The Gospel According to St. John

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- Chapter 11 -

Now there was a certain sick man, Lazarus of Bethania, from the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

And Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was sick.

Therefore, his sisters sent to him, saying: “Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.”

Then, upon hearing this, Jesus said to them: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.

Even so, after he heard that he was sick, he then still remained in the same place for two days.

Then, after these things, he said to his disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”

The disciples said to him: “Rabbi, the Jews are even now seeking to stone you. And would you go there again?”

Jesus responded: “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the daylight, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

But if he walks in the nighttime, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

He said these things, and after this, he said to them: “Lazarus our friend is sleeping. But I am going, so that I may awaken him from sleep.”

And so his disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he shall be healthy.”

But Jesus had spoken about his death. Yet they thought that he spoke about the repose of sleep.

Therefore, Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus has died.

And I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

And then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go, too, so that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts Martha and Mary

And so Jesus went. And he found that he had already been in the tomb for four days.

(Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia.)

And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, so as to console them over their brother.

Therefore, Martha, when she heard that Jesus was arriving, went out to meet him. But Mary was sitting at home.

And then Martha said to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

But even now, I know that whatever you will request from God, God will give to you.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother shall rise again.”

Martha said to him, “I know that he shall rise again, at the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus said to her: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in me, even though he has died, he shall live.

And everyone who lives and believes in me shall not die for eternity. Do you believe this?”

She said to him: “Certainly, Lord. I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, who has come into this world.”

And when she had said these things, she went and called her sister Mary quietly, saying, “The Teacher is here, and he is calling you.”

When she heard this, she rose up quickly and went to him.

For Jesus had not yet arrived in the town. But he was still at that place where Martha had met him.

Therefore, the Jews who were with her in the house and who were consoling her, when they had seen that Mary rose up quickly and went out, they followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb, so that she may weep there.”

Therefore, when Mary had arrived to where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and she said to him. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

And then, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had arrived with her weeping, he groaned in spirit and became troubled.(a)

And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

And Jesus wept.

Therefore, the Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”

But some of them said, “Would not he who opened the eyes of one born blind have been able to cause this man not to die?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

(Acts 9:36–43)

Therefore, Jesus, again groaning from within himself, went to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone had been placed over it.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who had died, said to him, “Lord, by now it will smell, for this is the fourth day.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you shall see the glory of God?”

Therefore, they took away the stone. Then, lifting up his eyes, Jesus said: “Father, I give thanks to you because you have heard me.

And I know that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the people who are standing nearby, so that they may believe that you have sent me.”

When he had said these things, he cried in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

And immediately, he who had been dead went forth, bound at the feet and hands with winding bands. And his face was bound with a separate cloth. Jesus said to them, “Release him and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

(Matthew 26:1–5; Mark 14:1–2; Luke 22:1–2)

Therefore, many of the Jews, who had come to Mary and Martha, and who had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.

But certain ones among them went to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus had done.

And so, the high priests and the Pharisees gathered a council, and they were saying: “What can we do? For this man accomplishes many signs.

If we leave him alone, in this way all will believe in him. And then the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation.”

Then one of them, named Caiaphas, since he was the high priest that year, said to them: “You do not understand anything.

Nor do you realize that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the entire nation should not perish.”

Yet he did not say this from himself, but since he was the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation.

And not only for the nation, but in order to gather together as one the children of God who have been dispersed.

Therefore, from that day, they planned to put him to death.

And so, Jesus no longer walked in public with the Jews. But he went into a region near the desert, to a city which is called Ephraim. And he lodged there with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near. And many from the countryside ascended to Jerusalem before the Passover, so that they might sanctify themselves.

Therefore, they were seeking Jesus. And they conferred with one another, while standing in the temple: “What do you think? Will he come to the feast day?”

And the high priests and Pharisees had given an order, so that if anyone would know where he may be, he should reveal it, so that they might apprehend him.

Footnotes

(a)11:33 Here the phrase ‘turbavit seipsum,’ literally ‘he troubled himself,’ which is an active tense paired with a reflective pronoun, is translated with the passive tense, ‘he because troubled’.(Conte)

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha.

It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”

But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”

The disciples asked him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”

Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.”

He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”

The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep.

So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead.

I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”

Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus,(a) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts Martha and Mary

So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia(b) away.

Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.

Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house.

Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.

Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.

Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”

When she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.”

When she heard this, she arose quickly and went to him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him.

Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled,

and said, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus wept.

The Jews therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!”

Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

(Acts 9:36–43)

Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”

So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.(c) Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me.

I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

(Matthew 26:1–5; Mark 14:1–2; Luke 22:1–2)

Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him.

But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs.

If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,

nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”

Now he didn’t say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

So from that day forward they took counsel that they might put him to death.

Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but departed from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim. He stayed there with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.

Then they sought for Jesus and spoke with one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that he isn’t coming to the feast at all?”

Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had commanded that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him.

Footnotes

(a)11:16 “Didymus” means “Twin”.

(b)11:18 15 stadia is about 2.8 kilometers or 1.7 miles