1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Lu 10:38)2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. (Joh 12:3)3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (Joh 11:5; Joh 11:11; Joh 11:36)4But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (Mt 9:24; Joh 9:3; Joh 11:11; Joh 11:40; Joh 13:31)5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (Joh 11:3)6So, when he heard that Lazarus[1] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (Joh 2:4; Joh 7:6; Joh 7:8)7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” (Joh 10:40)8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” (Joh 1:38; Joh 8:59; Joh 10:31)9Jesus answered, “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. (Lu 13:33; Joh 9:4; 1Jo 2:10)10But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” (Jer 13:16)11After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” (Mt 27:52)12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,15and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”16So Thomas, called the Twin,[2] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (Mt 10:3; Mr 3:18; Lu 6:15; Joh 13:37; Joh 14:5; Joh 20:24; Joh 20:26; Joh 21:2; Ac 1:13)
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. (Joh 11:39)18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles[3] off,19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. (Job 2:11; Joh 11:31)20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. (Lu 10:38)21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (Joh 11:32; Joh 11:37)22But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (Joh 9:31; Joh 11:42)23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” (Lu 14:14; Joh 5:29; Joh 6:39; Joh 11:39)25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[4] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, (Joh 1:4; Joh 3:36; Joh 5:21; Joh 6:40; Joh 6:44; Joh 6:57; Joh 12:25; Joh 14:6; 1Co 15:21; Col 3:4)26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Joh 6:50; Joh 8:51)27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (Mt 11:3; Mt 16:16; Joh 6:14; Joh 6:69; Joh 8:24; Joh 13:19; Joh 20:31; 1Jo 4:16; 1Jo 5:1; 1Jo 5:5)
Jesus Weeps
28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” (Mt 26:18; Mr 14:14; Lu 22:11; Joh 13:13)29And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.31When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. (Joh 11:19)32Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (Joh 11:21)33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved[5] in his spirit and greatly troubled. (Mr 14:5; Joh 11:38; Joh 12:27; Joh 13:21)34And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”35Jesus wept. (Lu 19:41)36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” (Joh 11:3)37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (Joh 9:6; Joh 11:21; Joh 11:32)
Jesus Raises Lazarus
38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. (Isa 22:16; Mt 27:60; Mr 15:46; Lu 24:2; Joh 11:33; Joh 20:1)39Jesus 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 he has been dead four days.” (Joh 11:17)40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (Joh 11:4; Joh 11:25; Ro 6:4)41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. (Joh 17:1)42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” (Mt 26:53; Joh 3:17; Joh 11:22; Joh 12:29; Joh 17:8; Joh 17:21)43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”44The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (Joh 5:28; Joh 19:40; Joh 20:7)
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, (Joh 2:23; Joh 11:19; Joh 12:11; Ac 9:42)46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. (Mt 5:22; Mt 26:3; Joh 12:19; Ac 4:16)48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (Joh 6:15; Joh 18:36; Ac 21:28)49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. (Mt 26:3; Joh 11:51; Joh 18:13)50Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” (Joh 18:14)51He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, (Ex 28:30; Nu 27:21; 1Sa 23:9; 1Sa 30:7; Ezr 2:63; Ne 7:65; Joh 11:49)52and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. (Isa 49:6; Joh 10:16; 1Jo 2:2)53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. (Joh 7:1)54Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. (Joh 7:1; Joh 7:4)55Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. (2Ch 30:17; Lu 2:42; Joh 6:4; Joh 18:28; Ac 21:24)56They were looking for[6] Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” (Joh 7:11)57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
John 11
New International Version
The death of Lazarus
1Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.2(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’4When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This illness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.6So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was two more days,7and then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’8‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?’9Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the day-time will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.10It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.’11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’12His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.14So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead,15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’16Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[1]) said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
Jesus comforts the sisters of Lazarus
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.18Now Bethany was less than two miles[2] from Jerusalem,19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.21‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died.22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’23Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’24Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’25Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;26and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’27‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’28After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. ‘The Teacher is here,’ she said, ‘and is asking for you.’29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.34‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.35Jesus wept.36Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’37But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead
38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.39‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.’40Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me.42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’
The plot to kill Jesus
45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many signs.48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.’49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all!50You do not realise that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.54Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.55When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.56They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, ‘What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?’57But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.