The Bible Book

227

See also: Demons and the Herds of Pigs 224–25 ■ Jesus Anointed

at Bethany 246–47 ■ The Empty Tomb 268–71

THE GOSPELS

Jesus asks Mary to take Him to the

tomb of Lazarus and she obliges.

When He ask the crowd to roll away

the stone from the front of the tomb,

Martha initially objects, expressing

fear that the corpse will smell, but

then acquiesces. In a loud voice,

Jesus shouts “Lazarus, come out!”

(John 11:43). Immediately, Lazarus

rises and exits the tomb.

Purpose of the miracle

In one of the many miracles that

Jesus performs, He resurrects

Lazarus for the purpose of proving

that He is the Messiah. Jesus

states this when Martha asks Him

to return to Bethany: He says that it

will be done “so that God’s son may

be glorified through it” (John 11:4).

When Jesus approaches the

tomb, the doubtful crowd suggests

that if He were truly the Son of God,

He would have healed Lazarus

before his death. Jesus then prays

to God, telling Him that He is

enacting the resurrection out loud

for the benefit of the crowd, so that

they may see the glory of God.

These details suggest that the

primary purpose of raising Lazarus

is to inspire the watching audience

to discuss the figure of Jesus and,

ultimately, have faith in the power

of Christ above and beyond death.

However, the importance of the

story of Lazarus extends further.

When Martha and Mary send word

to Jesus that Lazarus is dying, their

message reads “Lord, the one you

love is sick” (John 11:3) and Jesus’s

compassion is clearly visible from

His interactions with Mary. More

than simply a display of divinity,

the story of Lazarus shows an

emotional depth in Jesus, which

acts as a powerful reminder that,

like God, Jesus feels profound love

and compassion for His people. ■

Healing the sick

The curing of illnesses and

casting out of demons were

often considered one and the

same in ancient Near Eastern

thought. In fact, many ancient

people believed that demons

were the root cause of any

given illness. For example, in

Babylon, the god Marduk was

called upon to cure common

ailments such as headaches or

toothaches through exorcism.

With this in mind, it is no

surprise that over the course

of His ministry, Jesus would

heal those with more serious

ailments in order to show His

holiness. In the Bible, demonic

possession is sometimes

described in similar terms

to what we regard as mental

illness today. One such

example comes in Mark 5,

when Jesus exorcizes multiple

demons from a man in Gerasa.

In ancient times many of

those who were sick, such as

lepers, were cast out of society

out of fear and hatred. Jesus

focused on these individuals

during His mission and, in

doing so, taught His followers

that nobody is beyond Christ’s

redemption if they have faith.

The “seven signs” proving that Jesus is the Christ form

the structural backbone of the Book of John. These miracles

become increasingly more impressive as the Gospel goes on.

5:1–29

Heals on the Sabbath

6:16–24

Walks on water

11:1– 4 4

Raises the dead

2:1–11

Turns water to wine

4:46–53

Heals the sick

6:1–14

Feeds the 5,000

9:1–12

Heals the blind

The seven signs of Christ in the Book of John

Did I not tell you that if

you believed, you would

see the glory of God?

John 11:40

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