1Ježišov priateľ Lazár ťažko ochorel. Býval so svojimi sestrami Máriou a Martou v dedine Betánia.2Bola to tá Mária, ktorá natrela vzácnou masťou Ježišovi nohy a svojimi vlasmi mu ich vyutierala.3Sestry sa báli o bratov život, a tak odkázali Ježišovi: „Pane, tvoj milovaný priateľ je ťažko chorý.“4Keď sa to Ježiš dozvedel, povedal: „Nebojte sa, jeho choroba sa neskončí smrťou, prejaví sa tu Božia moc a Syn Boží bude ňou oslávený.“5Ježiš mal veľmi rád obe sestry i Lazára, no jednako sa ešte dva dni zdržal na mieste,6kde ho zastihla správa o Lazárovej chorobe.7Až potom vyzval svojich učeníkov: „Vráťme sa do Judska.“8Jeho učeníci namietali: „Majstre, veď len nedávno ťa tam chceli Židia zabiť, a ty sa ta mieniš vrátiť?“9„Či neviete, že dvanásť hodín cez deň je vidno? Kto chodí za vidna, nemusí sa báť, že sa potkne.10Len cesta za tmy je nebezpečná.“11Potom dodal: „Náš priateľ Lazár zaspal a ja ho idem prebudiť.“12„Ak spí, čoskoro sa uzdraví,“ citovali ľudovú múdrosť.13Nazdávali sa totiž, že hovorí o obyčajnom spánku, a nie o Lazárovej smrti.14Povedal im teda otvorene: „Lazár zomrel.15A ja som rád, že som nebol pri ňom, kvôli vám, aby ste mali novú príležitosť uveriť vo mňa. Poďme k nemu!“16Tomáš prezývaný Dvojča navrhol učeníkom: „Poďme aj my, nech zomrieme spolu s ním!“17Keď prišli do Betánie, Lazár už štyri dni ležal v hrobe.18Betánia bola neďaleko Jeruzalema, necelú hodinu cesty,19a tak mnohí známi z mesta prišli potešiť sestry v ich žiali za bratom.20Keď sa Marta dozvedela, že prichádza Ježiš, bežala mu oproti, ale Mária zostala doma.21Marta privítala Ježiša slovami: „Pane, keby si tu bol býval, môj brat by nebol zomrel.22Ale ja viem, že Boh ani teraz neodmietne nijakú tvoju prosbu.“23„Neboj sa,“ ubezpečil ju Ježiš, „tvoj brat bude opäť žiť.“ –24„Viem, že ožije v posledný deň po vzkriesení,“ prisvedčila Marta.25„Ja som Vzkriesenie aj Život!“ povedal jej Ježiš. „Kto vo mňa verí, bude žiť, aj keby zomrel.26A kto žije a verí vo mňa, nikdy nezomrie. Veríš tomu, Marta?“27„Áno, Pane,“ odpovedala. „Uverila som, že si Kristus, Boží Syn, na ktorého sme tak dlho čakali.“28Po tých slovách odišla, odvolala svoju sestru nabok a pošeptala jej: „Je tu Ježiš a chce sa s tebou zhovárať.“29Mária ihneď vstala a bežala k nemu.
Ježiš vzkriesi Lazára
30Ježiš ešte nevošiel do dediny, bol na tom istom mieste, kde sa s ním stretla Marta.31Keď Židia, ktorí utešovali Máriu, videli, ako náhlivo vybehla z domu, pobrali sa za ňou, lebo sa domnievali, že sa šla vyplakať na Lazárov hrob.32Len čo Mária došla k Ježišovi, padla pred ním na kolená a nariekala: „Pane, keby si tu bol býval, môj brat mohol ešte žiť!“33Máriin plač aj nárek Židov Ježiša rozrušili a hlboko dojali.34Spýtal sa ich: „Kde ste ho pochovali?“„Poď, ukážeme ti!“ odpovedali.35Vtedy vyhŕkli slzy aj Ježišovi.36„Pozrite, ako ho mal rád!“ šeptali si medzi sebou.37Ale iní namietali: „Keď vedel uzdraviť slepého, nemohol zachrániť Lazára pred smrťou?“38To Ježiša znova rozrušilo a vykročil k hrobu. Bola to jaskyňa privalená veľkým balvanom.39„Odvaľte ten kameň!“ rozkázal Ježiš.„Pane, je pochovaný štvrtý deň, akiste je už v rozklade!“ chcela tomu zabrániť Marta.40„Či som ti nepovedal, že ak budeš veriť, uvidíš Božiu slávu?“ pripomenul jej Ježiš.41Vtedy odvalili kameň. Ježiš uprel oči k nebu a modlil sa: „Otče, ďakujem ti, že ma počuješ.42Ja viem, ty ma vždy počuješ, ale povedal som to kvôli ľuďom, ktorí stoja okolo, aby uverili, že ty si ma sem poslal.“43Potom zvolal mocným hlasom: „Lazár, poď von!“44A Lazár vyšiel. Ruky aj nohy mal ovinuté pohrebným rubášom a tvár mal prikrytú šatkou. Ježiš im povedal: „Zložte mu to, nech môže odísť!“
Jeden musí umrieť za všetkých
45Mnohí Židia, ktorí prišli za Máriou, boli svedkami zázraku, ktorý Ježiš vykonal, a uverili v neho.46Ale niektorí sa ponáhľali rýchlo to oznámiť farizejom.47Tí ihneď zvolali poradu s veľkňazmi, aby posúdili, čo sa stalo.„Čo si počneme?“ bezradne sa spytovali. „Ten človek skutočne robí zázraky!48Ak proti nemu nezakročíme, uverí v neho všetok ľud, prídu Rimania, podmania si nás a zničia chrám aj celý národ!“49No tu sa prihlásil o slovo Kaifáš, ktorý bol v tom roku veľkňazom: „Načo by ste si tu lámali hlavu. Je to celkom jasné.50Prečo by mal zahynúť celý národ, nech radšej umrie jeden za všetkých.“51Keď Kaifáš navrhol tento úklad proti Ježišovi, netušil, že ako veľkňaz vyriekol proroctvo, že Ježiš má byť obetovaný za svoj ľud.52Jeho výrok sa nevzťahoval iba na Židov, ale na Božie deti zo všetkých národov, ktoré sa spoja v jednu cirkev.53Od toho dňa sa židovskí vodcovia pevne rozhodli, že ho zabijú.54Preto sa Ježiš prestal verejne pohybovať medzi Židmi a utiahol sa aj s učeníkmi do mesta Efraim na okraji púšte.55Priblížila sa opäť Veľká noc. Z celej krajiny putovali do Jeruzalema ľudia, aby ešte pred hlavnými sviatkami mohli vykonať predpísané očistné obrady.56Túžili sa stretnúť s Ježišom a spytovali sa navzájom: „Čo si myslíte? Príde či nepríde sem na sviatky?“57Veľkňazi a farizeji totiž vydali rozkaz, že každý, kto by vedel, kde sa zdržiava, musí to oznámiť, aby ho mohli zatknúť.
