History in stories. The Resurrection of Lazarus is a prototype of the Resurrection of Christ
(John 11:1-46)
The resurrection of Lazarus is described in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. from John. According to the chronology carried out by Bishop. Averkiy, it immediately precedes the Bethany supper and the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, and in fact, according to John. 11:54, after him there was a removal to Ephraim, near the desert, etc. last trip to Jerusalem. Before the resurrection of Lazarus, in the 10th chapter, the removal of the Lord from the Feast of Renewal beyond the Jordan is described due to the desire of the Jews to seize Him. Christ learned about Lazarus' illness from his sisters, who sent him to tell Him about it. Christ’s answer that this illness is not for death, but for the glory of God, clearly foretells the spiritual and dogmatic meaning of the event being described. After the death of Lazarus, the Lord points to Judea, and not to Bethany, as the goal of the last journey, in order to once again emphasize the need for his own suffering. The spiritual meaning of the allegorical speech about 12 hours in a day is to show the brevity of our life and the determination of its highest divine will, and therefore the need to go according to the duties determined for us from above while our life continues. The context of the Gospel clearly indicates that the answer of St. Thomas’s response to Christ’s speech “Let us also go and die with Him” refers to Christ. In verse 27, when Martha, Lazarus' sister, meets Christ, we meet one of several in John. confession of Christ as the Son of God coming into the world. At the same time, in the previous words of Martha we meet the living faith of a part of the Jewish people in the coming general resurrection. Patristic interpretation of the words from verses 33 and 35 “Jesus was grieved in spirit and was indignant; Jesus shed tears” is to explain these actions as a tribute to the human nature of Christ. Ep. Mikhail (Luzin) believes that this grief and indignation of the Lord is explained by the presence of the Jews, who cried insincerely and burned with anger against Him, who was about to perform such a great miracle.... (Bishop Averky, pp. 233-234). Actually, during the resurrection of Lazarus, according to the interpretation of I. Chrysostom, another miracle occurred, consisting in the fact that Lazarus came out of the cave, entwined on his hands and feet with burial shrouds. Ev. describes the reaction of many Jews to the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus: “Then many of the Jews... believed in Him” (11, 45). In the context of performing this miracle, Ev. John tells of the final decision of the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus Christ (47-53). This final decision is connected with the established opinion about Christ, expressed in the words “this man does many miracles. If we leave it like this, then everyone will believe in it, and the Romans will come and take possession of both our place and our people” and in the prophecy of Caiaphas, as a high priest: “It is better for us that one person should die for the people, than that the whole people should perish.” It is with this decision that Christ’s removal to a country near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, is connected (v. 54).
The seal of death [according to Emelyanov]:
Death of Lazarus: “Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep; but I'm going to wake him up. His disciples said: Lord! if he falls asleep, he will recover” (John 11:11-12).
Mortal danger threatening Christ: “The disciples said to Him: Rabbi! How long have the Jews sought to stone You, and You are going there again?” (John 11:8).
Thomas's readiness to die: “Then Thomas, otherwise called the Twin, said to the disciples: Let us go and die with him” (John 11:16).
The connection of the miracle with the glorification of the Son of God in the passion (“Jesus, having heard [this], said: this disease is not for death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4), “Jesus says to her: Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40); cf. 7:39).
Confirmation of the followers of Christ in faith in His Divinity and in the possibility of the Resurrection:
Disciples: “Then Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead; and I rejoice for you that I was not there, so that you might believe; but let us go to him” (John 11:14-15).
Dialogue with Martha, her confession: “Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? She says to Him: Yes, Lord! I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, coming into the world” (John 25-27). Martha is in the same bewilderment as the Samaritan woman was when Christ spoke to her about worship in spirit and truth (4:25). She admits that Christ is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, but is not able to draw any definite conclusion from this recognition [Chrysostom].
At the end there is a double miracle: the four-day-old dead man rises and walks swaddled. Bound hand and foot with burial shrouds, Lazarus was able to leave the cave himself, after which the Lord commanded to untie him (John 11:44).
Prayer to the Father: “So they took away the stone [from the cave] where the dead man lay. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father! I thank You that You heard Me. I knew that You would always hear Me; but I said [this] for the people standing here, so that they might believe that You sent Me” (John 11:41-42). “Is it possible for God to pray to God?” Knowing that His enemies attribute His miraculous power to the power of demons, the Lord wanted to show with this prayer that He works miracles by virtue of His complete unity with God the Father [Averky].
The deepening division between followers and opponents of Christ under the influence of a miracle:
The assurance of many (John 11:45; 12:11; 12:17-19). “Then many of the Jews... believed in Him” (11:45).
