Lazarus has died and has lain in the tomb for four days when Jesus reaches Bethany. Martha confesses her faith in him as the Christ and Son of God; Mary falls before him in grief. At the tomb, Jesus weeps. Then he has the stone removed, thanks the Father, and calls his friend out. Lazarus comes alive from the tomb, still bound in the burial linens. Those present are to unbind him. Many witnesses now believe in Jesus; others report the event to his opponents. John connects this powerful miracle with the approaching Cross: the Lord gives his friend life and himself advances toward his Passion.
Jesus calls Lazarus, buried for four days, back to life. The deceased man comes out of the tomb before the eyes of those present; the miracle reveals Christ as the Resurrection and the Life.
The Sisters Send for Jesus
Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Martha and Mary, is ill. His sisters send word to Jesus that the friend he loves is suffering. Jesus loves the three siblings; nevertheless, he initially remains where he is for two more days. Then he announces to the disciples his return to Judea. They know the danger awaiting him there. The journey to Lazarus also brings him closer to his Passion. His friends' distress is real: while they hope for him, Lazarus dies. God's saving action will be revealed in a way extending beyond the hoped-for healing at the sickbed.[1]
Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus sleeps and that he is going to awaken him. When they think of ordinary sleep and recovery, he says it unmistakably: Lazarus has died. Then he sets out with them. The language of sleep receives its explanation here from his own word. His friend's death is established; Christ goes to him as the one who can raise him. Augustine recognizes in this the Lord's authority: the condition that people can no longer reverse is not the end of his help.[1][3]
Martha Confesses the Son of God
When Jesus arrives, Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. Many people have come to Martha and Mary to comfort them. Martha hears that Jesus is coming and goes to meet him. She voices the grief that also moves Mary: had he been here, her brother would not have died. At the same time, she holds to her trust. Jesus promises her that her brother will rise. Martha thinks of the resurrection on the last day. He then reveals his person to her: he is the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in him will live, even if he dies.[1]
In answer to Jesus' question about her faith, Martha confesses him as the Christ, the Son of God who is coming into the world. This confession precedes the opening of the tomb. The sister trusts the Lord amid grief and before she can see the outcome. Thomas Aquinas explains that Christ's miracles attest to his divine mission and strengthen faith in him. The work that follows is therefore not given religious meaning only afterwards. Christ himself has already explained who he is and what hope he gives. The visible raising will confirm his promise before the witnesses.[1][4]
Jesus Weeps and Calls Lazarus Out
Martha calls Mary. When she comes to Jesus, she falls at his feet and voices the same painful thought: had he been here, her brother would not have died. The mourners follow her. Jesus sees their tears, is deeply moved, and asks where the tomb is. He too weeps. Those present recognize his love for Lazarus. The Lord who is about to overcome death meets grief with genuine human compassion. Augustine interprets tears and authority together: true human care and divine power appear in the same person of Christ.[1][3]
At the tomb, Jesus calls for the stone to be removed. Martha reminds him that Lazarus has been dead for four days and that an odor of decay is to be expected. Jesus refers her to his promise that she will see God's glory. The stone is taken away. Jesus thanks the Father and explains the purpose of his prayer before those present: they are to recognize that the Father has sent him. Then he calls Lazarus out in a loud voice. The dead man comes alive, his hands and feet bound with burial cloths and his face wrapped in a cloth as well. Jesus tells the bystanders to unbind him and let him go. His word has called the deceased man back to bodily life.[1]
The Miracle Remains Publicly Visible
Many of the people who have come to Mary and see Jesus' work believe in him. Some go to the Pharisees and report what happened. The sisters know Lazarus and his burial; the disciples have heard Jesus' explicit news of his death and have come with him; the mourners stand at the tomb. Their knowledge connects the friend's death with Christ's call and the person now living again. Reactions differ, but the miracle has public consequences. John also shows that even such a mighty deed does not replace the human person's free response.[1]
In the following chapter, Lazarus sits at a meal with Jesus. Many people come to see him as well; his presence leads more people to faith in Christ. The raising therefore does not end with a fleeting impression before the tomb. The returned friend lives among the others, is seen, and shares in the meal. John connects the event with this continuing effect. The Evangelist does not give Lazarus's own account of the state of death; his testimony directs attention to the life given and the Lord who restored it.[2]
The Giver of Life Goes Toward the Cross
After news of the miracle, the leading opponents deliberate on what to do against Jesus. John names their concern over the effect of his many miracles and their political consequences. During the discussion, the statement is made that it is better for one person to die for the people. Beyond the speaker's intention, the Evangelist recognizes in this an announcement of Jesus' vicarious death. From that day, his death is resolved upon. Later, a plan to kill Lazarus is also considered because many come to faith on his account. The two paths thus stand directly alongside each other: Lazarus receives his life back while Christ gives his life for humanity.[1][2]
Lazarus Lives Again; Christ Conquers Death Definitively
