Thematic Bible: The raising of lazarus

Now a certain man, named Lazarus, of Bethany, was lying ill-- Bethany being the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was the Mary who poured the perfume over the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.) So the sisters sent to Him to say, "Master, he whom you hold dear is ill."

Bethany was near Jerusalem, the distance being a little less than two miles; and a considerable number of the Jews were with Martha and Mary, having come to express sympathy with them on the death of their brother. Martha, however, as soon as she heard the tidings, "Jesus is coming," went to meet Him; but Mary remained sitting in the house. read more.
So Martha came and spoke to Jesus. "Master, if you had been here," she said, "my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask God for, God will give you." "Your brother shall rise again," replied Jesus. "I know," said Martha, "that he will rise again at the resurrection, on the last day." "I am the Resurrection and the Life," said Jesus; "he who believes in me, even if he has died, he shall live; and every one who is living and is a believer in me shall never, never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Master," she replied; "I thoroughly believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." After saying this, she went and called her sister Mary privately, telling her, "The Rabbi is here and is asking for you." So she, on hearing that, rose up quickly to go to Him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. So the Jews who were with Mary in the house sympathizing with her, when they saw that she had risen hastily and had gone out, followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep aloud there. Mary then, when she came to Jesus and saw Him, fell at His feet and exclaimed, "Master, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Seeing her weeping aloud, and the Jews in like manner weeping who had come with her, Jesus, curbing the strong emotion of His spirit, though deeply troubled, asked them, "Where have you laid him?" "Master, come and see," was their reply. Jesus wept. "See how dear he held him," said the Jews. But others of them asked, "Was this man who opened the blind man's eyes unable to prevent this man from dying?" Jesus, however, again restraining His strong feeling, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone had been laid against the mouth of it. "Take away the stone," said Jesus. Martha, the sister of the dead man, exclaimed, "Master, by this time there is a foul smell; for it is three days since he died." "Did I not promise you," replied Jesus, "that if you believe, you shall see the glory of God?" So they removed the stone. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. I know that Thou always hearest me; but for the sake of the crowd standing round I have said this--that they may believe that Thou didst send me." After speaking thus, He called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped in cloths, and his face wrapped round with a towel. "Untie him," said Jesus, "and let him go free." Thereupon a considerable number of the Jews--namely those who had come to Mary and had witnessed His deeds--became believers in Him; though some of them went off to the Pharisees and told them what He had done.