Book Segment
The Raising of Lazarus
Jesus' greatest sign leads to the final plot against His life
"Lazarus, dead four days and in the tomb, is called forth by Jesus's command: 'Lazarus, come out!' The reaction: some bel"
John 11:43-44
Background
John's Gospel is structured in two major parts: the Book of Signs (1-12) and the Book of Glory (13-21). The Book of Glory begins with the foot-washing and the statement 'the hour has come.' Throughout John, Jesus has consistently said 'my hour has not yet come' — now it has. The cross in John is not a defeat but a glorification — 'just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up' (3:14). The Lazarus narrative (ch. 11) is John's climactic and final sign, demonstrating Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life — and precipitating His own death.
Story Plot
The Raising of Lazarus
John 11:43-44Lazarus, dead four days and in the tomb, is called forth by Jesus's command: 'Lazarus, come out!' The reaction: some believe, others go to the Pharisees.
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
John 11:25-26To mourning Martha: 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.'
Characters
Lazarus's Sisters — Mary and Martha
Models of Grief and Faith
Both say to Jesus 'if you had been here, my brother would not have died' — the same words, the same grief, the same implicit faith.
Theological Themes
The Glory of God Revealed Through Death and Resurrection
John's entire Gospel builds to the cross as glorification — 'the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified' (12:23) introduces the passion.
Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:24).
Life Lessons
'If you had been here' is the prayer of everyone who has experienced preventable loss — Jesus receives this prayer without rebuke and responds with both presence and power.
Jesus weeping at Lazarus's tomb despite knowing He will raise him establishes that empathy with present grief coexists with confidence in future hope.
The Lazarus narrative models that the greatest miracles sometimes follow the deepest despair — 'he has been in the tomb four days' is the darkness before the dawn.
Mary and Martha's different expressions of grief (Martha active, Mary weeping) are both met by Jesus — no single expression of grief is prescribed.
Modern Applications
'Jesus wept' is the most used verse in grief ministry — establishing divine empathy as the foundation for pastoral presence with the bereaved.
The Lazarus narrative is used in healing theology to establish that Jesus's delays are not denials — 'I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe' is simultaneously mysterious and purposeful.
The 'come out' command (Lazarus's resurrection) has been used metaphorically in spiritual formation — release from the grave clothes of past sin and shame.
Mary and Martha's 'if you had been here' is one of the most honest lament prayers in the Gospel — modeling that honest questioning of God is not faithless.
A Prayer for Reflection
Heavenly Father, as we reflect on The Raising of Lazarus in John, open our hearts to receive the truth You have embedded in these chapters. Help us to see not merely historical events but Your living word speaking to our present reality. Where we are confused, bring clarity; where we are discouraged, bring hope; where we are proud, bring humility. May the lessons of The Raising of Lazarus take root in us and bear fruit in how we love You and serve others. In Jesus' name, Amen.