Jesus Raises Lazarus

The raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:1–44) is the last of the signs in the first half of John's Gospel, and it sets the Passion in motion: right after it, the council decides that Jesus must die (Jn 11:45–53). The one who gives life to Lazarus will give up his own.

The story in brief: Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Martha and Mary, falls ill. The sisters send word to Jesus, who, John says, loved them. Jesus waits two days, then returns to Judea despite the danger. By then Lazarus has been entombed four days. Martha meets Jesus first; Mary follows, weeping, with the mourners. Jesus is deeply troubled and weeps. At the tomb he has the stone moved, thanks the Father aloud, and calls Lazarus out. The dead man walks out in his grave wrappings.

Three questions people ask about this story.

Why did Jesus delay? Not from indifference. John stresses his love in the verse just before he mentions the delay (Jn 11:5–6). The wait makes room for a greater sign, and for faith that grows through waiting. Many of us know what it is like when a prayer seems unanswered. This story doesn't promise that God will always do what we ask, when we ask. It shows that his delays are not abandonment.

Why did Jesus weep if he knew he would raise Lazarus? Because his humanity is real. The Son of God has a human heart that loves and grieves (CCC 470, 478). He doesn't stand above our sorrow; he enters it. His tears also show that death was never part of God's good plan. It is an enemy Christ came to defeat (1 Cor 15:26).

Is this the same as resurrection? No. Lazarus returned to ordinary earthly life and would one day die again. Christ's Resurrection is entry into a glorified life beyond death (CCC 646). Lazarus is a sign; Easter is the reality.

At the center of the chapter stands Martha. When Jesus declares that he is the Resurrection and the Life, he asks her directly whether she believes it. Her answer, that he is the Messiah and the Son of God, is a full confession of faith, made before the miracle, in the middle of grief. John wrote his Gospel so that readers would make that same act of faith (Jn 20:31).

Jesus' prayer at the tomb is worth noticing too. He thanks the Father before anything has happened, sure of being heard (CCC 2604). He says it aloud for the people's sake, so that they may believe the Father sent him.

For Catholics this story shapes how we face death. At a funeral the Church proclaims her hope in the resurrection and in eternal life (CCC 1681, 1684), and John 11 is one of the Gospel readings offered for funeral Masses. We grieve, as Jesus did, but not like people who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13).

If a friend says faith is just a way to avoid thinking about death, this story says the opposite. Christian faith looks straight at the tomb, weeps, and still believes.