The sign obvious to the opposing Jews (John 11:47) does not assure them, but serves as a reason for the formal pronouncement of the verdict of the Sanhedrin: “From that day they decided to kill Him” (John 11:53)
- “If we leave Him like this, then everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take possession of our place and people” (John 11:48). They recognize the miracles of the Lord as real miracles, but express fear that popular unrest may occur, and the Romans will take advantage of this in order to destroy the shadow of independence of the Jews that they still had. The fatal lie of such a judgment is that they, not recognizing the Lord as the Messiah, since He did not correspond to their perverted ideas about the Messiah, expressed fear that Jesus could become the head of popular indignation and thereby bring disaster to the whole nation [Averky].
- “One of them, a certain Caiaphas, being the high priest that year, said to them: you know nothing, and you will not think that it is better for us that one person should die for the people, than that the whole people should perish. He did not say this on his own, but, being high priest that year, he predicted that Jesus would die for the people, and not only for the people, but so that he might also gather together the scattered children of God” (John 11:49-52). Caiaphas pronounced this definition by inspiration from above, as Balaam once did, and as a result of the influx of the gift of prophecy, which, coming from God, therefore did not contain anything evil and criminal; only the passions that possessed the high priest, interpreting this revelation in their own way, darkened and distorted in his soul the true meaning of the prophecy. God revealed to Caiaphas that the death of Jesus Christ would be saving for everyone, but this revelation neither inspired nor obliged him to strive for the destruction of the Righteous One, despite His innocence and miracles: Caiaphas brought all this from the evil treasure of his heart (Luke. 6, 45), because for a corrupt heart there is nothing easier than to abuse the most holy truths, turn them into an instrument of one’s passions, distort and pervert their meaning with additions and explanations at the whim of the prevailing passion [Barsov].
Troparion of Lazarus Saturday. The resurrection of Lazarus is a prototype of the future resurrection through faith in Christ.
Having learned about the verdict, the Lord left Bethany for Ephraim near the Jericho desert, for the hour of His suffering had not yet come (cf. John 11:54).
Lazarev Saturday. The resurrection of righteous Lazarus. Day of celebration - on the eve of the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
October 30 - transfer of the relics of rights. Lazarus, Bishop of Kitia (898).
LAZARUS SATURDAY. RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS
The last Saturday before is called Lazareva. On this day, the Orthodox Church remembers the last great miracle of Christ in His earthly life - the resurrection of the righteous Lazarus.
Lazarus himself lived in Bethany, near Jerusalem, along with his sisters Martha and Mary. Jesus Christ often stayed in their house (Luke 10:38-41; John 12:1-2); the Lord called Lazarus his friend.
One day, news of Lazarus’ illness reached Jesus, to which He said:
“This sickness does not lead to death, but to the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
But Christ did not have time to see His friend, Lazarus died. Hearing about the death of Lazarus, " Jesus shed tears"(John 11:35). But these were tears not only about the loss of a loved one. Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh explains that these tears were
“that Lazarus had to die, because the world lies in evil and every person is mortal due to the fact that sin controls the world.
Christ here wept for His friend Lazarus, and in a broader sense - about this horror: God gave eternal life to all creation, but man introduced death through sin, and now the bright young man Lazarus must die, because sin once entered the world."
When the Lord came to the burial place of Lazarus, four days had already passed, but Jesus commanded “ take away" stone from the cave in which the righteous man was buried, and called out to him: " Lazarus! Get out”.
And so Lazarus, alive and unharmed, emerged from the burial cave.
Everyone in Judea quickly learned about such a miracle. And when, the next day, Christ rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey, He was greeted by crowds of people like a real king.
His resurrection from the dead on the fourth day (hence the nickname Lazarus of the Four Days), performed by Christ in the form of a public messianic “sign”, became for the Jewish authorities, fearing religious unrest, the final argument in favor of immediate reprisal against Him (John 11:47-53) .
From the point of view of Christian theology, this miracle turned out to be a symbol of Christ’s power over life and death, as proof to the disciples of His Resurrection and the future resurrection of the dead. Therefore, the Saturday of the sixth week of Great Lent (Lazarus Saturday), before the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), is dedicated to this event.
THE LIFE OF LAZARUS, GOD'S FRIEND. ACQUISITION AND TRANSFER OF POWERS
Saint Lazarus Was from Bethany near Jerusalem, the brother of Mary and Martha. During His life, the Lord loved them and often visited their home in Bethany, calling Lazarus His friend (John 11:3, 5, 11).
