John 11

The Illness of Lazarus

1Now a certain man was ill—Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair—her brother Lazarus was the one who was ill. 3So the sisters sent to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Judeans were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, they do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10But if anyone walks in the night, they stumble, because the light is not in them.”

11After saying this, Jesus said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go to awaken him.” 12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be saved.” 13Jesus had spoken about his death, but they thought he meant taking rest in sleep. 14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15And for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may come to trust. But let us go to him.” 16So Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”

17When Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19And many of the Judeans had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him; but Mary remained seated in the house.

21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who trust in me, even if they die, will live, 26and everyone who lives and trusts in me will never die. Do you trust this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I trust that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when Mary heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31So when the Judeans who were with Mary in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

32Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Judeans who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34And Jesus said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36So the Judeans said, “See how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the one who had died, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you trust, you will see the glory of God?”

41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, that they may trust that you sent me.” 43When Jesus had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The one who had died came out—his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45Many of the Judeans therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, trusted in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we doing? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will trust in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50Nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, than that the whole nation should perish.” 51He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation— 52and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

54Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Judeans, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

Before Passover

55Now the Passover of the Judeans was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the countryside before the Passover to purify themselves. 56They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that he will not come to the festival at all?” 57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, they should report it, so that they might arrest him.