John 11
11
The Death of Lazarus
1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of #See Luke 10:38, 39Mary and her sister Martha. 2#ch. 12:3It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, #ver. 5, 11, 36he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it he said, #[ver. 11; Matt. 9:24] “This illness does not lead to death. It is for #ver. 40; [ch. 9:3; 13:31]the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5Now #ver. 3Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when he heard that Lazarus#11:6 Greek he; also verse 17 was ill, #[ch. 2:4; 7:6, 8]he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7Then after this he said to the disciples, #ch. 10:40“Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to him, #See ch. 1:38 “Rabbi, #ch. 8:59; 10:31the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9Jesus answered, #[Luke 13:33] “Are there not twelve hours in the day? #See ch. 9:4; 1 John 2:10If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But #Jer. 13:16if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not #Jer. 13:16in him.” 11After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus #See Matt. 27:52has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16#ch. 14:5; 20:24, 26-28; 21:2; Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13 So Thomas, called the Twin,#11:16 Greek Didymus said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, #[ch. 13:37]that we may die with him.”
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb #ver. 39four days. 18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles#11:18 Greek fifteen stadia; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters off, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary #ver. 31; Job 2:11to console them concerning their brother. 20#[Luke 10:38, 39]So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21Martha said to #ver. 32 Jesus, “Lord, #[ver. 37]if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, #[ver. 42; ch. 9:31]God will give you.” 23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24#[ver. 39] Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in #ch. 5:29; Luke 14:14; See ch. 6:39the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, #[ch. 5:21; 6:40, 44; 1 Cor. 15:21] “I am the resurrection and #ch. 14:6; [ch. 6:57; Col. 3:4]; See ch. 1:4 the life.#11:25 Some manuscripts omit and the life Whoever believes in me, #[ch. 12:25] though he die, #See ch. 3:36yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me #ch. 6:50, 51; 8:51shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; #ch. 6:69; 20:31; 1 John 5:1, 5; [ch. 8:24; 13:19; 1 John 4:16] I believe that #Matt. 16:16 you are the Christ, the Son of God, #ch. 6:14; See Matt. 11:3who is coming into the world.”
Jesus Weeps
28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, #Matt. 26:18; Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11; See ch. 13:13“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews #ver. 19who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, #ver. 21“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 also weeping, he #ver. 38; Mark 14:5 (Gk.) was deeply moved#11:33 Or was indignant; also verse 38 in his spirit and #ch. 12:27; 13:21greatly troubled. 34And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35#[Luke 19:41]Jesus wept. 36So the Jews said, “See #ver. 3how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he #ch. 9:6, 7 who opened the eyes of the blind man #[ver. 21, 32]also have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus
38Then Jesus, #ver. 33 deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was #Isa. 22:16 a cave, and #ch. 20:1; Matt. 27:60; Mark 15:46; Luke 24:2a stone lay against it. 39Jesus 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 #ver. 17he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, #ver. 25, 26 “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see #ver. 4; [Rom. 6:4]the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus #ch. 17:1lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42#[ver. 22; Matt. 26:53] I knew that you always hear me, but I said this #ch. 12:29, 30 on account of the people standing around, #ch. 17:8, 21; See ch. 3:17that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44#ch. 5:28, 29 The man who had died came out, #ch. 19:40 his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and #[ch. 20:7]his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 # ch. 12:11; [Acts 9:42] Many of the Jews therefore, #ver. 19 who had come with Mary and #ch. 2:23had seen what he did, believed in him, 46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47So the chief priests and the Pharisees #See Matt. 26:3 gathered #See Matt. 5:22 the council and said, #ch. 12:19; [Acts 4:16]“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and #[ch. 6:15; 18:36, 37] the Romans will come and take away both our #Acts 21:28place and our nation.” 49But one of them, #See Matt. 26:3 Caiaphas, #ver. 51; ch. 18:13who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50Nor do you understand that #ch. 18:14it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51He did not say this of his own accord, but #ver. 49 being high priest that year #[Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 23:9; 30:7; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65]he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52and #Isa. 49:6; 1 John 2:2 not for the nation only, but also #See ch. 10:16to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53So from that day on they #See ch. 7:1made plans to put him to death.
54Jesus therefore #ch. 7:1, 4no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.