1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Lk 10,38)2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. (Jn 12,3)3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (Jn 11,5; Jn 11,11; Jn 11,36)4But 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.” (Mt 9,24; Jn 9,3; Jn 11,11; Jn 11,40; Jn 13,31)5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (Jn 11,3)6So, when he heard that Lazarus[1] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (Jn 2,4; Jn 7,6; Jn 7,8)7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” (Jn 10,40)8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” (Jn 1,38; Jn 8,59; Jn 10,31)9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. (Lk 13,33; Jn 9,4; 1 Jn 2,10)10But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” (Jer 13,16)11After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” (Mt 27,52)12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,15and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”16So Thomas, called the Twin,[2] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (Mt 10,3; Mk 3,18; Lk 6,15; Jn 13,37; Jn 14,5; Jn 20,24; Jn 20,26; Jn 21,2; Sk 1,13)
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. (Jn 11,39)18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles[3] off,19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. (Jób 2,11; Jn 11,31)20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. (Lk 10,38)21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (Jn 11,32; Jn 11,37)22But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (Jn 9,31; Jn 11,42)23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” (Lk 14,14; Jn 5,29; Jn 6,39; Jn 11,39)25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[4] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, (Jn 1,4; Jn 3,36; Jn 5,21; Jn 6,40; Jn 6,44; Jn 6,57; Jn 12,25; Jn 14,6; 1 Kor 15,21; Kol 3,4)26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn 6,50; Jn 8,51)27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (Mt 11,3; Mt 16,16; Jn 6,14; Jn 6,69; Jn 8,24; Jn 13,19; Jn 20,31; 1 Jn 4,16; 1 Jn 5,1; 1 Jn 5,5)
Jesus Weeps
28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” (Mt 26,18; Mk 14,14; Lk 22,11; Jn 13,13)29And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.31When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. (Jn 11,19)32Now 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.” (Jn 11,21)33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved[5] in his spirit and greatly troubled. (Mk 14,5; Jn 11,38; Jn 12,27; Jn 13,21)34And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”35Jesus wept. (Lk 19,41)36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” (Jn 11,3)37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (Jn 9,6; Jn 11,21; Jn 11,32)
Jesus Raises Lazarus
38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. (Iz 22,16; Mt 27,60; Mk 15,46; Lk 24,2; Jn 11,33; Jn 20,1)39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” (Jn 11,17)40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (Jn 11,4; Jn 11,25; Rim 6,4)41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. (Jn 17,1)42I 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.” (Mt 26,53; Jn 3,17; Jn 11,22; Jn 12,29; Jn 17,8; Jn 17,21)43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”44The 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.” (Jn 5,28; Jn 19,40; Jn 20,7)
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, (Jn 2,23; Jn 11,19; Jn 12,11; Sk 9,42)46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. (Mt 5,22; Mt 26,3; Jn 12,19; Sk 4,16)48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (Jn 6,15; Jn 18,36; Sk 21,28)49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. (Mt 26,3; Jn 11,51; Jn 18,13)50Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” (Jn 18,14)51He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, (Ex 28,30; Nm 27,21; 1 Sam 23,9; 1 Sam 30,7; Ezd 2,63; Neh 7,65; Jn 11,49)52and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. (Iz 49,6; Jn 10,16; 1 Jn 2,2)53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. (Jn 7,1)54Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. (Jn 7,1; Jn 7,4)55Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. (2 Krn 30,17; Lk 2,42; Jn 6,4; Jn 18,28; Sk 21,24)56They were looking for[6] Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” (Jn 7,11)57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.