M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Christ raises Lazarus from death. The high priests and Pharisees gather a council against him. He gets himself out of the way.

11 A certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. ² It was that Mary who had anointed Jesus with oyntment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ And his sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.

⁴ When Jesus heard that, he said, This infirmity is not unto death, but for the laud of God, so that the Son of God may be praised by reason of it.

⁵ Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ Then, after he had heard that he was sick, he remained still two days in the same place where he was.

⁷ Then after that he said to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again. ⁸ His disciples said to him, Master, lately the Jews tried to stone you, and will you go there again? ⁹ Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If a man walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him.

¹¹ This he said, and after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go to wake him out of sleep. ¹² Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps he will do well enough. ¹³ However, Jesus was speaking of his death. But they thought that he had spoken of the natural sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus said to them 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 Then Thomas who is called Didymus said to the disciples, Let us also go, so that we may die with him.

¹⁷ Then Jesus went, and found that Lazarus had lain in his grave four days already. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them over their brother. ²⁰ Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary sat still in the house.

²¹ Then Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not be dead. ²² But nevertheless, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give 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. He who believes on me, yea though he be dead, yet shall he live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes on me shall never die. Do you believe this?

²⁷ She said to him, Yes, Lord. I believe that you are Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world.

²⁸ And as soon as she had so said, she went her way and called Mary her sister quietly, saying, The Teacher has come and is calling for you. ²⁹ And Mary, as soon as she heard that, arose quickly and went to him.

³⁰ Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met him. ³¹ Then the Jews who were with Mary in the house and comforting her, when they saw that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She is going to the grave, to weep there.

³² Then when Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not be dead.

³³ When Jesus saw her weep, and the Jews who came with her also weep, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled in himself, ³⁴ and said, Where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. ³⁵ And Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, See how he loved him! ³⁷ And some of them said, Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind, have made also that this man should not have died? ³⁸ Jesus again groaned in himself, and came to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ And Jesus said, Take away the stone.

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, Lord, by this time he will smell, for he has been dead 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 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you, because you have heard me. ⁴² I know that you hear me always. But because of the people that stand by, I said this – so that they may believe that you have sent me.

⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth! ⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth wrapped hand and foot with grave bonds, and his face was bound about with a headcloth.

Jesus said to them, Loose him and let him go.

⁴⁵ Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen the things that Jesus did, believed on him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

⁴⁷ Then the high priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, What should we do? This man does many miracles. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on this way, everyone will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away our country and the people.

⁴⁹ And one of them named Caiaphas, who was the high priest that same year, said to them, You perceive nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor yet consider that it is better for us that one man die for the people, and not that all the people perish. ⁵¹ This he spoke not of himself, but, being high priest that same year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the people – ⁵² and not for the people only, but that he would gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

⁵³ From that day forth they took counsel together about how to put him to death. ⁵⁴ Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went his way from there to a region near to a wilderness, into a village called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

⁵⁵ And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and many people went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ Then they sought for Jesus, and spoke between themselves as they stood in the temple: What do you think, seeing he is not coming to the feast? ⁵⁷ The high priests and Pharisees had given a commandment that if anyone knew where he was, they should report it so that they might seize him.

The everlasting ordinance and election of God in saving all races through Christ Jesus his Son. We are to be saints and without blame. The dominion of Christ.

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. To the saints who are at Ephesus, and to those who believe on Jesus Christ.

² Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all manner of spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ, ⁴ accordingly as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world was laid, to be holy and without blame before him through love. ⁵ And he predestined us through Jesus Christ to be his heirs, in accordance with his pleasure and will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of the grace with which he has made us accepted in the Beloved, ⁷ by whom we have redemption through his blood; that is, the forgiveness of sins, consonant with the riches of his grace, ⁸ which grace he shed on us abundantly in all wisdom and understanding.

⁹ And as it pleased him, he has made known to us the mystery of his will, ¹⁰ and purposed in himself to have it declared when the time was full come – namely that all things, both the things that are in heaven and also the things that are in earth, will be gathered together in Christ; ¹¹ that is to say, in him in whom we are made heirs. To this we were predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will, ¹² so that we who before believed in Christ will be to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him also you (after you heard the word of truth, I mean the gospel of your salvation, in which you believed) were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ which is the earnest of our inheritance to redeem the purchased possession, and that to the laud of his glory.

¹⁵ Therefore I (after I heard of the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus and love to all the saints) ¹⁶ cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of glory to give to you the spirit of wisdom, and to open to you the knowledge of himself, ¹⁸ and to enlighten the eyes of your minds, so that you may know what that hope is to which he has called you, and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is upon the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of his power in us who believe pursuant to the working of that his mighty power, ²⁰ which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his right hand in heavenly things, ²¹ above all rule, power, and might, and dominion, and above all names that are named, not in this world only, but also in the world to come. ²² And he has put all things under his feet, and has made him above all things, the head of the congregation, ²³ which is his body, and the fullness of him who fills all in all things.