55Now #See ch. 6:4 the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and #Luke 2:42 many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover #2 Chr. 30:17, 18; [ch. 18:28; Acts 21:24]to purify themselves. 56#See ch. 7:11They were looking for#11:56 Greek were seeking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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John 11
11
The Death of Lazarus
1-2 #
Lk 10.38,39;
Jn 12.3. A man by the name of Lazarus was sick in the village of Bethany. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. This was the same Mary who later poured perfume on the Lord's head and wiped his feet with her hair. 3The sisters sent a message to the Lord and told him that his good friend Lazarus was sick.
4When Jesus heard this, he said, “His sickness won't end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son.”
5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and brother. 6But he stayed where he was for two more days. 7Then he said to his disciples, “Now we will go back to Judea.”
8“Teacher,” they said, “the people there want to stone you to death! Why do you want to go back?”
9Jesus answered, “Aren't there twelve hours in each day? If you walk during the day, you will have light from the sun, and you won't stumble. 10But if you walk during the night, you will stumble, because you don't have any light.” 11Then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, and I am going there to wake him up.”
12They replied, “Lord, if he is asleep, he will get better.” 13Jesus really meant that Lazarus was dead, but they thought he was talking only about sleep.
14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead! 15I am glad I wasn't there, because now you will have a chance to put your faith in me. Let's go to him.”
16Thomas, whose nickname was “Twin,” said to the other disciples, “Come on. Let's go, so we can die with him.”
Jesus Brings Lazarus to Life
17When Jesus got to Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Bethany was less than three kilometers from Jerusalem, 19and many people had come from the city to comfort Martha and Mary because their brother had died.
20When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22Yet even now I know that God will do anything you ask.”
23Jesus told her, “Your brother will live again!”
24 #
2 Macc 7.22,23; 12.43-45. Martha answered, “I know he will be raised to life on the last day,#11.24 the last day: When God will judge all people. when all the dead are raised.”
25Jesus then said, “I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. 26And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. Do you believe this?”
27“Yes, Lord!” she replied. “I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God. You are the one we hoped would come into the world.”
28After Martha said this, she went and privately said to her sister Mary, “The Teacher is here, and he wants to see you.” 29As soon as Mary heard this, she got up and went out to Jesus. 30He was still outside the village where Martha had gone to meet him. 31Many people had come to comfort Mary, and when they saw her quickly leave the house, they thought she was going out to the tomb to cry. So they followed her.
32Mary went to where Jesus was. Then as soon as she saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw that Mary and the people with her were crying, he was terribly upset 34and asked, “Where have you put his body?”
They replied, “Lord, come and you will see.”
35Jesus started crying, 36and the people said, “See how much he loved Lazarus.”
37Some of them said, “He gives sight to the blind. Why couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38Jesus was still terribly upset. So he went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone rolled against the entrance. 39Then he told the people to roll the stone away. But Martha said, “Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell.”
40Jesus replied, “Didn't I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?”
41After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, “Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. 42I know that you always answer my prayers. But I said this, so the people here would believe you sent me.”
43When Jesus had finished praying, he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face.
Jesus then told the people, “Untie him and let him go.”
The Plot To Kill Jesus
(Matthew 26.1-5; Mark 14.1,2; Luke 22.1,2)
45Many of the people who had come to visit Mary saw the things Jesus did, and they put their faith in him. 46Others went to the Pharisees and told what Jesus had done. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, “What should we do? This man is working a lot of miracles.#11.47 miracles: See the note at 2.11. 48If we don't stop him now, everyone will put their faith in him. Then the Romans will come and destroy our temple and our nation.”#11.48 destroy our temple and our nation: The Jewish leaders were afraid that Jesus would lead his followers to rebel against Rome and that the Roman army would then destroy their nation.
49One of the council members was Caiaphas, who was also high priest that year. He spoke up and said, “You people don't have any sense at all! 50Don't you know it is better for one person to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed?” 51Caiaphas did not say this on his own. As high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation. 52Yet Jesus would not die just for the Jewish nation. He would die to bring together all of God's scattered people. 53From that day on, the council started making plans to put Jesus to death.
54Because of this plot against him, Jesus stopped going around in public. He went to the town of Ephraim, which was near the desert, and he stayed there with his disciples.
55It was almost time for Passover. Many of the Jewish people who lived out in the country had come to Jerusalem to get themselves ready#11.55 get themselves ready: The Jewish people had to do certain things to prepare themselves to worship God. for the festival. 56They looked around for Jesus. Then when they were in the temple, they asked each other, “You don't think he will come here for Passover, do you?”
57The chief priests and the Pharisees told the people to let them know if any of them saw Jesus. This is how they hoped to arrest him.
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