Lessons From Lazarus

JohnChapter 11

1Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

2(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

3Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

4When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

5Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

6When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

7Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

8His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

9Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

10But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

11These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

12Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

13Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

14Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

16Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

17Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

18Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:

19And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

20Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

28And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

29As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

30Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

31The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

32Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

33When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

34And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35Jesus wept.

36Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

37And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

38Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

40Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

41Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

45Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

46But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

47Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

48If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

49And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

50Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

51And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

52And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

53Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

54Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

55And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.

56Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?

57Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.

The Literal Message:

The literal message in this chapter is quite clear. For the purpose of this study we will focus on the death, burial and resurrection of Lazarus.  This is what God’s word tells us:

Verse 1: we are told that Lazarus is sick.  This is repeated in verse 2. Then in verse 3 it is repeated along with the statement that Jesus loved Lazarus.

Verse 4: states that his death is not going to lead to death but to glorify Jesus.

Verse 5. we are reminded of Jesus love for Martha and Lazarus.

Verse 6: we are told that Jesus waits 2 days before leaving for Judea where He will heal Lazarus.

Verse 7: repeats the fact that Jesus waited 2 days.

Verse 11: Jesus tells his disciples that Lazarus sleeps.

Verse 14: Jesus tells his disciples that Lazarus is dead.

Verse 23: Jesus tells Martha that her brother will rise again.

Verse 36: The Jews said, “See how He loved him”

Verse 39: Jesus tells the people to take away the stone.

Verse 43: Jesus calls out “Lazarus come forth”

Verse 44: Jesus instructs the people to “Loose him and let him go”

The Symbolic Message:

The study of a symbolic message is much like Jesus’ use of parables when speaking to the unbelievers.  In parables we find that Jesus would use certain objects that people of the day could understand in order to make a connection to an entirely different object.  For example,  let’s take the parable of the sower and the seed. In this parable the seed is associated with the word of God and the ground represents to condition of the human soul or heart. 

In 2 Peter 3:8 we are told that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years.  Sometimes we can find meaning in God’s use of numbers. Just look at the creation story.  Each day served a specific purpose. Why did Jesus’ ministry start at age 30? Why did Joshua circle Jerico once a day for 6 days and 7 times on the 7th?

Watch for repetition of key information.  This is a way that our attention is drawn to a subject that needs further consideration.

Do we see any similarities between text in this passage and text found elsewhere?

Do we see any sign of symbolism in this passage?  I believe we do!    

Let’s take a close look at this passage and find God’s deeper meaning, just like we do with Jesus’ parables.

First, is a fact that needs no mention in the text and that is that Lazarus is a Jew.  He is an adult man not a child.

Second, he is loved by Jesus, as it is stated three times in this passage.  This love is a deep love, as indicated by the greek word “agape”. Where else do we see Jesus express this form of love? See Luke 13:34 where Jesus says “how often I would have gathered thy children together”.

Third, it is recorded two times that Jesus would wait 2 days before returning to Judea.

Fourth, when Jesus arrives, he is told the man has been dead 4 days.

Fifth, Jesus assures Martha that Lazarus will rise again.

Six, Jesus calls for the stone to be rolled away.

Seven, Jesus calls for Lazarus to be loosed and let him go.

Now, with this information before us let’s see how many symbolic references we can find.

As always, we should look for Jesus whenever possible and this is no exception. This passage is not the only case where Jesus raised someone from the dead, but it is the only case where someone other than Jesus is raised from the dead after being sealed in a tomb.  The reference to rolling away the stone is a nice touch, too. 

Now let’s consider the attributes of Lazarus and see if God is using this man to reveal his plan for mankind.  We know Lazarus was an adult, male Jew. Multiple times we are told that he is deeply loved by Jesus. Despite Jesus’ love for him, He still waited 2 days before going to his aid.  Why wait 2 days? From the passage we do know that during that period of time the Jews who were present with Lazarus were going through a period of grief. Since God associates one day to a thousand years, 2 days equals 2000 years.  This could very possibly be a reference to the coming church age. A time where the Jew will be spiritually dead for 2000 years, separated from God as indicated by the grief the people are experiencing, 

What then do we make of the 4 days in the grave?  If 2 days is symbolic of 2000 years, could 4 days be symbolic of 4000 years?  And if it is, could God be reminding us that for 4000 years man has been spiritually dead, starting with the fall of Adam and ending at the cross.  Which brings us back to the message of the gospel.  Can you see it?  Picture a timeline with the cross and a period of 4000 years going back to the spiritual death of man and a period of 2000 years going forward from the cross where anyone who places faith in the finished work of Jesus at the cross will experience spiritual rebirth, then the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham with the spiritual rebirth of Israel. The stone is rolled away, God calls them to repentance, unbinds them from Satan’s grip and sets them free.