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.”
…. 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?” ……“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.” …..17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. …… 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” …..25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” …….saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ……And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. …….. “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Comment: The passage is long, even after I’ve shortened it, but I have hopefully left it so that, probably knowing it well (it is in part quoted at most/all Christian funerals), you can fill in the details. Some really believed but some didn’t. I quote what it says above in the following verses. “47 “So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? …If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him,“….. 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” A murder plot was prepared so that Jesus would die and there not be a Roman crackdown, with the loss of many lives! They totally weren’t prepared to accept that they were opposing the Messiah, in spite of what Jesus had just done!
Psalm 16: 9-10 – Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. – This fairly obviously is talking about Jesus Himself!
Prayer: Thank You that You give me such a great hope for the future!
As I read it! 