Lazarus 

Lazarus was an important person in the life of Jesus and was a devoted friend for over 20 years.

Lazarus was the middle child of Simon and his spouse. They had two other children around the same age: Martha, who was about one year older and Mary, who was two years younger than Lazarus. Jesus and Lazarus were the same age. Lazarus and his family lived in a small village called Bethany which was located just a short distance south and east of Jerusalem on the slopes of Mount Olivet. Throughout Jesus’ life, Lazarus remained a constant friend, student, and protector of Jesus. The Bethany home was the scene of numerous meetings with Jesus. And this home also became a welcoming oasis for the apostles, too. The most momentous event in their association was the occasion of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus first met Lazarus in early April, 7 CE. In that year, Jesus was twelve, going on 13 and Lazarus was also 13, although we don't know Lazarus’ birthdate. They met in Bethany when Jesus and his parents were on their way to Jerusalem for Passover. Simon invited the Nazareth family into his home for refreshments and the two families struck up a friendship that lasted throughout Jesus’ life.

While in Jerusalem for that first Passover, Jesus had occasion to meet with Lazarus several more times. On the third day of the Passover, Lazarus came to show Jesus around Jerusalem. And on the Wednesday of Passover week, Jesus was allowed to have a sleepover at Lazarus’ house. That evening, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary heard Jesus discuss things temporal and eternal, human and divine, and from that night on they all three loved him as if he had been their own brother.

On that same trip, when Jesus became separated from his parents in the temple and was presumed missing for three days, he went to Lazarus’ house in the evenings, after the temple activities had finished for the day. Each night, he would walk to Lazarus’ house and have dinner with the family and stay overnight. And in the morning, he would return to the temple.

We can imagine that Jesus and Lazarus did not see a lot of each other in the next few years, since Jesus was kept very busy with his family after the death of Joseph. But when Jesus was eighteen, he took his brother James to Jerusalem for James’ first Passover. He took them to the Bethany home of Simon for the Passover supper. By that time, Simon had passed away, and Jesus presided over their household as the head of the Passover family. While Mary and James had a long talk together that evening, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus talked together far into the night.

On the next Passover visit, Jesus came alone. At this point, Simon’s wife, the mother of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, had also passed. He introduced Lazarus and his sisters to the concept of a Passover without the paschal lamb, a Passover without bloodshed and violence to animals. And the four of them celebrated this bloodless Passover together – the first to be celebrated by devout Jews. This was a very special occasion, private and sacramental, further deepening their friendship.

These Passover visits became a custom. Each time Jesus would bring one of his brothers to Jerusalem for Passover, they would celebrate the occasion at the home of Lazarus. And in later years, Jesus and Lazarus would see each other regularly on Sabbath weekends.

Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters with fervent affection and Lazarus and his sisters loved Jesus.

Once Jesus had gathered his apostles, Lazarus offered the apostolic party the use of his Bethany home for their use. They used this home as their headquarters during the years of Jesus' public ministry and many times Jesus stayed with Lazarus and his sisters there. When times became tense and the Jewish authorities were after him, Lazarus and his sisters were always ready to protect Jesus in the homes of friends. This happened several times and probably saved Jesus from serious confrontations with the authorities during crucial times in his public ministry.

In late February, 30 CE, Jesus learned that Lazarus was near death. His immediate reaction was to go to him and help. But instead, a plan occurred to him whereby he could help his friend and also present to the Jerusalem rulers one final demonstration of his divinity – the most profound and stupendous outward working of his entire earth career – the power over life and death. He said to his apostle, James:

“I would do one more mighty work for these Jews; I would give them one more chance to believe, even on their own terms – conditions of outward glory and the visible manifestation of the power of the Father and the love of the Son. Besides, do you not realize that our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, and I would go to awake him out of this sleep!”

Jesus truly hesitated to bring Lazarus back to mortal life. His sisters really needed him, but Jesus regretted having to summon his dear friend back to experience the bitter persecution which he well knew Lazarus would have to endure as a result of being the subject of the greatest of all demonstrations of the divine power of the Son of Man.

When Jesus spoke those words of command, “Take away the stone,” the assembled angels made ready to enact the drama of the resurrection of Lazarus in the likeness of his mortal flesh.

And when Jesus commanded: “Lazarus, come forth!” he began to move and soon sat up. He was confused, but Lazarus greeted Jesus and the apostles and asked the meaning of the grave cloths and why he had awakened in the garden. Jesus and the apostles drew to one side while Martha told Lazarus of his death, burial, and resurrection. She had to explain to him that he had died on Sunday and was now brought back to life on Thursday because he had had no consciousness of time since falling asleep in death.

Then Lazarus went over to Jesus and, with his sisters, knelt at the Master’s feet to give thanks and offer praise to God. Jesus, taking Lazarus by the hand, lifted him up, saying: “My son, what has happened to you will also be experienced by all who believe this gospel except that they shall be resurrected in a more glorious form. You shall be a living witness of the truth which I spoke – I am the resurrection and the life. But let us all now go into the house and partake of nourishment for these physical bodies.”

The Jerusalem authorities demanded that Lazarus come before them. They had to admit that he had indeed been resurrected from the dead, but they said it was because Jesus was in league with evil forces. Not even this tremendous display of divine power could move their hearts. They were determined to do away with Jesus and not give him any credit for such an amazing event.

As Jesus had predicted, Lazarus suffered bitter persecution from the authorities as a result of his resurrection from the dead. He was a thorn in their side. And just before Jesus’ crucifixion, he received word that the Jerusalem authorities had ordered him to be put to death. The rulers of the Jews were determined to put a stop to the further spread of the teachings of Jesus, and they well judged that it would be useless to put Jesus to death if they permitted Lazarus, who represented the very peak of his wonder-working, to live and bear testimony to the fact that Jesus had raised him from the dead.

After his resurrection, Lazarus quickly packed up and left his sisters at Bethany, fleeing down through Jericho and across the Jordan, never permitting himself to rest for very long until he had reached Philadelphia, the center of the early church where Abner lived. Lazarus knew Abner well, and here he felt safe from the murderous intrigues of the wicked Sanhedrin.

Soon after this, Martha and Mary disposed of their land at Bethany and joined their brother in Perea. Lazarus had become the treasurer of the church at Philadelphia and he became a strong supporter of Abner in his controversy with Paul and the Jerusalem church. Lazarus ultimately died at 67 years old of the same sickness that caused him to pass away when he was a younger man at Bethany.