Jesus gives life back to Lazarus

Jesus gives life back to Lazarus

John 11

At the beginning of John chapter 11, Jesus was in Galilee. While he was there, he received an urgent message. The message was about a man named Lazarus. It came from his two sisters, named Martha and Mary.

These friends lived at Bethany, which was near Jerusalem. Lazarus became very ill. The sisters wanted Jesus to come. They hoped that Jesus would cure Lazarus.

When Jesus heard their message, he stayed in Galilee for two more days. During this time, Lazarus died.

Then Jesus decided to visit Martha and Mary in Bethany. The disciples were rather afraid about this. They knew that some people wanted to kill Jesus. But they said, ’Let us go with him. We will die with him‘. They went with Jesus.

When they arrived at Bethany, Martha met them. She said to Jesus, ’If you had been here, my brother would not have died‘. Jesus said that her brother would live again. Martha did not understand what Jesus meant. She believed that God would give life to everyone, at the end of time. (This means when God judges everyone, when this world ends.) Then Jesus said this:

Those who believe in Jesus know this. They are certain that they will always be with Jesus.

Then Jesus went to the place where the family buried Lazarus. Jesus stopped there and wept. Then he told the people to take away the stone that covered the grave.

The sisters protested because the body would now have a bad smell. Lazarus had been dead for four days. In the great crowd, there were some Jews from Jerusalem. Jesus then called out loudly, ’Lazarus, come out‘.

Then Lazarus got up. He was alive again! He walked away from the grave. He still wore the clothes that his sisters had wrapped round his body.

After this great miracle, many people believed in Jesus. But some people went to the rulers in Jerusalem. These rulers decided that they must do something. If they did not, everyone would believe in Jesus! This miracle helped many people to believe in Jesus. But it also made the rulers decide to kill Jesus!

Different people have always had different opinions about miracles. The miracles of Jesus should teach us about him. Everything that we have comes from Jesus. If we trust him, we should not be afraid of death. Moreover, Jesus will change our lives. We may be like dead people because we have sin in our lives. But Jesus can help us to live in a new way. He can give us power. But we should note this too. If we trust Jesus, some people will become our enemies. There are many people in the world who love to have power. They will not change. They love their sins and all their evil ways. They hate those who live in God‘s way.

To finish, let us repeat what Jesus said about himself.

Jesus helps us to know God, and to please God. This is the best way to live.

Let us each ask ourselves this. Do we know Jesus as our light, and our shepherd, and the one who gives us life?

Read: John chapters 7-9

Bible Study: Think about the answer that we each need to give to Jesus.