John 11:1-15

The Death of Lazarus

1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of ¹Mary and her sister Martha.

2 ²It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, ³he whom you love is ill."

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, ⁴"This illness does not lead to death. It is for ⁵the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

5 Now ⁶Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So, when he heard that Lazarus^[a] was ill, ⁷he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, ⁸"Let us go to Judea again."

8 The disciples said to him, ⁹"Rabbi, ¹⁰the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"

9 Jesus answered, ¹¹"Are there not twelve hours in the day? ¹²If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 But ¹³if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not ¹⁴in him."

11 After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus ¹⁵has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."

12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died,

15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

John 11:1-15 In-Context

1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."

8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"

9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

11 After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."

12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died,

15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,

19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

Cross References

• 1. See Luke 10:38, 39
• 2. John 12:3
• 3. ver. 5, 11, 36
• 4. [ver. 11; Matthew 9:24]
• 5. ver. 40; [John 9:3; John 13:31]
• 6. ver. 3
• 7. [John 2:4; John 7:6, 8]
• 8. John 10:40
• 9. See John 1:38
• 10. John 8:59; John 10:31
• 11. [Luke 13:33]
• 12. See John 9:4; 1 John 2:10
• 13. Jeremiah 13:16
• 14. Jeremiah 13:16
• 15. See Matthew 27:52

Footnotes

• [a]. Greek he; also verse 17