John 11-12

What’s Happening?

This story can be hard to hear.

Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is sick. But instead of rushing to his friend’s side, Jesus intentionally waits until Lazarus dies. John tells us this is because he loved Lazarus (John 11:5). And Jesus says that Lazarus’ sickness and death will glorify him and make many believe (John 11:4, 15). But Lazarus’ family is unsure. Three different times they question Jesus’ motives (John 11:21, 32, 37).

By the time Jesus arrives at the tomb, he’s weeping. He weeps for his friend Lazarus, whom he loved deeply. But his tears aren’t for Lazarus alone. Jesus also grieves everything death has stolen from his people and his world.

John also tells us that Jesus is “deeply moved,” or another translation would be “furious.” Jesus walks up to Lazarus’ tomb, eyes red with tears and cheeks flushed in anger.

Why? Because this miracle isn’t just about raising Lazarus from the dead—it’s about Jesus confronting death itself.

Jesus knows that everyone he loves will inevitably die. He is outraged that the world he created and the people he intricately formed in their mother’s wombs are trapped under death’s dominion. The world he created without suffering, evil, and sickness has been hijacked by sin and claimed the lives of every person. So Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead as a sign of what he himself is about to do.

In response to Jesus’ most important miracle, almost no one believes. John 12 describes groups of people who are confronted with Jesus’ signs but refuse to follow the signs to their conclusion (John 12:37). So hard-hearted is the disbelief of Israel that the Pharisees conspire to kill Jesus. They reason that it’s better that one person dies than a whole nation suffer under the wrath of Rome.

Where is the Gospel?

The resurrection of Lazarus was a preview of what Jesus came to accomplish for all people. Just as he called Lazarus from the tomb with a word, so Jesus promised in John 5 that the dead would hear his voice and rise to eternal life (John 5:25, 28). Lazarus’ resurrection was not just a one-time miracle—it was a sign pointing to the greater moment when Jesus would descend into the realm of the dead to confront death itself and break its power forever.

Jesus’ tears and anger at Lazarus’ tomb show us his heart toward death—it is not natural, it is not good, and it will not last. By giving Lazarus back his life, Jesus shows what he will soon do on a cosmic scale: rise from the grave and open the way for all who trust him to share in the Father’s eternal life.

Mary understood this. Twice she breaks open her most expensive perfume and anoints Jesus’ feet for burial. She believed, as Jesus hoped, that Lazarus’ death and resurrection pointed toward Jesus’ own death and resurrection. She understood that Jesus came to destroy death by dying and rising again.

See for Yourself

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the God who both weeps for his friends and is outraged at death. And may you see Jesus as the one whose voice calls the dead to life, whose resurrection destroys death, and who gives eternal life to all who believe.