cry there. ³² Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “^(AL)Lord, ^(AM)if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and ^(AN)the Jews who came with her also crying, He ^(AO)was ^[h]deeply moved in spirit and ^[i](AP)was troubled, ³⁴ and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus ^(AQ)wept. ³⁶ So ^(AR)the Jews were saying, “See how He ^(AS)loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not this man, who ^(AT)opened the eyes of the blind man, ^[j]have kept this man also from dying?”

³⁸ So Jesus, again being ^[k]deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a ^(AU)cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead ^(AV)four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus *said to her, “^(AW)Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they removed the ^(AX)stone. Then Jesus ^(AY)raised His eyes, and said, “^(AZ)Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² And I knew that You always hear Me; but ^(BA)because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that ^(BB)You sent Me.” ⁴³ And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” ⁴⁴ The man who had died came forth, ^(BC)bound hand and foot with wrappings, and ^(BD)his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

^45 (BE)Therefore many of the Jews ^(BF)who came to Mary, and ^(BG)saw what He had done, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the ^(BH)Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

The Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁷ Therefore ^(BI)the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(BJ)gathered the ^[l](BK)Sanhedrin together, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is doing many ^[m](BL)signs. ⁴⁸ If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our ^(BM)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(BN)Caiaphas, ^(BO)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor do you take into account that ^(BP)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” ⁵¹ Now he did not say this from himself, but ^(BQ)being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also ^(BR)gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(BS)planned together to kill Him.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus ^(BT)no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called ^(BU)Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(BV)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover ^(BW)to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ So they ^(BX)were seeking Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now ^(BY)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.

Mary Anoints Jesus with Costly Perfume

12 ^(BZ)Jesus, therefore, six days before ^(CA)the Passover, came to ^(CB)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they made Him a supper there, and ^(CC)Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. ^3 (CD)Mary then took a ^[n]litra of ^(CE)perfume of very costly pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But ^(CF)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was going to ^[o]betray Him, *said, ⁵ “Why was this perfume not sold for ^[p]three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” ⁶ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he ^(CG)had the money box, he used to take from ^(CH)what was put into it. ⁷ Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for ^(CI)the day of My burial. ^8 (CJ)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁹ Then the ^(CK)large crowd from the Jews learned that He was there. And they came, not because of Jesus only, but that they might also see Lazarus, ^(CL)whom He raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; ¹¹ because ^(CM)on account of him ^(CN)many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹² On the next day ^(CO)the large crowd who had come to ^(CP)the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “^(CQ)Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the ^[q]Lord, even the ^(CR)King of Israel.” ¹⁴ And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ¹⁵ “^(CS)Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” ^16 (CT)These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus ^(CU)was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him. ¹⁷ So ^(CV)the crowd, who was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to bear witness about Him. ^18 (CW)For this reason also the crowd went and met Him, ^(CX)because they heard that He had done this ^[r]sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing; look, the world has gone after Him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now there were some ^(CY)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at ^(CZ)the feast; ²¹ these then came to ^(DA)Philip, who was from ^(DB)Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip *came and *told ^(DC)Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus *answered them, saying, “^(DD)The hour has come for the Son of Man to ^(DE)be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(DF)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ^25 (DG)He who loves his ^[s]life loses it, and he who ^(DH)hates his ^[t]life in this world will keep it to life eternal. ²⁶ If anyone ^[u]serves Me, he must follow Me; and ^(DI)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone ^[v]serves Me, the Father will ^(DJ)honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

²⁷ “^(DK)Now ^(DL)My soul has become dismayed; and what shall I say, ‘^(DM)Father, ^(DN)save Me from ^(DO)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ^28 (DP)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a ^(DQ)voice came from heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “^(DR)An angel has spoken to Him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered and said, “^(DS)This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sake. ^31 (DT)Now judgment is upon this world; now ^(DU)the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, if I ^(DV)am lifted up from the earth, will ^(DW)draw all men to Myself.” ³³ But He was saying this ^(DX)to indicate the kind of death by which He was about to die. ³⁴ The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from ^(DY)the Law that ^(DZ)the ^[w]Christ is to remain forever; and how do You say, ‘The ^(EA)Son of Man must be ^(EB)lifted up’? Who is this ^(EC)Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, “^(ED)For a little while longer ^(EE)the Light is among you. ^(EF)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who ^(EG)walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. ³⁶ While you have the Light, ^(EH)believe in the Light, so that you may become ^(EI)sons of Light.”

These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and ^[x](EJ)hid Himself from them. ³⁷ But though He had done so many ^[y]signs before them, they still were not believing in Him, ³⁸ so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “^[z](EK)Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the ^[aa]Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ⁴⁰ “^(EL)He has blinded their eyes and He ^(EM)hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and return and I heal them.” ⁴¹ These things Isaiah said because ^(EN)he saw His glory, and ^(EO)he spoke about Him. ⁴² Nevertheless ^(EP)many even of ^(EQ)the rulers believed in Him, but ^(ER)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, ^[ab]for fear that they would be ^(ES)put out of the synagogue; ^43 (ET)for they loved the glory of men rather than the glory of God.

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “^(EU)He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. ^45 (EV)And he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. ^46 (EW)I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ And if anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for ^(EX)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ^48 (EY)He who rejects Me and does not receive My words, has one who judges him; ^(EZ)the word I spoke is what will judge him on ^(FA)the last day. ^49 (FB)For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me ^(FC)has given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that ^(FD)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak ^(FE)just as the Father has told Me.”