New Testament in a Year

11 Now a certain man named Lazarus was ill. He was of Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived.

² This Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was [now] sick.

³ So the sisters sent to Him, saying, Lord, he whom You love [so well] is sick.

⁴ When Jesus received the message, He said, This sickness is not to end in death; but [on the contrary] it is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by) it.

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [They were His dear friends, and He held them in loving esteem.]

⁶ Therefore [even] when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He still stayed two days longer in the same place where He was.

⁷ Then after that interval He said to His disciples, Let us go back again to Judea.

⁸ The disciples said to Him, Rabbi, the Jews only recently were intending and trying to stone You, and are You [thinking of] going back there again?

⁹ Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? Anyone who walks about in the daytime does not stumble, because he sees [by] the light of this world.

¹⁰ But if anyone walks about in the night, he does stumble, because there is no light in him [the light is lacking to him].

¹¹ He said these things, and then added, Our friend Lazarus is at rest and sleeping; but I am going there that I may awaken him out of his sleep.

¹² The disciples answered, Lord, if he is sleeping, he will recover.

¹³ However, Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He referred to falling into a refreshing and natural sleep.

¹⁴ So then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus is dead,

¹⁵ And for your sake I am glad that I was not there; it will help you to believe (to trust and rely on Me). However, let us go to him.

¹⁶ Then Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, Let us go too, that we may die [be killed] along with Him.

¹⁷ So when Jesus arrived, He found that he [Lazarus] had already been in the tomb four days.

¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away,

¹⁹ And a considerable number of the Jews had gone out to see Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house.

²¹ Martha then said to Jesus, Master, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

²² And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, He will grant it to You.

²³ Jesus said to her, Your brother shall rise again.

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

²⁵ Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live;

²⁶ And whoever continues to live and believes in (has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on) Me shall never [actually] die at all. Do you believe this?

²⁷ She said to Him, Yes, Lord, I have believed [I do believe] that You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), the Son of God, [even He] Who was to come into the world. [It is for Your coming that the world has waited.]

²⁸ After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, privately whispering to her, The Teacher is close at hand and is asking for you.

²⁹ When she heard this, she sprang up quickly and went to Him.