The Raising of Lazarus

Four days after his death, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb alive — the greatest of His signs, and the one that most directly foreshadows His own Resurrection and the resurrection of all.

Overview

• When His friend Lazarus of Bethany dies, Jesus deliberately waits until the fourth day, then comes and commands, "Lazarus, come out!" — and the dead man walks out of the tomb still bound in grave-clothes (John 11.1-44).
• Standing before the grave, Jesus declares, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies" — and weeps, showing both His true divinity and His true humanity.
• Kept on Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday, the raising is the Church's public pledge that Christ has power over death — given just before He enters Jerusalem to conquer death Himself.

Summary

The Raising of Lazarus (John 11.1-44) is the climactic sign of the Gospel of John and the threshold of Holy Week. By waiting four days — long enough that, in Jewish understanding, the soul had fully departed and decay set in ("Lord, by this time there is a stench") — Jesus makes clear that what follows is no resuscitation of the barely-dead but a true victory over death. He weeps at the tomb, sharing our grief, and then with a word calls his friend back to life. The Church celebrates it as a direct foreshadowing of two things: Christ's own Resurrection a week later, and the general resurrection of all at the last day. It is also what turns the authorities decisively against Him, setting the Passion in motion. The liturgical hymns join Lazarus Saturday to Palm Sunday as a single celebration of Christ as the Lord of life on the eve of His death. Cross-link Pascha, Bodily Resurrection, The Entry into Jerusalem.

Sources

[^1]: John 11.1-44 (WEB) — the death and raising of Lazarus; "I am the resurrection and the life"; Jesus weeps; "Lazarus, come out!".