6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” ( F)Ĩ “But Rabbi,” ( G) they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, ( H) and yet you are going back?”ĩ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. No, it is for God’s glory ( E) so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ( B) 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ( C) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love ( D) is sick.”Ĥ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. He was from Bethany, ( A) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
But it also points to the greater mystery of Christ’s humanity and death, the saving victory that the church will celebrate in the coming weeks.11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. It invites one to live as a disciple, like Lazarus, with a share in the benefits of Christ’s divinity.
The narrative presents a twofold mystery. The more one reads the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the more one can gain insights on Jesus’ own death and resurrection. The dramatic revelation of Jesus’ divine power leads directly into preparations for the coming Passover, an event that provides the setting for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. This paradox is clear in the raising of Lazarus. The Son of Man will only reveal the “glory of God” when he is “lifted up” on the cross. This question highlights the central paradox of John’s Gospel. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus explains to Lazarus’s sister Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” (Jn 11:40). Last week’s narrative of the healing of the man born blind reminded readers that the sign accomplished was meant “so that the works of God might be made visible” (Jn 9:3). While Thomas is committed to go on a suicide mission, Jesus is committed to help his disciples believe in the greater divine plan (see Jn 11:15). Thomas heightens the tension already in air by referring to the Jerusalemites who are ready to stone Jesus when they see him (see Jn 10:31). “Let us also go,” Thomas says to his companions, “to die with him” (Jn 11:16). Thomas misunderstands the reason for going to Bethany to “awaken” Lazarus from his sleep. John the Evangelist has taken a healing story and crafted the narrative to highlight not the resuscitation of Lazarus, but the death and resurrection that Jesus will embrace. The theology behind the powerful sign in today’s scene takes precedence. Like the prayer during the preparation of the altar at mass, he will share in our humanity.
Although Christ shares his divinity with Lazarus, this same scene holds in tension Jesus’ human frailty and foreshadows his crucifixion. In this Sunday's Gospel passage, Jesus decides to return to Bethany and raise Lazarus from the dead, an act with significant consequences for his mission. In the raising of Lazarus, both the scene and the sign mark within the Gospel of John the transitional point that begins Jesus’ own passion narrative.
What are the implications to your life that Christ shares in your humanity? How have you experienced the spiritual dying and rising of Lent thus far? How do the signs in this Sunday’s Gospel passage speak to you?
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