The Death of Lazarus

1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of ^lMary and her sister Martha. 2 ^mIt was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, ⁿhe whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, ^o“This illness does not lead to death. It is for ^pthe glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5 Now ^qJesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus¹ was ill, ^rhe stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, ^s“Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, ^t“Rabbi, ^uthe Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, ^v“Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^wIf anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But ^xif anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not ^xin him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^yhas fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 ^zSo Thomas, called the Twin,² said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, ^athat we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb ^bfour days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles³ off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary ^cto console them concerning their brother. 20 ^dSo when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to ^eJesus, “Lord, ^fif you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, ^gGod will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 ^hMartha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ⁱthe resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, ^j“I am the resurrection and ^kthe life.⁴ Whoever believes in me, ^lthough he die, ^myet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me ⁿshall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; ^oI believe that ^pyou are the Christ, the Son of God, ^qwho is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ^r“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews ^swho 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. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ^t“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he ^uwas deeply moved⁵ in his spirit and ^vgreatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 ^wJesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See ^xhow he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he ^ywho opened the eyes of the blind man ^zalso have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

38 Then Jesus, ^adeeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ^ba cave, and ^ca stone lay against it. 39 Jesus 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 ^dhe has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, ^e“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see ^fthe glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus ^glifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 ^hI knew that you always hear me, but I said this ⁱon account of the people standing around, ^jthat they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 ^kThe man who had died came out, ^lhis hands and feet bound with linen strips, and ^mhis face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 ⁿMany of the Jews therefore, ^owho had come with Mary and ^phad seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees ^qgathered ^rthe council and said, ^s“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and ^tthe Romans will come and take away both our ^uplace and our nation.” 49 But one of them, ^vCaiaphas, ^wwho was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that ^xit is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but ^ybeing high priest that year ^zhe prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and ^anot for the nation only, but also ^bto gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they ^cmade plans to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore ^dno 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.

55 Now ^ethe Passover of the Jews was at hand, and ^fmany went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover ^gto purify themselves. 56 ^hThey were looking for⁶ 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?” 57 Now 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.

How Long, O Lord?

A Psalm of ^yAsaph.