John 11-12

Modern English Version

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² This was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, he whom You love is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ So when He heard that he was sick, He remained where He was two more days. ⁷ Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”

⁸ His disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone You. Are You going there again?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

¹¹ After He said this, He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I am going that I may awaken him from sleep.”

¹² Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will be well.” ¹³ Jesus had spoken of his death. But they thought that He was speaking of getting rest through sleep.

¹⁴ So then Jesus plainly told them, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

¹⁶ Then Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go also, that we may die with Him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, He found that he had been in the tomb four days already. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, less than two miles away.^{[a] 19} Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met Him, but Mary remained in the house.

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 may ask of God, God will give You.”

²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸ When she had said this, she went her way and secretly called her sister Mary, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹ When she heard this, she rose quickly and went to Him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was in the place where Martha met Him. ³¹ When the Jews who were with Mary in the house, comforting her, saw that she quickly rose up and went out, they followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

³² When Mary came to where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵ Jesus wept.

³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him.”

³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have also kept this man from dying?”

Lazarus Brought to Life

³⁸ Then Jesus, again groaning within Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, 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 from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² I know that You always hear Me. But because of the people standing around, I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

⁴³ When He had said this, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ He who was dead came out, his hands and feet wrapped with grave clothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth.

Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus^(A)

⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what Jesus had done, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled the Sanhedrin and said, “What shall we do? This Man is performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we leave Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

⁴⁹ Then one of them named Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, that the whole nation should not perish.”

⁵¹ He did not say this on his own authority. But being the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but that He might also gather together in unity the children of God who were scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day forward they planned to put Him to death.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and remained there with His disciples.

⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up to Jerusalem from the country before the Passover to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ Then they searched for Jesus and said among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think, that He will not come to the feast?” ⁵⁷ Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.

The Anointing at Bethany^(B)

12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. ² They prepared a supper for Him there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. ³ Then Mary took a pint^[b] of very costly ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.

⁴ But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii^[c] and given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. And having the money box, he used to steal what was put in it.

⁷ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of My burial. ⁸ For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

The Plot Against Lazarus

⁹ When many of the Jews learned that He was there, they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also, ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem^(C)

¹² On the next day a great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ They took branches of palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

¹⁴ Then Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written:

¹⁶ His disciples did not understand these things at first. But when Jesus was glorified, they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

¹⁷ Now the crowd that was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. ¹⁸ The crowd went and met Him for this reason: They heard that He had performed this sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said among themselves, “See, you are gaining nothing! Look, the world has followed Him!”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” ²² Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³ Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it. And he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

²⁷ “Now My soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? Instead, for this reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify Your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice came not for My sake, but for your sakes. ³¹ Now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.” ³³ He said this to signify by what kind of death He would die.

³⁴ The crowd answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. Why do You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said these things, and departed and hid Himself from them.

The Unbelief of the Jews

³⁷ Though He had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in Him. ³⁸ This fulfilled the word spoken by Isaiah the prophet:

³⁹ Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah said again:

⁴¹ Isaiah said this when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

⁴² Yet many of the rulers also believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they be put out of the synagogue. ⁴³ For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Judgment by Jesus’ Word

⁴⁴ Jesus cried out, “He who believes in Me believes not only in Me, but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not remain in darkness.

⁴⁷ “If anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him. The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ I know that His command is eternal life. Therefore what I say, I say as the Father tells me.”