John 11:3-17, 20-27, 33-45 - The Raising of Lazarus (5th Sunday of Lent, April 6, 2013)

There are two other gospel accounts where Jesus brought a dead person back to life.  One is when he raised Jairus' daughter (in Mark 5:22-23) and the other is the only son of a widow (in Luke 7:11-16).  The raising of Lazarus, however, is the most powerful and incontrovertible. 

In the first two cases, the persons involved have just died and were not yet buried.  The account in the gospel of John presents Lazarus as having been dead and buried for four days.  People during biblical times usually bury their dead within twenty-four hours as there was no embalming done.  It is also believed that the soul of the person would hover over the dead body during the first three days, after which decay would have set in and the soul would no longer recognize the body and eventually leave.  John establishes that in this particular case, Lazarus definitely has died.

In last Sunday's gospel, Jesus is presented the "light of the world."  Now, he is presented as "life of the world" and presages his own resurrection.  (Jesus resurrection however is different from that of Lazarus's resuscitation.  Lazarus eventually died; Jesus' resurrection is a transformation and glorification of his previous body.  More on this on Easter Sunday).

It is also worthy to note the following:

- Jesus stayed for two more days before heading for Judea where Lazarus was.  This is to suggest that God's timing dictates Jesus' action, and not the human desire or demands.  Something will be done and it will result to God's glorification.

- Why did Jesus weep?  He already knew what he would do and that raising Lazarus would bring joy to the people.  Some biblical interpreters say that to "weep" is also a description of displeasure or anger caused by the skepticism and doubt of the people around him.  Others interpret this as Jesus emotional reaction to the presence of sickness and death, and the grief that it causes human kind.  

Sin is the cause of death and Jesus defeated this last bastion of evil through his life and resurrection.

Sources:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), 151-156.

- Raymond E. Brown et al (eds), The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990), 969-970.

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John 11:3-17, 20-27, 33-45.

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, Jesus remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Jesus became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.