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Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, after four days  

[chapter edited, because of length]

1Lazarus of Bethany was sick, of the household of Mary and her sister Martha. 2(Mary who had anointed Jesus' feet with fragrant oil and wiped them with her hair) John 12:1-8. 3And the sisters sent a message requesting Jesus to come and heal their brother. 4When Jesus got the message. He said; This sickness is not unto death, but for God's glory, so the Son of God may be glorified through it. 5Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when He heard this, He stayed two more days where He was. 7After this Jesus said, Let us go to Judea again 8The disciples said, the Jews seek to stone You, why do You wish to go there? 9And Jesus answered, There are twelve hours of daylight, if anyone walks in the daylight, he does not stumble. 10But those who walk in the night stumbles because there is no light in them. 11Now our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. 12His disciples said, if he sleeps he will get well. 13But Jesus spoke of his death. 14He then said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. 16Then Thomas said, Let us also go, that we may die with Him. 17When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days 18For Bethany was about two miles away from Jerusalem. 19And many of the Jews were there to comfort Martha and Mary. 20As Jesus came into the town, Martha met Him. 21And said to Him; Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that whatever You will ask of God, God will give it to You. 23Jesus replied; Your brother shall rise again. 24Martha said, I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25Jesus said, I am the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever believes in Me, even though he dies, yet shall he live. 26And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? 27She said; Yes, Lord, I believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God. 28Then she went away and secretly told Mary, The Teacher is calling for you. 29As soon as Mary heard, she came quickly, 30to the place where Jesus was. 31Now when the Jews saw her quickly leave, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep. 32Coming to Jesus, Mary fell down 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 with her weeping, He also groaned in the spirit and troubled Himself. 34Jesus then asked; where have you laid him? 35And He also wept. 36Taking notice of this the Jews said; See how He loved him! 37However some of them said; couldn't this Man who have opened the eyes of the blind prevented this mans death? 38Now the tomb was but a cave, with a stone rolled against its mouth. 39And Jesus said; Roll away the stone . However Martha said; Lord, he has been dead four days, by now the body is decomposing. 40But Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you, if you would believe you would see the glory of God? 41Then they rolled away the stone and Jesus raised His eyes unto heaven and said; Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42I know that You always hear Me, but for the peoples sake I said this, so that they may believe that You sent Me. 43He then cried out with a loud voice, saying; Lazarus, come forth. 44And Lazarus came forth, bound with grave clothes and Jesus said to them; Untie him!.
Insights
  • We need to think and believe for BIG things, for nothing is impossible with God, Luke 1:37.
  • Both sisters said to Jesus, Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died. Martha approached Jesus with a theological request / statement and got back a theological answer. Mary fell at His feet and wept and Jesus shared in Her emotion and also wept. Jesus / the Holy Spirit will meet us right where we are. Jesus did not give Mary a lesson in theology, nor did He force emotions on Martha.
  • Jesus purposely waited until Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days, to leave no room for doubt that this was a miracle of God. Martha also confirmed that the body was by now decomposing when she said, "Lord, by now he slinkiest". God is not willing to share the glory of His healing miracles with man.
  • Most likely, if the men had not rolled away the stone, the raising of Lazarus would not have taken place. Rolling away the stone proved two things. (1) man did what he could, waiting for God to do only what He could do. (2) by faith, whether it was, seen as a test by the Pharisees or curiosity to others, the stone was moved, allowing God to then move.
  • The raising of Lazarus from the dead is only mentioned in the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Luke does refer to Mary and Martha Luke 10:38-42, However, the name 'Lazarus' is not mentioned.
  • FYI - The name "Lazarus" means, "God has helped". Lazarus lived in Bethany and the name Bethany means "house of the afflicted one".