Biblical figure · kjv
Who Was Lazarus in the Bible?
"Lazarus, come forth." Four days in a tomb. The stench of death already present. And then — resurrection. Jesus wept before he raised him, and the miracle that followed changed everything, including the decision to have Jesus killed.
Who was Lazarus?
Lazarus of Bethany is one of the most vivid secondary figures in the Gospels, and his story in John 11 is one of the most carefully constructed chapters in the New Testament. He does not speak in the narrative. He is raised from the dead, sits at dinner, and becomes a wanted man. His resurrection is at once the climactic sign of John's Gospel and the event that set in motion the final week of Jesus's life. Before addressing who Lazarus was, one clarification is essential: Lazarus of Bethany (John 11-12) is a different person from the "Lazarus" in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. That Lazarus is a character in a parable; this Lazarus is a historical individual with a family and a village. Lazarus lived in Bethany, a village on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, approximately two miles from Jerusalem. He lived there with his two sisters, Mary and Martha. The family's relationship with Jesus was intimate and particular: John 11:5 states simply, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." It was not the only time Jesus expressed love for specific individuals, but it is stated plainly here, setting the emotional register of the chapter before the crisis begins. When Lazarus became seriously ill, his sisters sent word to Jesus: "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick" (John 11:3). Jesus received the message and made a striking response — he stayed where he was for two more days. The explanation in the text: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" (John 11:4). By the time Jesus and his disciples began traveling toward Bethany, Lazarus had already died. Jesus told his disciples plainly: "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him" (John 11:14-15). Thomas's response — "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16) — captures the disciples' awareness that returning toward Jerusalem was dangerous. The religious authorities were already seeking to kill Jesus. Bethany was two miles from Jerusalem. When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Four days mattered. Jewish tradition held that the soul lingered near the body for three days after death, hoping to reenter it — but that by the fourth day, decomposition was too advanced and death was final. Four days removed any ambiguity about whether Lazarus was truly dead. Martha came out to meet Jesus; her first words were neither accusation nor despair but faith: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee" (John 11:21-22). Jesus declared: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). Mary came, fell at his feet, and wept. The people around her wept. Jesus, seeing their grief, was "groaning in the spirit" — the Greek word embrimaomai suggests deep, agitated emotion, perhaps righteous anger at death itself — and then the shortest verse in the New Testament: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). He who would raise Lazarus still wept with those who wept. He wept at the tomb of a man he was about to resurrect. The weeping is not theater; it is the incarnation in miniature — God, in the flesh, fully entering human grief. At the tomb Jesus commanded the stone to be rolled away. Martha protested: "by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days" (John 11:39). Jesus prayed aloud — not for himself but for those watching, so they would know the Father had sent him. Then he cried with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come forth." And Lazarus came out, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, his face wrapped in a cloth. "Loose him, and let him go" (John 11:44). The aftermath is immediate and consequential. Many who witnessed the miracle believed in Jesus. But some reported it to the Pharisees, who convened the Sanhedrin. The high priest Caiaphas pronounced the verdict: "it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not" (John 11:50). They planned to kill Jesus. John 12 records a dinner in Bethany six days before Passover, at which Lazarus sat with Jesus and Mary anointed Jesus's feet with costly ointment. The chief priests added Lazarus to their death list: because of him many were believing in Jesus (John 12:10-11). Lazarus had become inconvenient evidence. What became of Lazarus afterward is not recorded in the canonical Gospels. Eastern tradition holds that Lazarus lived for another thirty years after his resurrection, eventually becoming the first bishop of Kition (modern Larnaca, Cyprus), where he served until his death. His feast day is celebrated in several traditions on Holy Saturday.
Timeline
- 1st c. ADLived in Bethany with his sisters Mary and Martha, two miles from Jerusalem
- During Jesus's ministryHis family hosts Jesus; a close personal relationship with Jesus is established (John 11:5)
- ~AD 30Falls seriously ill; sisters send word to Jesus: "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick" (John 11:3)
- Within daysDies before Jesus arrives; buried in a tomb; four days pass (John 11:14, 17)
- ~AD 30Jesus arrives in Bethany; "Jesus wept" (John 11:35); commands the stone removed; calls "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43)
- After resurrectionLazarus emerges from the tomb bound in grave clothes; many witnesses believe in Jesus (John 11:44-45)
- Six days before PassoverSits at dinner with Jesus in Bethany; chief priests plan to kill Lazarus because of his testimony (John 12:1-2, 10-11)
- TraditionSaid to have become bishop of Kition, Cyprus; venerated as a saint in Eastern and Western traditions
Key Facts
Was Lazarus really dead for four days?
The text is insistent on this point. John 11:17 states that Lazarus had "lain in the grave four days already." When Jesus commanded the stone to be rolled away, Martha objected: "Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days" (John 11:39). In first-century Jewish understanding, four days was significant: a tradition held that the soul hovered near the body for three days before departing permanently. By the fourth day, decomposition was expected to be evident and death was considered irreversible. The detail is theological, not incidental — it removes any possibility that Lazarus had merely been unconscious.
Why did Jesus weep if he knew he would raise Lazarus?
