Lazarus Raised from the Dead

John 11:1 – 44 describes the event related to the death of Lazarus, who was the brother of Martha and Mary. Lazarus had become ill and died before Jesus arrived to possibly heal him. When Jesus finally did arrived he first had conversation with Martha. Martha said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21 ESV). But Jesus had a plan and talked to Martha about the resurrection, explaining that after a believer dies he will be raised to life again. Jesus then explains that he has the power to do that by telling her: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25 – 26 ESV). Jesus is making it clear that he has the power to give eternal life to believers and for those who do believe he will raise them us to everlasting life after their physical death.

Jesus then had conversation with Mary and after that they all went to the tomb where they had laid Lazarus. The tomb was a cave with a stone placed against the entrance. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ⁴⁴ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Raising Lazarus from the dead and connecting it to the resurrection at the end of life planted the thought in the minds of people that he has the power to raise believers from the dead after their time on earth. In a future lesson we will see that Jesus himself will rise from the dead after dying on the cross. His resurrection provides evidence that we will also be raised from the dead.