1Havia um homem chamado Lázaro. Ele era de Betânia, do povoado de Maria e de sua irmã Marta. E aconteceu que Lázaro ficou doente.2Maria, sua irmã, era a mesma que derramara perfume sobre o Senhor e lhe enxugara os pés com os cabelos.3Então as irmãs de Lázaro mandaram dizer a Jesus: “Senhor, aquele a quem amas está doente”.4Ao ouvir isso, Jesus disse: “Essa doença não acabará em morte; é para a glória de Deus, para que o Filho de Deus seja glorificado por meio dela”.5Jesus amava Marta, a irmã dela e Lázaro.6No entanto, quando ouviu falar que Lázaro estava doente, ficou mais dois dias onde estava.7Depois disse aos seus discípulos: “Vamos voltar para a Judeia”.8Estes disseram: “Mestre, há pouco os judeus tentaram apedrejar-te, e assim mesmo vais voltar para lá?”9Jesus respondeu: “O dia não tem doze horas? Quem anda de dia não tropeça, pois vê a luz deste mundo.10Quando anda de noite, tropeça, pois nele não há luz”.11Depois de dizer isso, prosseguiu dizendo-lhes: “Nosso amigo Lázaro adormeceu, mas vou até lá para acordá-lo”.12Seus discípulos responderam: “Senhor, se ele dorme, vai melhorar”.13Jesus tinha falado de sua morte, mas os seus discípulos pensaram que ele estava falando simplesmente do sono.14Então lhes disse claramente: “Lázaro morreu,15e para o bem de vocês estou contente por não ter estado lá, para que vocês creiam. Mas vamos até ele”.16Então Tomé, chamado Dídimo[1], disse aos outros discípulos: “Vamos também para morrermos com ele”.
Jesus Conforta as Irmãs de Lázaro
17Ao chegar, Jesus verificou que Lázaro já estava no sepulcro havia quatro dias.18Betânia distava cerca de três quilômetros[2] de Jerusalém,19e muitos judeus tinham ido visitar Marta e Maria para confortá-las pela perda do irmão.20Quando Marta ouviu que Jesus estava chegando, foi encontrá-lo, mas Maria ficou em casa.21Disse Marta a Jesus: “Senhor, se estivesses aqui meu irmão não teria morrido.22Mas sei que, mesmo agora, Deus te dará tudo o que pedires”.23Disse-lhe Jesus: “O seu irmão vai ressuscitar”.24Marta respondeu: “Eu sei que ele vai ressuscitar na ressurreição, no último dia”.25Disse-lhe Jesus: “Eu sou a ressurreição e a vida. Aquele que crê em mim, ainda que morra, viverá;26e quem vive e crê em mim, não morrerá eternamente. Você crê nisso?”27Ela lhe respondeu: “Sim, Senhor, eu tenho crido que tu és o Cristo, o Filho de Deus que devia vir ao mundo”.28E depois de dizer isso, foi para casa e, chamando à parte Maria, disse-lhe: “O Mestre está aqui e está chamando você”.29Ao ouvir isso, Maria levantou-se depressa e foi ao encontro dele.30Jesus ainda não tinha entrado no povoado, mas estava no lugar onde Marta o encontrara.31Quando notaram que ela se levantou depressa e saiu, os judeus, que a estavam confortando em casa, seguiram-na, supondo que ela ia ao sepulcro, para ali chorar.32Chegando ao lugar onde Jesus estava e vendo-o, Maria prostrou-se aos seus pés e disse: “Senhor, se estivesses aqui meu irmão não teria morrido”.33Ao ver chorando Maria e os judeus que a acompanhavam, Jesus agitou-se no espírito e perturbou-se.34“Onde o colocaram?”, perguntou ele. “Vem e vê, Senhor”, responderam eles.35Jesus chorou.36Então os judeus disseram: “Vejam como ele o amava!”37Mas alguns deles disseram: “Ele, que abriu os olhos do cego, não poderia ter impedido que este homem morresse?”
Jesus Ressuscita Lázaro
38Jesus, outra vez profundamente comovido, foi até o sepulcro. Era uma gruta com uma pedra colocada à entrada.39“Tirem a pedra”, disse ele. Disse Marta, irmã do morto: “Senhor, ele já cheira mal, pois já faz quatro dias”.40Disse-lhe Jesus: “Não falei que, se você cresse, veria a glória de Deus?”41Então tiraram a pedra. Jesus olhou para cima e disse: “Pai, eu te agradeço porque me ouviste.42Eu sei que sempre me ouves, mas disse isso por causa do povo que está aqui, para que creia que tu me enviaste”.43Depois de dizer isso, Jesus bradou em alta voz: “Lázaro, venha para fora!”44O morto saiu, com as mãos e os pés envolvidos em faixas de linho e o rosto envolto num pano. Disse-lhes Jesus: “Tirem as faixas dele e deixem-no ir”.
