Jesus Cries

²⁸After Martha said these things, she went back to her sister Mary. Martha talked to Mary alone. Martha said, "The Teacher (Jesus) is here. He is asking for you." ²⁹When Mary heard this, she stood up and went quickly to Jesus. ³⁰Jesus had not yet come into the village. He was still at the place where Martha met him. ³¹The Jews were with Mary in the house. They were comforting her. They saw Mary stand and leave quickly. They thought that she was going to the tomb* [of Lazarus]. They thought she was going there to cry. So they followed her. ³²Mary went to the place where Jesus was. When she saw Jesus, she bowed at his feet. Mary said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." ³³Jesus saw that Mary was crying. Jesus saw the Jews that came with her. They were crying too. Jesus felt very upset. He was deeply troubled. ³⁴Jesus asked, "Where did you put him (Lazarus)?" ³⁵Jesus cried. ³⁶And the Jews said, "Look! Jesus loved Lazarus very much!" ³⁷But some of the Jews said, "Jesus healed the eyes of the blind man. Why didn't Jesus help Lazarus and stop him from dying?" ³⁸Again Jesus felt very upset.

Jesus Makes Lazarus Alive Again

Jesus came to the tomb* [where Lazarus was]. The tomb was a cave with a large stone covering the entrance. ³⁹Jesus said, "Move the stone away." Martha said, "But Lord, it has been four days since Lazarus died. There will be a bad smell." Martha was the sister of the dead man (Lazarus). ⁴⁰Then Jesus said to Martha, "Remember what I told you? I said that if you believed, then you would see the glory of God." ⁴¹So they moved the stone away from the entrance. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you heard me. ⁴²I know that you always hear me. But I said these things because of the people here around me. I want them to believe that you sent me." ⁴³After Jesus said this he called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" ⁴⁴The dead man (Lazarus) came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with pieces of cloth. He had a handkerchief covering his face. Jesus said to the people, "Take the cloth off of him and let him go."

The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus (Mt. 26:1-5; Mk. 14:1-2; Lk. 22:1-2)

⁴⁵There were many Jews that came to visit Mary. They saw what Jesus did. And many of these Jews believed in Jesus. ⁴⁶But some of the Jews went to the Pharisees.* They told the Pharisees what Jesus did. ⁴⁷Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish council. They said, "What should we do? This man (Jesus) is doing many miracles.* ⁴⁸If we let him continue doing these things, all the people will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our temple* and our nation." ⁴⁹One of the men there was Caiaphas. He was the high priest* that year. Caiaphas said, "You people know nothing! ⁵⁰It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed. But you don't realize this." ⁵¹Caiaphas did not think of this himself. He was high priest* that year. So he was really prophesying* that Jesus would die for the Jewish people. ⁵²Yes, Jesus would die for the Jewish people. But Jesus would also die for God's other children that were scattered [in all the world]. He would die to bring them all together and make them one people. ⁵³That day the Jewish leaders began planning to kill Jesus. ⁵⁴So Jesus stopped traveling around openly among the Jews. Jesus left [Jerusalem] and went to a place near the desert. Jesus went to the town called Ephraim. Jesus stayed there with his followers. ⁵⁵It was almost time for the Jewish Passover* festival. Many people from the country went to Jerusalem before the Passover. They went to do the special things to make themselves pure [for the Passover]. ⁵⁶The people looked for Jesus. They stood in the temple* area and asked each other, "Is he (Jesus) coming to the festival? What do you think?" ⁵⁷But the leading priests and the Pharisees* had given a special order about Jesus. They said that if any person knew where Jesus was, the person must tell them. Then the leading priests and the Pharisees could arrest Jesus.

tomb A grave dug in a wall of rock. Pharisees The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs. miracle(s) Miracles are amazing works done by God's power. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. high priest The most important Jewish priest and leader. prophesying To prophesy means to speak for God. Passover An important Jewish holy day. The Jews ate a special meal on this day every year to remember that God freed them from slavery in Egypt in the time of Moses.