11 1 Christ, to show that he is, 25 the life and the resurrection, 14 cometh to Lazarus being dead,  17, 34 and buried, 43 and raiseth him up. 47 As the Priests were consulting together, 49 Caiaphas 50 prophecieth that one must die for the people. 56, 57 They command to seek Christ out, and to take him.

And [a]a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the [b]town of Mary, and her sister Martha.

(And it was that (A)Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest, is sick.

When Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto [c]death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

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

[d]And after he had heard that he was sick, yet abode he two days still in the same place where he was.

Then after that, said he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again.

[e]The disciples said unto him, Master, the Jews lately sought to (B)stone thee, and dost thou go thither again?

Jesus answered, Are there not [f]twelve hours in the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

11 These things spake he, and after, he said unto them, Our friend Lazarus [g]sleepeth: but I go to wake him up.

12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall be safe.

13 Howbeit, Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of the natural sleep.

14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

15 And I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there, that ye may believe: but let us go unto him.

16 Then said Thomas (which is called Didymus) unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

17 ¶ Then came Jesus, and found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

18 (Now Bethany was near unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.)

19 [h]And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary to comfort them for their brother.

20 Then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not been dead.

22 But now I know also, that whatsoever thou askest of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall [i]rise again.

24 Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again (C)in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: (D)he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live.

26 And whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die: Believest thou this?

27 She said unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art that Christ that Son of God, which should come into the world.

28 ¶ And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

29 And when she heard it, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

30 For Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met him.

31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily, and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave, to weep there.

32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not been dead.

33 [j]When Jesus therefore saw her weep, and the Jews also weep which came with her, he [k]groaned in the spirit, and was troubled in himself,

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 And Jesus wept.

36 Then said the Jews, behold, how he loved him.

37 And some of them said, (E)Could not he which opened the eyes of the blind, have made also, that this man should not have died?

38 Jesus therefore again groaned in himself, and came to the grave. And it was a cave, and a stone was laid upon it.

39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, he stinketh already for he hath been dead four days.

40 Jesus said unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou didst believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee, because thou hast heard me.

42 I know that thou hearest me always, but because of the people that stand by, I said it, that they may believe, that thou hast sent me.

43 As he had spoken these things, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 Then he that was dead, came forth, bound hand and foot with bands, and his face was bound with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

45 ¶ Then many of the Jews, which came to Mary, and had seen the things, which Jesus did, believed in him.

46 [l]But some of them went their way to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

47 Then gathered the high Priests, and the Pharisees a [m]council, and said, What shall we do? For this man doeth many miracles.

48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe in him, and the Romans will come and [n]take away both our place, and the nation.

49 [o]Then one of them named Caiaphas, which was the high Priest that same year, said unto them, Ye perceive nothing at all,

50 (F)Nor yet do you consider that it is expedient for us, that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

51 [p]This spake he not of himself: but being high Priest that same year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation:

52 And not for that nation only, but that he should gather together in one the children of God, which [q]were scattered.

53 Then from that day forth they consulted together, to put him to death.

54 [r]Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

55 ¶ And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.

56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the Temple, What think ye, that he cometh not to the feast?

57 Now both the high Priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they might take him.

Footnotes

  1. John 11:1 Christ in restoring the stinking carcass of his friend to life, showeth an example both of his mighty power, and also of his singular good will toward men: which is also an image of the resurrection to come.
  2. John 11:1 Where his sisters dwelt.
  3. John 11:4 That is to say, sent for the purpose to kill him.
  4. John 11:6 In that, that God seemeth sometimes to linger in helping of us, he doeth it both for his glory, and for our salvation, as the falling out of the matter in the end, plainly proveth.
  5. John 11:8 This only is the sure and right way to life, to follow God boldly without fear, who calleth us and shineth before us in the darkness of this world.
  6. John 11:9 All things are fitly wrought and brought to pass in their season.
  7. John 11:11 The Jews used a milder kind of speech, and called death a sleep, whereupon in other languages the place of burial where the dead are laid, waiting for the resurrection, is called a sleeping place.
  8. John 11:19 God who is the maker of nature, doth not condemn natural affections, but showeth that they ought to be examined by the rule of faith.
  9. John 11:23 That is, shall recover life again.
  10. John 11:33 Christ took upon him together with our flesh all affections of man (sin only excepted) and amongst them especially mercy and compassion.
  11. John 11:33 These are tokens that he was greatly moved, but yet they were without sin: and these affections are proper to man’s nature.
  12. John 11:46 The last point of hard and iron-like stubbornness is this, to proclaim open war against God, and yet ceaseth not to make a presence both of godliness and of the profit of the commonwealth.
  13. John 11:47 The Jews called the council Sanhedrin: and the word that John useth is Synedri.
  14. John 11:48 That is, take away from us by force: for at that time, though the high Priest’s authority was greatly lessened and decayed, yet there was some kind of government left among the Jews.
  15. John 11:49 The raging and mad company of the false Church, persuade themselves that they cannot be in safety, unless he is taken away, who only upholdeth the Church: And so likewise judgeth the wisdom of the flesh in worldly affairs, which is governed by the spirit of giddiness or madness.
  16. John 11:51 Christ doth sometimes so turn the tongues, even of the wicked, that in cursing, they bless.
  17. John 11:52 For they were not gathered together in one country, as the Jews were, but to be gathered from all quarters, from the East to the West.
  18. John 11:54 We may give place to the rage of the wicked, when it is expedient so to do, but yet in such sort, that we swerve not from God’s vocation.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany,(A) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.(B) (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)(C) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love(D) is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory(E) so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”(F)

“But Rabbi,”(G) they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you,(H) and yet you are going back?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.(I) 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend(J) Lazarus has fallen asleep;(K) but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.(L)

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas(M) (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.(N) 18 Now Bethany(O) was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.(P) 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.(Q)

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.(R) 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”(S)

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

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection(T) at the last day.”(U)

25 Jesus said to her, “I am(V) the resurrection and the life.(W) The one who believes(X) in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing(Y) in me will never die.(Z) Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah,(AA) the Son of God,(AB) who is to come into the world.”(AC)

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher(AD) is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.(AE) 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her,(AF) noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”(AG)

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved(AH) in spirit and troubled.(AI) 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.(AJ)

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”(AK)

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man(AL) have kept this man from dying?”(AM)

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved,(AN) came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.(AO) 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”(AP)

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe,(AQ) you will see the glory of God?”(AR)

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up(AS) and said, “Father,(AT) I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here,(AU) that they may believe that you sent me.”(AV)

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”(AW) 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen,(AX) and a cloth around his face.(AY)

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary,(AZ) and had seen what Jesus did,(BA) believed in him.(BB) 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees(BC) called a meeting(BD) of the Sanhedrin.(BE)

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.(BF) 48 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.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas,(BG) who was high priest that year,(BH) spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”(BI)

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.(BJ) 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.(BK)

54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea.(BL) Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover,(BM) many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing(BN) before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus,(BO) and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Footnotes

  1. John 11:16 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.
  2. John 11:18 Or about 3 kilometers