The Resurrection and the Life

The Point of the Gospel

Reminder: this is an ongoing project on Fridays to bring the four stories of Jesus’ life into one comprehensive story that today’s two-second sound-byte attention spans may find easier to absorb. Any personal opinions or thoughts are labeled as such. Some stories are not found in all four of the Gospels or are slightly different, which is also marked by { } and the name of the writer.

The Resurrection and the Life {John}

Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived in Bethany. Less than two miles from Jerusalem, many Jews came to comfort Lazarus’s sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha went out to meet Jesus and said, “Lord, my brother would not have died had you been here. Even now, God will grant any request from you.”

Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.” She thought he meant at the resurrection, and he said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Believe in me and you will live, even if you die, for no one who lives and believes in me will die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord. You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come.” Martha returned home and told Mary that the Teacher was looking for her.

Mary quickly went to meet him. A crowd followed, thinking she intended to go to the tomb and mourn. She found Jesus and fell at his feet. “Lord, had you been here, my brother would be alive.”

Jesus was deeply moved and troubled by Mary’s and the Jews’ weeping. “Where is he?”

He wept and the Jews said, “He loved him greatly.” But some wondered, as a healer of a blind man, why he hadn’t prevented Lazarus’s death.

Lazarus Raised {John}

The tomb was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Jesus told the people to remove it, but Martha warned him that there would be a bad smell. Jesus said, “I told you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God.” They moved the stone. Looking toward heaven, Jesus said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. I know you always do, so I say this that the people here may believe you sent me.”

Jesus called in a loud voice. “Lazarus, come out.” He came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth over his face. “Release him from the grave clothes.”

Many who saw this put their faith in Jesus, but some went to tell the Pharisees. They and the chief priests called a meeting of the Sanhedrin (ruling body).