The Raising of Lazarus
By John A. Tvedtnes

[Supplement to Gospel Doctrine New Testament lesson 19]

Lazarus is a Greek form of the Old Testament Hebrew name Eleazar, meaning “God helps.” Lazarus is named only in the gospel of John (see John 12:2, 9-10, 17), but his sisters are mentioned in Luke 10:38-42 in a story not recorded by John.

Mary derives from the Hebrew name Miriam, which may mean “their rebellion,” while Martha is a Greek name evidently meaning “she was rebellious.” We can only guess why their parents so named them, but we should note that Greek names began to be introduced among the Jews beginning in the third century B.C. Both Greek and Hebrew/Aramaic names were common in Jesus’ day.

The modern name for Lazarus’ village of Bethany is al-Ayzariah, from the name Eleazar — with the suffix –iah, meaning “belonging to, pertaining to.” The Arabs, who conquered the region in the early seventh century A.D., misunderstood the Hebrew element El (“God”) and took it to be the Arabic definite article al.

The village of Bethany is situated on the eastern slope of the mount of Olives, about fifteen furlongs (nearly two miles) from Jerusalem (see John 11:18), [1] while Jerusalem is west of the mount, from which it is separated by the Kidron valley. Jesus seems to have spent his nights with his friends in Bethany whenever he came to Jerusalem for the festivals. [2] Luke 21:37 indicates that he spent his nights on the Mount of Olives.

Jesus was in Perea, east of the Jordan River, when he learned that Lazarus was ill. He waited two days before heading east to Bethany (John 11:6) by which time Lazarus was dead. At the edge of town, he was met by Martha, who said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:21), which was subsequently repeated by her sister, Mary (John 11:32). The disciples had often seen Jesus heal sick people, and they had even seen him raise people from the dead shortly after they died (Matthew 9:18-19, 23-25; Mark 5:22-23, 35-42; Luke 7:11-15; 8:42-43, 49-56).

Lazarus, however, had already been four days in the tomb (John 11:17, 39). Jewish tradition held that the spirit remained in the tomb with the body for three days, after which it departs. To provide for its exit, rock-cut tombs of Christ’s time included a small opening called a nephesh (meaning “soul”), by which the spirit would exit the tomb. The odor of the decomposing corpse was seen as evidence that the spirit was no longer present.

Some of the Old Testament prophets had raised recently-deceased people from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-23; 2 Kings 4:18-35; 8:5), as had Christ, but since the spirit had already departed, one would not expect such a miracle. Christ’s raising of Lazarus made it easier for his disciples to believe in his own resurrection after three days in the tomb. Knowing this, we can understand why the Savior delayed traveling to Bethany when he learned of Lazarus’s illness.

“Jesus Wept”

When Jesus arrived in Bethany and Mary “weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled” and “Jesus wept” Those present assumed that his weeping indicated sorrow at the death of his close friend, but this was not the case.

Jesus wept because he realized that these people did not believe that he could raise Lazarus from the grave. They lamented that he who was known for opening the eyes of the blind [3] could have prevented Lazarus’ death had he come earlier (John 11:33-38). [4]

Despite the fact that those present in Bethany had all seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the tomb, some of them still did not acknowledge Jesus as God’s envoy. Consequently, “then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.” [5]

Matthew 26:3-6 also indicates that, while Jesus was in Bethany, a council was held at the high priest’s home and it was decided to kill Jesus. [6] But neither Matthew nor any of the synoptic gospels tell us of the raising of Lazarus that prompted the calling of this council. [7]

From this point on, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sought to arrest Jesus and execute him. [8] Because of this, Jesus removed to a place called Ephraim and waited until Passover to come back to Jerusalem for the last time (John 11:49-57).

The believers, on the other hand, rejoiced at the raising of Lazarus and realized that Christ truly was the one who would bring the resurrection. This is best expressed by the Savior’s conversation with Martha:

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For additional material relating to this lesson, see:

·       “Faith and Truth,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3/2 (Fall 1994), posted at http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=
MTM5MzAyNDY3LTMtMi5wZGY=&type=amJtcw

·       “Salvation by Grace Alone?” posted on the FAIR web site at: http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Is_There_Salvation_by_Grace_Alone.html

For an introduction to the books of the New Testament and in-depth discussions of each verse in the New Testament, see Kevin L. Barney (ed.), John H. Jenkins, and John A. Tvedtnes, “Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints,” go to: http://feastupontheword.org/Site:NTFootnotes