John 11 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

The Raising of Lazarus

Jhn 11:1A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha.

Jhn 11:2This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair.[fn] Her brother, Lazarus, was sick.

Jhn 11:3

Jhn 11:3So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

Jhn 11:4

Jhn 11:4But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

Jhn 11:5

Jhn 11:5So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,

Jhn 11:6

Jhn 11:6he stayed where he was for the next two days.

Jhn 11:7

Jhn 11:7Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

Jhn 11:8

Jhn 11:8But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people[fn] in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”

Jhn 11:9

Jhn 11:9Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world.

Jhn 11:10

Jhn 11:10But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.”

Jhn 11:11

Jhn 11:11Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”

Jhn 11:12

Jhn 11:12The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!”

Jhn 11:13

Jhn 11:13They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.

Jhn 11:14

Jhn 11:14So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

Jhn 11:15

Jhn 11:15And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”

Jhn 11:16

Jhn 11:16Thomas, nicknamed the Twin,[fn] said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

Jhn 11:17

Jhn 11:17When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.

Jhn 11:18

Jhn 11:18Bethany was only a few miles[fn] down the road from Jerusalem,

Jhn 11:19

Jhn 11:19and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss.

Jhn 11:20

Jhn 11:20When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house.

Jhn 11:21

Jhn 11:21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Jhn 11:22

Jhn 11:22But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jhn 11:23

Jhn 11:23Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Jhn 11:24

Jhn 11:24“Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

Jhn 11:25

Jhn 11:25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[fn] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

Jhn 11:26

Jhn 11:26Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

Jhn 11:27

Jhn 11:27“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”

Jhn 11:28

Jhn 11:28Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.”

Jhn 11:29

Jhn 11:29So Mary immediately went to him.

Jhn 11:30

Jhn 11:30Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him.

Jhn 11:31

Jhn 11:31When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there.

Jhn 11:32

Jhn 11:32When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jhn 11:33

Jhn 11:33When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him,[fn] and he was deeply troubled.

Jhn 11:34

Jhn 11:34“Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jhn 11:35

Jhn 11:35Then Jesus wept.

Jhn 11:36

Jhn 11:36The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”

Jhn 11:37

Jhn 11:37But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

Jhn 11:38

Jhn 11:38Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

Jhn 11:39

Jhn 11:39“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

Jhn 11:40

Jhn 11:40Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”

Jhn 11:41

Jhn 11:41So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.

Jhn 11:42

Jhn 11:42You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

Jhn 11:43

Jhn 11:43Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

Jhn 11:44

Jhn 11:44And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

(Mat 26:1–5; Mar 14:1, 2; Luk 22:1, 2 )

Jhn 11:45

Jhn 11:45Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.

Jhn 11:46

Jhn 11:46But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

Jhn 11:47

Jhn 11:47Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council[fn] together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs.

Jhn 11:48

Jhn 11:48If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple[fn] and our nation.”

Jhn 11:49

Jhn 11:49Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time,[fn] said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about!

Jhn 11:50

Jhn 11:50You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

Jhn 11:51

Jhn 11:51He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation.

Jhn 11:52

Jhn 11:52And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.

Jhn 11:53

Jhn 11:53So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.

Jhn 11:54

Jhn 11:54As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.

Jhn 11:55

Jhn 11:55It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began.

Jhn 11:56

Jhn 11:56They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?”

Jhn 11:57

Jhn 11:57Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.