The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus

1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days in the place where He was. 7Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 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. 10But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11He said these things, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him.” 12The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will [†]be saved from his sickness.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of [†]actual sleep. 14So Jesus then said to them [†]plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16Therefore Thomas, who is called [†]Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

17So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about [†]fifteen stadia away; 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. 20Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” 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.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” 27She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the [†]Christ, the Son of God, [†]the One who comes into the world.”

28And when she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.

30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31Then the Jews—who were with her in the house and consoling her—when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to cry there. 32Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and the Jews who came with her also crying, He was [†]deeply moved in spirit and [†]was troubled, 34and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, [†]have kept this man also from dying?”

38So Jesus, again being [†]deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42And I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

45Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

The Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

47Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the [†]Sanhedrin together, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is doing many [†]signs. 48If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

54Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

55Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves. 56So they were seeking Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?” 57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.