Jesus gives Lazarus his life back after 4 days in a tomb
John 11, New International Version
The Death of Lazarus:
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (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.)
3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,
7 and then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?"
9 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.
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 Lazarus has fallen asleep; 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.
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 (also known as Didymus) 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.
18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,
19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher 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.
31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, 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."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead.
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
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."
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, 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, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Why have we included this Bible story?
The Lazurus account is one of the most moving and revealing stories in the New Testament. It is a miracle to eclipse all miracles. Such a feat is well beyond
the scope of the medical profession today, and always will be, because the cells in Lazarus's body would heve deteriorated far beyond any hope
of restoring them to a working condition. Jesus performed the miracle and the result was instantaneous; no need for a prolonged period of recovery!
What better proof can there be that Jesus and God have power over life and death, that they are the architects of life.
What can we further deduce from the raising of Lazarus about the nature of God? Surely it is that God cares about each and everyone of us, understands
the human condition, and will go to great lengths to save us. Where is the evidence for this in the lives of ordinary citizens today you might ask? Well we
can never know what hidden threats there are to our lives on a daily basis that we circumvent thanks to the wonderful design of our bodies and the invisible, guiding
hand of God. His actions must remain unbeknown to us for very good reasons. These are explored on one of our other pages.
Johann Pachelbel was born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1653 into a middle-class family. His father, Johann (Hans) Pachelbel, was a wine dealer,
and his mother was Anna Maria Mair. The young Pachelbel demonstrated exceptional musical and academic abilities from an early age.
He was a friend of the Bach family, and was the teacher of Johann Christoph Bach, who in turn taught Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote
over 500 pieces of mainly sacred music for both Catholic and Protestant churches. Canon In D Major is his most well known piece.
