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This Week’s Topic
Why Did Jesus Raise Lazarus from the Dead?
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead to reveal that he is “the resurrection and the life.” He deliberately waited until Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days, then wept with the grieving family before calling Lazarus out. The miracle shows that Jesus understands our pain, that our greatest need is Jesus himself, and that he has absolute power over death for everyone who believes in him.
When Jesus Doesn’t Come Right Away
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were some of Jesus’ closest friends. When Lazarus became seriously ill, the sisters sent word to Jesus, confident he would come. What Jesus did next seems hard to understand at first.
John 11:5-7 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
John makes a point of saying Jesus loved this family, and that’s why he waited. Love and delay aren’t opposites. When we need a miracle, sometimes Jesus doesn’t come when we expect him to. God isn’t obligated to answer our prayers on our timeline, but his delays are never a sign that he doesn’t care. He sees a bigger picture than we can.
Our Greatest Need Is Jesus Himself
By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Martha went out to meet him, and she was honest about her disappointment. Jesus didn’t scold her. Instead, he pointed her to himself.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Our pain feels real and urgent, and it is. But Jesus wanted Martha to see that her deepest need wasn’t just a miracle; it was him. He is the source of life that death can’t touch. People look for life in all kinds of places, including success, relationships, and comfort, but real and lasting life is found only in him. If you’d like to learn more about putting your faith in Jesus, check out How can I become a Christian?
Jesus Weeps with Us
When Mary came out, she fell at Jesus’ feet in tears. Even though Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus, he didn’t rush past her grief.
John 11:33-35 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept.
It’s the shortest verse in many English Bibles, and one of the most powerful. Jesus isn’t a distant deity who watches our pain from a safe distance. He enters into it and weeps with us. When you’re grieving, you can know that God isn’t annoyed by your tears. He shares them. You may also find comfort in Is There a Good Side to Grief?
Jesus Has Power over Death
Finally, Jesus stood in front of the tomb, asked for the stone to be rolled away, and prayed. Then he spoke three words that changed everything.
John 11:43-44 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
This was the last and greatest of the signs in John’s Gospel before the cross, and it pointed straight to Jesus’ own resurrection a short time later. Lazarus would eventually die again, but Jesus would rise never to die again, and he promises that same victory to all who trust him. Suffering and death aren’t the end of the story for believers. They’re the doorway into eternity with him. For more on what comes next, see What Happens Immediately After We Die?
The Takeaway
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead to show that he is the resurrection and the life. Even when he waits, he loves us, he weeps with us in our grief, and he has the power to bring life out of death for everyone who believes in him.