What is the story of the raising of Lazarus?

Understanding John 11:43-44

The raising of Lazarus from the dead, recorded in John 11:1-44, is the seventh and greatest of the signs in John's Gospel — the miracle that most clearly reveals Jesus as the Lord of life and death. It is also the event that, more than any other, precipitated the plot to kill Jesus (John 11:45-53).

The Setting

Lazarus lived in Bethany, a village about two miles east of Jerusalem, with his sisters Mary and Martha. This family was close to Jesus — John notes that 'Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus' (John 11:5). It was Mary who had anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair (John 11:2; 12:1-8).

When Lazarus fell ill, the sisters sent word to Jesus: 'Lord, the one you love is sick' (John 11:3). They did not demand a miracle — they simply told Jesus, trusting that His love would be enough.

The Deliberate Delay

Jesus's response is one of the most puzzling statements in the Gospels: 'This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it' (John 11:4). Then John adds: 'So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days' (John 11:6).

Jesus deliberately delayed. He let Lazarus die. This was not indifference but intention — Jesus was orchestrating a sign that would leave no room for doubt. A healing could be questioned; a resurrection after four days in the tomb could not.

After the delay, Jesus told His disciples: 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up' (John 11:11). When the disciples misunderstood, Jesus said plainly: 'Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe' (John 11:14-15).

Martha's Faith and Jesus's Declaration

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Martha came out to meet Him and said: 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask' (John 11:21-22).

Jesus responded with one of the most important declarations in all of Scripture: 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?' (John 11:25-26).

This is not a promise about what Jesus will do someday. It is a declaration about who Jesus is. He does not merely give resurrection — He is the resurrection. Life and death are not forces beyond His control; they are within His authority.

Martha's confession is remarkable: 'Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world' (John 11:27). This confession rivals Peter's at Caesarea Philippi.

Jesus Wept

When Mary came to Jesus, she fell at His feet with the same words: 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died' (John 11:32). When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews weeping with her, 'he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled' (John 11:33).

Then comes the shortest and one of the most powerful verses in the Bible: 'Jesus wept' (John 11:35).

Jesus was about to raise Lazarus. He knew what He was going to do. Yet He wept. The Greek word (edakrusen) describes tears flowing — not sobbing, but genuine weeping. Jesus wept not from helplessness but from compassion. He entered into the grief of those He loved. The One who holds power over death still mourns its devastation.

The Miracle

Jesus came to the tomb — a cave with a stone laid across it. He said: 'Take away the stone.' Martha objected: 'But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days' (John 11:39). The four-day detail is crucial. Jewish belief held that the soul lingered near the body for three days before departing permanently. By the fourth day, Lazarus was unquestionably, irreversibly dead by every human measure.

Jesus prayed aloud — not for His own benefit but for the crowd's: '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' (John 11:41-42).

Then He called in a loud voice: 'Lazarus, come out!' (John 11:43).

And the dead man came out. Hands and feet bound in burial cloths, face wrapped in a cloth — yet walking. Jesus said: 'Take off the grave clothes and let him go' (John 11:44).

The Aftermath

Many who witnessed the miracle believed (John 11:45). But some reported it to the Pharisees. The Sanhedrin convened and concluded: 'If 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' (John 11:48).

Caiaphas, the high priest, unwittingly prophesied: 'It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish' (John 11:50). John notes that Caiaphas did not say this on his own but prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation — and not only for the nation but for the scattered children of God (John 11:51-52).

From that day, they plotted to kill Jesus (John 11:53). The greatest sign of life became the immediate cause of Jesus's death. The irony is staggering and intentional in John's narrative: the one who raised the dead would Himself be put to death — and rise again.

Theological Significance

The raising of Lazarus reveals Jesus as the Lord who has authority over death itself. It foreshadows the general resurrection and confirms that faith in Christ transcends physical death. It also demonstrates the paradox at the heart of the Gospel: life comes through death. Jesus gave Lazarus life, and that act of life led to His own death — which led to resurrection life for the world.