Lazarus returns to his previous life, still mortal. The plan to kill him mentioned in John 12 presupposes precisely this condition. Christ's Resurrection, according to the teaching explained by Thomas Aquinas, has a different completeness: the Lord enters immortal life and does not die again. His friend's raising is therefore a foreshadowing and promise of this final victory. The two events belong together without being equated. In Bethany, Jesus reveals his power to restore life to someone dead; at Easter, he reveals the new life over which death no longer has dominion. His promise to Martha reaches toward this ultimate hope.[2][5]
Christ's Call Also Reaches the Person Who Is Bound
Augustine also reads Jesus' real raisings from the dead as works revealing salvation from sin. Lazarus already lies in the tomb; the Church Father thinks here of someone held captive by a long habit of sin. Christ's call can reach that person too. This spiritual interpretation unfolds the power made visible in the friend's body: the Lord gives life where a person can no longer find a way out by his own strength. From this grow hope and the call to conversion. The bonds are to be loosened, and the rescued person is to enter life. No long history of guilt is a reason to consider Christ's call ineffective.[3]
Witnesses & Investigators
Lazarus
Man raised from the dead and living witness to the miracle
At Jesus' call, he comes from the tomb and later shares a meal with him. His visible presence leads more people to faith.[1][2]
Martha
Sister and witness
She knows of her brother's death and burial, confesses Jesus as Son of God before the miracle, and speaks of the four days elapsed when the tomb is opened.[1]
Mary of Bethany
Sister and witness
She encounters Jesus in grief; her companions come with her to the tomb and experience the miracle that follows.[1]
The Mourners and Disciples
Public circle of witnesses
They hear Jesus' word and see Lazarus alive again. Many believe; some report the event to his opponents.[1]
The unfolding story
- The Sisters Send Word
They trust that the Lord will not forget his beloved friend.[1]
- Jesus Speaks Explicitly of Death
The misunderstanding about sleep is resolved within the account.[1]
- Lazarus Has Been in the Tomb for Four Days
Martha encounters Christ and confesses her faith.[1]
- Tears, Prayer, and the Call
Jesus has the stone removed and calls Lazarus out.[1]
- Faith and Reports to the Opponents
The same sign leads to different decisions.[1]
- Lazarus at the Meal
John 12 recounts his presence and a plan to kill him under consideration.[2]
Ecclesiastical assessment
John 11 attests to the deceased Lazarus's return to earthly life through Jesus' call. Catholic faith distinguishes this sign from Christ's definitive, glorified Resurrection.
Objections & Answers
Might Lazarus Have Been Only Apparently Dead?
The account gives no indication of this. Jesus explicitly declares that Lazarus has died; by his arrival, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. Martha expects an odor of decay when it is opened. The raising occurs publicly at Jesus' call, and Lazarus subsequently appears again in the community's life. An apparent-death hypothesis must reinterpret these interconnected details and needs its own reasons for doing so. No modern medical record survives; a specific diagnosis of apparent death therefore cannot be made retrospectively. Christian certainty rests on the Evangelist's testimony to Christ's deed. The absence of present-day clinical data does not turn an alternative conjecture into a proven explanation. Augustine accordingly receives the miracle as a real overcoming of death and unfolds its spiritual meaning from this.[1][3]
Why Does the Detailed Lazarus Account Appear Only in John?
The Evangelists select from Jesus' ministry. An event's absence from another Gospel therefore does not mean that the Gospel denies it. For Lazarus, the detailed source pathway remains clear: John 11 recounts the miracle, John 12 its continuing consequences. The conversations with the sisters, the public opening of the tomb, differing reactions, and connection with the decision to put Jesus to death form a coherent testimony. The question of credibility must be addressed through this existing account. There is no need either to claim four independent versions or to invent a separately preserved record for everyone present. Nor does the theological significance for the Passion imply free invention: a real work of Christ can also reveal his mission and decisively shape the course of events.[1][2]
Meaning for faith
The raising of Lazarus reveals the Lord of life, who weeps with the mourners and overcomes death through his word. Martha confesses him as Son of God even before the visible miracle; at the tomb, his deed confirms this trust. Lazarus receives his earthly life back. Christ himself moves toward the Cross and the definitive Resurrection, in which he conquers death forever.[1][3][5]
How the Miracles of Jesus Are Examined
Apostolic testimony, historical transmission, and the deeds of Christ.
Methods of examination and ecclesiastical procedure →Sources & Evidence
Information on accessibility and scope helps you assess the evidence for yourself.
- [1] Gospel According to John, Chapter 11
Independent German presentation of the ancient text; no adoption of the modern English Knox translation.
Open source · newadvent.org ↗ - [2] Gospel According to John, Chapter 12
Lazarus at the meal and the reaction of his opponents; Greek text and historical Vulgate.
Open source · newadvent.org ↗ - [3] In Ioannis Evangelium tractatus XLIX
Public-domain patristic primary text on the deed and spiritual significance of the raising.
Open source · newadvent.org ↗ - [4] Summa theologiae III, quaestio 43
Public-domain primary text on divine authority and the testimony to faith given by miracles.
Open source · newadvent.org ↗ - [5] Summa theologiae III, quaestio 55
Distinction between the raising of Lazarus and the immortal state of the risen Christ.
Open source · newadvent.org ↗