Raising of Lazarus
- Fr. Scott Haynes
- Mar 27
- 5 min read
Fr. Scott Haynes
A Meditation on John 11:1-45
At that time, a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick. But when Jesus heard this, He said to them, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that through it the Son of God may be glorified.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He remained two more days in the same place. Then afterwards He said to His disciples, Let us go again into Judea. The disciples said to Him, Rabbi, just now the Jews were seeking to stone You; and do You go there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If a man walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if he walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.
These things He spoke, and after this He said to them, Lazarus, our friend, sleeps. But I go that I may wake him from sleep. His disciples therefore said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will be safe. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought He was speaking of the repose of sleep. So then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead; and I rejoice on your account that I was not there, that you may believe. But let us go to him. Thomas, who is called the Twin, said therefore to his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with Him.
Jesus therefore came and found him already four days in the tomb. Now Bethany was close to Jerusalem, some fifteen stadia distant. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them on account of their brother. When, therefore, Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary remained at home. Martha therefore said to Jesus, Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You shall ask of God, God will give it to You. Jesus said to her, Your brother shall rise.
Martha said to Him, I know that he will rise at the resurrection, on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, even if he die, shall live; and whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, Who have come into the world. And when she had said this, she went away and quietly called Mary her sister, saying, The Master is here and calls you.
As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and came to Him, for Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. When, therefore, the Jews who were with her in the house and were comforting her, saw Mary rise up quickly and go out, they followed her, saying, She is going to the tomb to weep there. When, therefore, Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell at His feet, and said to him, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
When, therefore, Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her weeping, He groaned in spirit and was troubled, and said, Where have you laid him? They said to Him, Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept. The Jews therefore said, See how He loved him. But some of them said, Could not He Who opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that this man should not die?
Jesus therefore, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave and a stone was laid against it. Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, Lord, by this time he is already decayed, for he is dead four days. Jesus said to her, Have I not told you that if you believe you shall behold the glory of God? They therefore removed the stone. And Jesus, raising His eyes, said, Father, I give You thanks that You have heard Me.
Yet I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people who stand round, I spoke, that they may believe that You have sent Me. When He had said this, He cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth! And at once he who had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with bandages, and his face was tied up with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Unbind him, and let him go. Many therefore of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what He did, believed in Him.
Christ’s raising of Lazarus can be understood as an image of how a sinner is spiritually restored through penitence. The dead man in the tomb represents the soul dead in sin. Just as Lazarus was called out of the grave, so the sinner is called back to grace by Christ.
First, the stone must be taken away. This signifies confession. Sin often hides beneath shame, excuses, and secrecy, like a corpse shut up in a tomb. But the soul cannot be healed while the grave remains closed. In confession, the stone is rolled back. The sinner stops concealing his wounds and opens them to the mercy of God.
Second, Christ prays before calling Lazarus forth. This suggests the grace of God at work through the ministry of the Church. After confession, the sinner needs not only to accuse himself, but also to be helped by divine mercy. The confessor does not act as a mere witness, but as one who prays and labors for the sinner’s restoration.
Third, Christ cries out, “Lazarus, come forth.” This is the powerful summons of grace calling the sinner out of spiritual death. The sinner must respond. He must rise from the grave of vice, turn away from sin, and begin to walk again in the light. True penitence is not merely sorrow for sin, but a real coming forth from the habits and darkness that held the soul bound.
Fourth, Lazarus comes forth still bound. So too the sinner, though restored, may still carry the remnants of old habits, temporal punishment, and weakness. Then comes the word: “Loose him.” This signifies absolution, by which the bonds of sin are broken through the authority Christ gave to His Church.
Fifth, Christ says, “Let him go.” This shows that the restored sinner is meant to live again in freedom. Penance should heal, not crush. The soul brought back to grace must now go forward in a new life, no longer buried in guilt, but walking in hope, humility, and obedience.
In this way, the raising of Lazarus becomes a striking picture of repentance. The sinner lies dead in guilt. Christ opens the tomb, calls the soul forth, loosens its bonds, and restores it to life. Penitence is therefore not merely a legal remedy. It is a resurrection.
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