A Conspiração para Matar Jesus
45Muitos dos judeus que tinham vindo visitar Maria, vendo o que Jesus fizera, creram nele.46Mas alguns deles foram contar aos fariseus o que Jesus tinha feito.47Então os chefes dos sacerdotes e os fariseus convocaram uma reunião do Sinédrio[3]. “O que estamos fazendo?”, perguntaram eles. “Aí está esse homem realizando muitos sinais milagrosos.48Se o deixarmos, todos crerão nele, e então os romanos virão e tirarão tanto o nosso lugar[4] como a nossa nação.”49Então um deles, chamado Caifás, que naquele ano era o sumo sacerdote, tomou a palavra e disse: “Nada sabeis!50Não percebeis que vos é melhor que morra um homem pelo povo, e que não pereça toda a nação”.51Ele não disse isso de si mesmo, mas, sendo o sumo sacerdote naquele ano, profetizou que Jesus morreria pela nação judaica,52e não somente por aquela nação, mas também pelos filhos de Deus que estão espalhados, para reuni-los num povo.53E daquele dia em diante, resolveram tirar-lhe a vida.54Por essa razão, Jesus não andava mais publicamente entre os judeus. Em vez disso, retirou-se para uma região próxima do deserto, para um povoado chamado Efraim, onde ficou com os seus discípulos.55Ao se aproximar a Páscoa judaica, muitos foram daquela região para Jerusalém a fim de participarem das purificações cerimoniais antes da Páscoa.56Continuavam procurando Jesus e, no templo, perguntavam uns aos outros: “O que vocês acham? Será que ele virá à festa?”57Mas os chefes dos sacerdotes e os fariseus tinham ordenado que, se alguém soubesse onde Jesus estava, o denunciasse, para que o pudessem prender.
1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Lc 10:38)2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. (Jo 12:3)3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (Jo 11:5; Jo 11:11; Jo 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; Jo 9:3; Jo 11:11; Jo 11:40; Jo 13:31)5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (Jo 11:3)6So, when he heard that Lazarus[1] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (Jo 2:4; Jo 7:6; Jo 7:8)7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” (Jo 10:40)8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” (Jo 1:38; Jo 8:59; Jo 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. (Lc 13:33; Jo 9:4; 1 Jo 2:10)10But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” (Jr 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; Mc 3:18; Lc 6:15; Jo 13:37; Jo 14:5; Jo 20:24; Jo 20:26; Jo 21:2; At 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. (Jo 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. (Jó 2:11; Jo 11:31)20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. (Lc 10:38)21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (Jo 11:32; Jo 11:37)22But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (Jo 9:31; Jo 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.” (Lc 14:14; Jo 5:29; Jo 6:39; Jo 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, (Jo 1:4; Jo 3:36; Jo 5:21; Jo 6:40; Jo 6:44; Jo 6:57; Jo 12:25; Jo 14:6; 1 Co 15:21; Cl 3:4)26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Jo 6:50; Jo 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; Jo 6:14; Jo 6:69; Jo 8:24; Jo 13:19; Jo 20:31; 1 Jo 4:16; 1 Jo 5:1; 1 Jo 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; Mc 14:14; Lc 22:11; Jo 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. (Jo 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.” (Jo 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. (Mc 14:5; Jo 11:38; Jo 12:27; Jo 13:21)34And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”35Jesus wept. (Lc 19:41)36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” (Jo 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?” (Jo 9:6; Jo 11:21; Jo 11:32)
Jesus Raises Lazarus
38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. (Is 22:16; Mt 27:60; Mc 15:46; Lc 24:2; Jo 11:33; Jo 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.” (Jo 11:17)40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (Jo 11:4; Jo 11:25; Rm 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. (Jo 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; Jo 3:17; Jo 11:22; Jo 12:29; Jo 17:8; Jo 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.” (Jo 5:28; Jo 19:40; Jo 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, (Jo 2:23; Jo 11:19; Jo 12:11; At 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; Jo 12:19; At 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.” (Jo 6:15; Jo 18:36; At 21:28)49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. (Mt 26:3; Jo 11:51; Jo 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.” (Jo 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 Sm 23:9; 1 Sm 30:7; Ed 2:63; Ne 7:65; Jo 11:49)52and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. (Is 49:6; Jo 10:16; 1 Jo 2:2)53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. (Jo 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. (Jo 7:1; Jo 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 Cr 30:17; Lc 2:42; Jo 6:4; Jo 18:28; At 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?” (Jo 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.