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John 11: I Am the Resurrection and the Life

When his friend Lazarus dies, Jesus declares himself the resurrection and the life, weeps with the grieving, and calls the dead man out of the tomb.

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John 11 (WEB)

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha.

2 It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick.

3 The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”

4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

6 When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”

8 The disciples told him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.”

11 He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”

12 The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep.

14 So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead.

15 I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”

16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.”

17 So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already.

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away.

19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.

20 Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house.

21 Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.

22 Even now I know that, whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.

26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”

28 When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here, and is calling you.”

29 When she heard this, she arose quickly, and went to him.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him.

31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

32 Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus wept.

36 The Jews therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!”

37 Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”

38 Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”

41 So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me.

42 I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

44 He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”

45 Therefore many of the Jews, who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him.

46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done.

47 The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs.

48 If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,

50 nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”

51 Now he didn’t say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

52 and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

53 So from that day forward they took counsel that they might put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but departed from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim. He stayed there with his disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.

56 Then they sought for Jesus and spoke one with another, as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that he isn’t coming to the feast at all?”

57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had commanded that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him.

Summary

Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, falls sick, and the sisters send word to Jesus. Jesus delays two days, saying the sickness is for God's glory, then tells his disciples that Lazarus has died and that he is glad for their sake so they may believe. Arriving in Bethany, he finds Lazarus four days in the tomb. Martha meets him in grief, and Jesus declares, I am the resurrection and the life, and she confesses him as the Christ. Deeply moved and weeping at the tomb, Jesus orders the stone removed, prays aloud, and cries, Lazarus, come out. The dead man comes out still bound in grave clothes, and Jesus tells them to loose him. Many believe, but the chief priests and Pharisees, fearing the crowds, plot to put Jesus to death, as Caiaphas says it is better for one to die for the people.

Main Characters

  • Jesus — Declares himself the resurrection and the life, weeps with the grieving, and raises Lazarus from death.
  • Lazarus — The friend of Jesus who dies, is buried four days, and is called alive from the tomb.
  • Martha — Lazarus's sister who meets Jesus in grief and confesses him as the Christ, the Son of God.
  • Mary — Lazarus's sister who falls weeping at Jesus' feet, moving him to tears.

Key Verse

John 11:25 (WEB)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.

Lessons Learned

  • Jesus is himself the resurrection and the life, the hope of all who believe in him.
  • God's delays are never neglect; they may be working a greater glory than we can see.
  • Jesus enters our grief fully and weeps with those who mourn.
  • The power that called Lazarus from the tomb is the power that gives us eternal life in Christ.
  • Jesus is the source of resurrection and life. He tells Martha, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies' (John 11:25, WEB).
  • God's timing serves a deeper glory. Jesus says the sickness is 'for the glory of God, that God's Son may be glorified by it' (John 11:4, WEB), even as he waits two more days.
  • Jesus shares fully in our sorrow. Seeing Mary and the others weeping, 'Jesus wept' (John 11:35, WEB), entering our grief with real human tears.
  • Faith is the doorway to seeing God's glory. At the tomb Jesus says, 'Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see God's glory?' (John 11:40, WEB).
  • Christ's word holds power over death itself. Jesus cries, 'Lazarus, come out!' and the dead man comes out bound in grave clothes (John 11:43-44, WEB).
  1. Why does Jesus wait two days before going to Lazarus, and what reason does he give?
  2. What does Jesus mean when he tells Martha, I am the resurrection and the life?
  3. What do we learn about Jesus from the fact that he wept at the tomb of his friend?
  4. How does the raising of Lazarus reveal both Jesus' power and the response of those who saw it?
  5. Where in your own life do you need to trust Jesus as the resurrection and the life in the face of loss or fear?
  1. Jesus stays two more days, saying the sickness is for God's glory so the Son may be glorified (John 11:4, 6). His delay is not indifference but purpose, allowing a greater miracle that would deepen the disciples' and sisters' faith (11:14-15).
  2. Jesus claims to be life itself, not merely a giver of life. He says whoever believes in him will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes will never die (John 11:25-26). Martha responds by confessing him as the Christ (11:27).
  3. Though he knew he would raise Lazarus, Jesus was deeply moved and wept with the mourners (John 11:33-35). This shows the tenderness of God in the flesh, who does not stand aloof from our pain but enters it with genuine compassion.
  4. Jesus prays aloud and calls Lazarus out, and the four-days-dead man comes forth alive (John 11:41-44). Many who saw it believed in him, yet others reported to the Pharisees, who began plotting his death (11:45-53), showing how the same act draws faith or hardness.
  5. This is a personal application question. Invite members to bring their griefs and fears honestly before the One who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). As leader, hold space gently for sorrow, point to Christ's tears and power, and never press anyone to share more than they wish.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.