Raising of Lazarus

The Raising of Lazarus or the Resurrection of Lazarus, recounted only in the Gospel of John (John 11:1-44), is a miracle of Jesus in which Jesus brings Lazarus of Bethany back to life four days after his burial. In John, this is the last of the miracles that Jesus performs before the Passion and his own resurrection.

According to John 11:1-44, Jesus receives a message that Lazarus is ill, and his two sisters are seeking his help. Jesus tells his followers that he intends to wait for Lazarus to die, in order that God may be glorified:

"This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

Jesus then delays for two days. The disciples are afraid of returning to Judea, but Jesus commands them to go with him, stating:

"Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe."

When they arrive in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days. Before they enter the town, Martha, Lazarus' sister, comes to meet Jesus and tells him: "if you had been here, my brother would not have died". Jesus assures Martha that her brother will rise again and states:

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Martha's affirmation that she does indeed believe, "Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world", is only the second time (after Nathanael) that someone declares Jesus as Son of God and the first time someone equates him as 'Messiah' and 'Son of God' together. The only other time this happens in the entire gospel is in the explanation the author of the Gospel gives for writing his Gospel as the very end.

Upon entering the village, Jesus is met by Mary and the Jewish people with her. Upon seeing their grief and weeping, Jesus is deeply moved. Then, after asking where he was buried, the shortest verse in the four Gospels is found - Jesus wept. After that, Jesus asks for the stone of the grave to be removed, but Mary interjects that there will be a smell. To which Jesus responds,

"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said:

"Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I 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."

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Wikipedia