John 11:35 — "Jesus wept" — is the shortest verse in the New Testament and one of its most theologically charged moments. Jesus had already stated that the sickness was not unto death but for God's glory (John 11:4), and he knew he would raise Lazarus. He wept anyway, when he saw Mary and those with her weeping. The text says he was "groaning in the spirit, and was troubled" — the Greek implies agitation and righteous emotion, perhaps anger at death itself. His weeping is not confusion or despair; it is full human solidarity with grief. The incarnation means God entered human suffering completely, including the grief of a borrowed tomb.
Is the Lazarus in Luke 16 the same person?
No. These are two different people. The Lazarus of John 11-12 is a historical individual — the brother of Mary and Martha, a resident of Bethany, raised from the dead by Jesus. The Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 is a character in a parable Jesus told about a poor man and a rich man. In that parable, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers, and Abraham replies that if they will not hear Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded "though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31). Some scholars see intentional irony in the name choice — a parable containing a Lazarus who is not raised, followed by a historical Lazarus who was — but the two are textually and historically distinct.
Did Lazarus's resurrection lead to Jesus's arrest?
Directly, according to John. The raising of Lazarus prompted many witnesses to believe in Jesus (John 11:45). Some reported it to the Pharisees, who convened the Sanhedrin. The high priest Caiaphas's response — "it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people" (John 11:50) — was the formal decision to arrest and execute Jesus. John 11:53 says "from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death." The raising of Lazarus was both the seventh and greatest sign in John's Gospel and the triggering event of the Passion narrative.
Who were Mary and Martha, Lazarus's sisters?
Mary and Martha of Bethany appear in both Luke and John. In Luke 10:38-42, Martha busies herself with household preparations while Mary sits at Jesus's feet listening to his teaching; Jesus gently defends Mary's choice. In John 11, Martha is the first to come out and meet Jesus with a theologically precise statement of faith; Mary comes later and falls at his feet weeping. John 12:3 records Mary anointing Jesus's feet with costly spikenard, wiping them with her hair — an act Jesus identified as preparation for his burial. Mary of Bethany is often distinguished from Mary Magdalene, though some traditions have conflated them.
What happened to Lazarus after his resurrection?
The canonical Gospels do not record what became of Lazarus beyond the dinner in John 12. The chief priests planned to kill him because his continued existence was causing people to believe in Jesus (John 12:10-11) — making him a wanted man for the same reason as Jesus. Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that Lazarus fled Bethany under threat, eventually settled in Cyprus, and was consecrated by the Apostles as the first bishop of Kition (modern Larnaca), where he served for thirty years. A church called the Church of Saint Lazarus in Larnaca claims to mark his tomb. These traditions are ancient but not verifiable from the canonical record.
Scripture
John 11:3
“Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.”
John 11:25
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
John 11:35
“Jesus wept.”
John 11:43
“And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.”
John 11:44
“And 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.”
John 11:50
“Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.”
John 12:10
“But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death.”
More Questions
Is the raising of Lazarus a literal resurrection or a symbolic story?
John's Gospel presents it as a historical event — a literal resurrection of a physically dead man, witnessed by many people whose reactions (belief or reporting to the authorities) drove the narrative forward. The Synoptic Gospels do not include this miracle, which has led some scholars to question its historicity, but John's silence of the Synoptics on other Johannine material cuts in multiple directions. The internal details — four days, the smell, Martha's specific objection, the named location and named witnesses — read as historical particularity rather than symbolic abstraction. John explicitly identifies the miracle as one reason the chief priests sought to kill Jesus (John 12:10-11), embedding it in verifiable political consequence.
What does the raising of Lazarus mean for Christian belief in resurrection?
The raising of Lazarus functions in John's Gospel as a sign pointing toward something greater: the resurrection of Jesus himself, and through him the final resurrection of all the dead. Jesus's declaration — "I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25) — is made not in the abstract but in front of a sealed tomb, just before demonstrating it. For Christian theology, Lazarus's resurrection was a resuscitation (he would die again eventually) while Jesus's resurrection was transformation (the first-fruits of a new creation, never to die again). Lazarus's story establishes that Jesus has authority over death itself, and his own resurrection confirms what that authority ultimately means.
Why did Jesus delay when he heard Lazarus was sick?
John says explicitly: so that the glory of God might be displayed. Jesus said to his disciples, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God" (John 11:4). After receiving the message, he stayed two more days. The strategy is sobering: Jesus allowed a man he loved to die so that something greater could happen. This is not cruelty — it is providence working through apparent failure toward a larger purpose. Mary and Martha's grief was real and he entered it fully. But the delay made the miracle unmistakable and the testimony undeniable. Four days dead was beyond all ambiguity. The delay was the precondition for the sign.
Did Lazarus die again after being raised?
The biblical text does not say, but it is a reasonable theological conclusion: Lazarus was raised to mortal life, not to immortal resurrection. He still had a physical body subject to aging and death. This is why his resurrection is classified by Christian theologians as a resuscitation — a return to ordinary mortal life — rather than a resurrection in the eschatological sense that Jesus's resurrection inaugurated. The Gospel records that the chief priests wanted to kill him (John 12:10), so there was certainly a mortal threat. Eastern Christian tradition holds he lived another thirty years after his raising and died naturally in Cyprus. Whether or not that specific tradition is accurate, Lazarus's mortality was not permanently overcome by Jesus's miracle — only temporarily reversed.