Beloved Friend of Jesus, Raised from the Dead
c. 30 AD · New Testament
The friend of Jesus whom he raised from the dead four days after his burial — the climactic sign in John's Gospel pointing to Christ's identity as the resurrection and the life.
Lazarus of Bethany was the brother of Martha and Mary, close friends of Jesus living in the village of Bethany about two miles east of Jerusalem. The family appears in three Gospel scenes. (1) Luke 10:38-42 — Martha serves while Mary sits at Jesus's feet. (2) John 11 — the raising of Lazarus. (3) John 12:1-8 — Mary anoints Jesus's feet at a dinner in their home. John 11 is the central account. Lazarus fell ill. Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus. Jesus deliberately delayed two days. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had been dead and buried four days. Both sisters greeted Jesus with the same words: 'Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.' Jesus's response to Martha included one of the most famous declarations in Scripture: 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?' (John 11:25-26). When Jesus reached the tomb, he wept — recorded as the shortest verse in the Bible: 'Jesus wept' (John 11:35). He commanded the stone removed despite Martha's objection ('by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days'). After praying, he called: 'Lazarus, come forth!' Lazarus walked out, bound in graveclothes. Jesus said: 'Loose him, and let him go.' The raising is the climactic sign in John's Gospel. It also triggered the final plot to kill Jesus. The Sanhedrin convened: 'If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him' (John 11:48). After his resurrection, Lazarus continued living. John 12:9-11 records that 'much people of the Jews' came to see him, and the chief priests plotted to kill him too. Christian tradition has Lazarus traveling to Cyprus and serving as bishop there for 30 years.
Martha serves; Mary sits at Jesus's feet
Sisters send word; Jesus delays two days
Jesus's declaration to Martha
Shortest verse in the Bible
"Lazarus, come forth!"
The raising triggered the plot to kill Jesus
Lazarus's raising is the climactic sign in John's Gospel — Christ's clearest demonstration that he is 'the resurrection, and the life.' Three things give it particular significance. (1) Public undeniability — four days dead, decomposing body, many witnesses. (2) It was Christ's own arrest warrant — the Sanhedrin's plot to kill Jesus was confirmed immediately after. (3) It prefigured Christ's own resurrection on a smaller scale. Lazarus came out bound; Christ's graveclothes would be left folded in the tomb. Lazarus would die again; Christ would die no more. The 'Jesus wept' moment shows that knowing the outcome does not prevent God's compassion in grief.
Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus, the brother of Martha and Mary, living in Bethany about two miles from Jerusalem. He is best known as the man Jesus raised from the dead in John 11 — the climactic sign in John's Gospel. The raising occurred four days after his death and directly triggered the Sanhedrin's final plot to kill Jesus.
Four days. John 11:39 records Martha's objection: 'by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.' The duration is significant — Jewish tradition held that the soul departed after three days, making restoration impossible. Lazarus's resurrection after four days demonstrated Christ's power exceeded all human limits.
John 11:43 — 'And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.' Lazarus came out 'bound hand and foot with graveclothes' and Jesus said: 'Loose him, and let him go' (John 11:44).
Yes — Lazarus's raising was a return to ordinary human life, not the final resurrection. Like all humans, Lazarus eventually died a second time. This is one important distinction between Lazarus's raising and Christ's resurrection: Christ rose to die no more (Romans 6:9). Christian tradition holds Lazarus became a bishop in Cyprus.