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Or it could have been that Lazarus was already in Paradise and would not have to face death again and live in this fallen world. Jesus knew what they were thinking and so this might explain His anger over their skepticism about raising Lazarus or revealing their unbelief.Īnother reason that Jesus may have wept has been explained that Jesus knew Lazarus was in heaven, with the Father and it made Jesus grieve not being in the actual presence of the Father. The Jews saw that Jesus was also weeping with them and scornfully said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept this man from dying?”(v 37). He understood that grief was a natural, human emotion but He saw them acting like the unbelieving world…with no hope at all. This may have been due to their pessimism or unbelief that He could raise Lazarus from the dead. The literal Greek means that He was angry, outraged, or had emotional indignation.

This “greatly troubled” was the same language that the Lord was having the Passover meal with the disciples and knew of His upcoming betrayal and crucifixion. Jesus saw Mary and the Jews weeping over Lazarus and he was “deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled” (v 33). When Jesus finally came to their home, Mary ran out to meet Him and repeated Martha’s words “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v 32). Jesus told Martha that Lazarus would rise again but Martha thought that He meant in the coming resurrection (v 24-25). But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you”(v 21-22). Martha came and met Jesus and told Him “Lord, if you had been there, my brother would not have died. Jesus found many of the Jews were grieving with Martha and Mary. When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. This is when Thomas shows his loyal devotion to Lazarus as well as his pessimism as he told his fellow disciples and Jesus “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (v 16). Then, interestingly He says “…for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe” (v 15). Jesus had actually meant that he had died and so He plainly tells them that Lazarus is dead (v 14). The disciples thought that if he was sick, sleeping would be a good thing for him to help him recover from his illness, saying “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover” (v 12). The interesting thing that he tells His disciples is that “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” (v 10). Since Jesus was omniscient, He knew that the delay would not cause Lazarus death since by the time the messenger got to Jesus (one day’s journey) Lazarus would have already been dead. After the messenger gave Jesus the message, Jesus waited two whole days before departing for Bethany (v 6). In John chapter eleven, Martha and Mary sent a messenger to Jesus to seek His help in healing Lazarus as he was gravely ill (v 3). Lazarus is Dead – Concerned Family Members Send for Jesus

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The Jewish religious leaders would not accept that as conclusive evidence for Jesus actually raising them from the dead so this may be why Jesus waited a full four days to resurrect Lazarus. Jesus had resurrected two others: Jarius’s daughter (Luke 8:40-56) and the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7:11-16) but these two were resurrected immediately after they had died.

The irony is that Jesus would later be resurrected from the dead after being in the grave for three days. This was so that the family could grieve their lost family member. They also “sit shiva” three times each day.

This is what is called to “sit shiva” for three days for grieving purposes. The reason that Lazarus’ resurrection is so amazing is that in the Jewish culture, a person was not actually accepted as being fully dead and with no chance of coming back to life after three days. This is the seventh miracle that Jesus has performed and it is the capstone of all His miracles in the New Testament. It is seen as proof positive that Jesus is God and that He has effectual power over mankind. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible.

Lazarus resurrection