JESUS RAISES LAZARUS IN BETHANY

JOHN 11

During Jesus’s earlier trips to Jerusalem, he had frequently stayed in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (Luke 10:38–42). Since the Judean village of Bethany where they lived was only a short distance away from Jerusalem, Jesus welcomed the open invitation to lodge with this family and enjoyed a deepening friendship with them. That made it all the more difficult when he was away in the region of Perea at Bethany, across the Jordan where John had been baptizing (John 10:40), and news reached him that Lazarus was gravely ill. Jesus had already demonstrated his capacity to heal (e.g., John 4:43–54). But instead of hurrying to Lazarus, Jesus responded by saying, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). Not long after, Lazarus died and was buried in a tomb near Bethany (in Judea).1

Four days after the death of Lazarus, Martha went out to meet Jesus and his disciples, who were en route from Jericho to Bethany (in Judea). When they met, Jesus told Martha that her brother would rise again (John 11:23–25). Jesus then asked Martha if she believed this to be true. She affirmed her confidence in Jesus’s ability and observed that the person who is able to raise the dead can be none other than the Christ, the promised Messiah (John 11:25–27).

First-century Jewish perspectives held that on the fourth day after death the soul left the body and the process of decomposition began.2 Thus when Jesus proceeded to the tomb on the fourth day after Lazarus’s death, Lazarus was considered dead by every definition. In defiance of all mortal limits, the Son of God called for the lifeless, decomposing body of Lazarus to rise and exit the tomb—and it did just that. As the pulse returned to his lifeless arms and legs, Lazarus fought against the tight wrappings that had bound his dead body. He emerged from the tomb as alive as anyone who witnessed the event. There now could be no doubt; this miracle proved Jesus to be the Messiah!

Jesus raised Lazarus in Bethany for a reason. He had done miracles like this before. He had raised the daughter of Jairus in Capernaum (Luke 8:40–56), and he had raised the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11–17). But those miracles had occurred in Galilee, far from the Temple, and on the person’s day of death—not four days later. The raising of Lazarus occurred in Bethany of Judea after Lazarus’s body was decomposing. This fact is so important to John that he makes special note of it (John 11:18). Because the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus was less than two miles from Jerusalem, the news of the miracle ran wildly through the streets of that city (John 12:17–18). A miracle so close to Jerusalem, so easy to confirm, some forty days before the high festival of Passover when crowds would flood the city (John 12:12) meant Jesus was guaranteed an audience at every stop in the coming days. It also guaranteed that those already concerned about him were ready to act. That is particularly so since some of the leaders of the Pharisees in Jerusalem had witnessed the miracle and were now putting their faith in Jesus (John 12:9–11).3 This was too much for the high priest, Caiaphas, to bear, and he could no longer tolerate the risk that this miracle brought against his own hold on power. Consequently, he called certain members of the Sanhedrin (i.e., the Jewish supreme court) together who not only voiced concerns about this rabbi from Galilee but also advanced their planning of his execution (John 11:45–53).4 The raising of Lazarus happening in Bethany, so close to Jerusalem, became a vital catalyst for the events that surrounded the last days before Jesus’s crucifixion.

After Lazarus’s death, Jesus and his disciples would have traveled from Jericho to Bethany in Judea along the southern (right) ridge adjacent to the ravine (Wadi Qelt) in the center of the photo.

Jesus would have stopped at this spring, En Shemesh, prior to continuing his journey up the hill to Bethany.

Greek Orthodox Church at Bethany.