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The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus

¹ Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from ^(C1)Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister ^(C2)Martha.² And it was the Mary who ^(C1)anointed ^(C2)the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.³ So the sisters sent to Him, saying, "^(C1)Lord, behold, ^(C2)he whom You love is sick."⁴ But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but is for ^(C1)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."⁵ Now Jesus loved ^(C1)Martha and her sister and Lazarus.⁶ So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days in the place where He was.⁷ Then after this He ^(*)said to the disciples, "^(C1)Let us go to Judea again."⁸ The disciples ^(*)said to Him, "^(C1)Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking ^(C2)to stone You, and are You going there again?"⁹ Jesus answered, "^(C1)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.¹⁰ "But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."¹¹ He said these things, and after that He ^(*)said to them, "Our ^(C1)friend Lazarus ^(C2)has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him."¹² The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will ^(F1)be saved from his sickness."¹³ Now ^(C1)Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of ^(F1)actual sleep.¹⁴ So Jesus then said to them ^(F1)plainly, "Lazarus is dead,¹⁵ and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him."^16 (C1)Therefore Thomas, who is called ^(F1)(C2)Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him."

¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb ^(C1)four days.¹⁸ Now ^(C1)Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^(F1)fifteen stadia away;¹⁹ and many of ^(C1)the Jews had come to ^(C2)Martha and Mary, ^(C3)to console them about their brother.^20 (C1)Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but ^(C1)Mary was sitting in the house.²¹ Martha then said to Jesus, "^(C1)Lord, ^(C2)if You had been here, my brother would not have died.²² "But even now I know that ^(C1)whatever You ask from God, God will give You."²³ Jesus ^(*)said to her, "Your brother will rise again."²⁴ Martha ^(*)said to Him, "^(C1)I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."²⁵ Jesus said to her, "^(C1)I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me ^(C1)will never die—ever. Do you believe this?"²⁷ She ^(*)said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are ^(C1)the ^(F1)Christ, the Son of God, ^(F2)(C2)the One who comes into the world."

²⁸ And when she had said this, she ^(C1)went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, "^(C2)The Teacher is here and is calling for you."²⁹ And when she heard it, she ^(*)got up quickly and was coming to Him.

³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but ^(C1)was still in the place where Martha met Him.^31 (C1)Then the Jews—who were with her in the house and ^(C2)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.³² Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "^(C1)Lord, ^(C2)if You had been here, my brother would not have died."³³ When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and ^(C1)the Jews who came with her also crying, He ^(C2)was ^(F1)deeply moved in spirit and ^(F2)(C3)was troubled,³⁴ and said, "Where have you laid him?" They ^(*)said to Him, "Lord, come and see."³⁵ Jesus ^(C1)wept.³⁶ So ^(C1)the Jews were saying, "See how He ^(C2)loved him!"³⁷ But some of them said, "Could not this man, who ^(C1)opened the eyes of the blind man, ^(F1)have kept this man also from dying?"

³⁸ So Jesus, again being ^(F1)deeply moved within, ^(*)came to the tomb. Now it was a ^(C1)cave, and a stone was lying against it.³⁹ Jesus ^(*)said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, ^(*)said to Him, "Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead ^(C1)four days."⁴⁰ Jesus ^(*)said to her, "^(C1)Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"⁴¹ So they removed the ^(C1)stone. Then Jesus ^(C2)raised His eyes, and said, "^(C3)Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.⁴² "And I knew that You always hear Me; but ^(C1)because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that ^(C2)You sent Me."⁴³ And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."⁴⁴ The man who had died came forth, ^(C1)bound hand and foot with wrappings, and ^(C2)his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus ^(*)said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

^45 (C1)Therefore many of the Jews ^(C2)who came to Mary, and ^(C3)saw what He had done, believed in Him.⁴⁶ But some of them went to the ^(C1)Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

The Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁷ Therefore ^(C1)the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(C2)gathered the ^(F1)(C3)Sanhedrin together, and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man is doing many ^(F2)(C4)signs.⁴⁸ "If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our ^(C1)place and our nation."⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(C1)Caiaphas, ^(C2)who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,⁵⁰ nor do you take into account that ^(C1)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish."⁵¹ Now he did not say this from himself, but ^(C1)being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,⁵² and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also ^(C1)gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.⁵³ So from that day on they ^(C1)planned together to kill Him.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus ^(C1)no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called ^(C2)Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(C1)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover ^(C2)to purify themselves.⁵⁶ So they ^(C1)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?"⁵⁷ Now ^(C1)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.