There was a man named Lazarus who had fallen ill. His home was at Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus had fallen ill, was the woman who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair.) The sisters sent a message to him: ‘Sir, you should know that your friend lies ill.’ When Jesus heard this he said, ‘This illness will not end in death; it has come for the glory of God, to bring glory to the Son of God.’ And therefore, though he loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after hearing of his illness Jesus waited for two days in the place where he was.

After this, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judaea.’ ‘Rabbi,’ his disciples said, ‘it is not long since the Jews there were wanting to stone you. Are you going there again?’ Jesus replied, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone can walk in day-time without stumbling, because he sees the light of this world. But if he walks after nightfall he stumbles, because the light fails him.’

After saying this he added, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I shall go and wake him.’ The disciples said, ‘Master, if he has fallen asleep he will recover.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking of his death, but they thought that he meant natural sleep. Then Jesus spoke out plainly: ‘Lazarus is dead. I am glad not to have been there; it will be for your good and for the good of your faith. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, called ‘the Twin’, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’

On his arrival Jesus found that Lazarus had already been four days in the tomb.

Bethany was just under two miles from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come from the city to Martha and Mary to condole with them on their brother’s death. As soon as she heard that Jesus was on his way, Martha went to meet him, while Mary stayed at home. them on their brother’s death. As soon as she heard that J esus was on his way, Martha went to meet him, while Mary stayed at home.

Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, sir, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will grant you.’ Jesus said, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ ‘I know that he will rise again’, said Martha, ‘at the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and I am life.a If a man has faith in me, even though he die, he shall come to life; and no one who is alive and has faith shall ever die. Do you believe this?’ ‘Lord, I do,’ she answered; ‘I now believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who was to come into the world world.’

With these words she went to call her sister Mary, and taking her aside, she said, ‘The Master is here; he is asking for you.’ When Mary heard this she rose up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet reached the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were in the house condoling with Mary, when they saw her start up and leave the house, went after her, for they supposed that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

So Mary came to the place where Jesus was. As soon as she caught sight of him she fell at his feet and said, ‘O sir, if you had only been here my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews

her companions weeping, he sighed heavily and was deeply moved. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. They replied, ‘Come and see, sir.’ Jesus wept. The Jews said, ‘How dearly he must have loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not this man, who opened the blind man’s eyes, have done something to keep Lazarus from dying?’

Jesus again sighed deeply; then he went over to the tomb. It was a cave, with a stone placed against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, ‘Sir, by now there will be a stench; he has been there four days.’ Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see the glory of God?’ So they removed the stone.

Then Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank thee; thou hast heard me. I knew already that thou always hearest me, but I spoke for the sake of the people standing round, that they might believe that thou didst send me.’

Then he raised his voice in a great cry: ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet swathed in linen bands, his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said, ‘Loose him; let him go.’

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