After the premature death of Lazarus, shedding tears over his tomb, the Lord, as the Almighty, raised him from the dead, when Lazarus had already been lying in the tomb for four days and was already stinking (John 11:17-45). This miracle is remembered by the Church on the sixth Saturday of Great Lent (Lazarus Saturday).
After his resurrection, Saint Lazarus retired to the island of Cyprus, since the high priests decided to kill him (John 12:9-11), where he was subsequently installed as a bishop.
According to legend, Lazarus, being a bishop, was honored with a visit to the Mother of God and received from Her an omophorion made by Her hands. After the miraculous resurrection, Saint Lazarus lived another 30 years, maintaining strict abstinence, and died on the island of Cyprus.
Pilgrims visiting the Holy Land are shown two tombs of the righteous: one in Bethany in Jerusalem, and the other in the city of Kitim on the island of Cyprus.
Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany
Before reaching the Holy City about two and a half kilometers, pilgrims visit Bethany, located on the eastern side of one foothill of the Mount of Olives. And a little to the northeast and below is the tomb of Lazarus, also revered by the Mohammedans. A small entrance cut into the rock leads to a narrow, deep cave. After going down 25 steps, pilgrims encounter a small platform with a stone table in the corner, which serves as a throne during the services on Lazarus Saturday. The site is considered the place where the Lord called: “Lazarus, come out!” Five more steps down - and the burial cave.
Here they usually read the Gospel of John about the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:1-7, 11-45) and the troparia of Palm Week. First, the Lord was met by Martha, then by Mary, when He went to the tomb to awaken his friend Lazarus - here is a large rounded “stone of conversation”, from which many receive healings.
And on the island of Cyprus there is a second tomb of the righteous Lazarus. 90 km from the city of Limassol, along the road lying between the hills, pilgrims arrive in the city of Larnaca, where there is a temple dedicated to Lazarus, where he served. The temple stands on the site of the original church of the 9th–10th centuries, built over the tomb of Lazarus.
Tomb of Lazarus in Cyprus
To the left of the altar is the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, and to the right of the altar is a cave - the tomb of the righteous Lazarus. The entrance to the cave is along seven steps under the altar of the temple. The size of the cave is 6x12 m. The relics of righteous Lazarus are located in the middle: the head and half of his bones. And the second half of the relics were in Constantinople; the crusaders in 1291 took them to France, to Marseille. Across the cave stands a tomb with the inscription: “Lazarus is the friend of God.”
This place is revered by all Orthodox Christians as a great shrine, as proof of the undoubted mercy, love and omnipotence of God, because the resurrection of Lazarus revealed power and power over death.
The holy relics of Bishop Lazarus were found in Kitia. They lay in a marble ark, on which was written: “Lazarus the Fourth Day, friend of Christ.” The Byzantine Emperor Leo the Wise (886–911) ordered in 898 that the relics of Lazarus be transferred to Constantinople and placed in a temple in the name of the righteous Lazarus.
VIDEO
Man is the crown of creation. Even the creation of a social hierarchy does not refute this truth. Man always remains the crown of creation, regardless of his position in society, his physical, financial and mental capabilities. Being a creation of God, man has the opportunity to become like his Creator, which is limited only by the Will of the Lord God.
However, it is known from Holy Scripture that the higher a person climbs the social ladder, the more difficult it is for him to get through it to Heaven. The stairs are wrong. But it clearly demonstrates the relativity of the concepts of “top” and “bottom” in the vast Universe.
In order for a person to understand the need to use another path, another ladder (or “Ladder”) for Salvation, he needs to believe that he is God’s creation, that he has a Father in Heaven who does not leave him with his attention even for a moment. moment and who is always ready to help find the right Path to his father’s house. As a navigator, yes.
And this is how a person is designed that in order to start moving in the right direction, he needs constant confirmation that he must move and that the direction is chosen correctly.
Miracle of life
Strange as it may seem, people trust most of all not in logic, not in scientific explanations, not in experience, not in eyewitness accounts, but in miracles! A miracle that happens to him, or to someone before his eyes.
During his earthly life, Jesus Christ performed many miracles so that people would follow him. He forbade talking about some of them even to close people, because not everyone is ready to convey to others the essence of what happened, not everyone can believe them without considering him out of his mind.
Here I would like to recall the place in the Bible where it talks about the resurrection of Lazarus.
Pay attention to the meaning of the word in Russian. Two words - “resurrection” and “resurrection”, which seem to mean the same thing, tell us about different events. In the first case (resurrection) we are talking about an action on someone. The second (resurrection) is about the ability of someone to rise from their deathbed.
None of us, born wives, perceive life as a miracle, because it is a given, it is like a gift for our birthday. This miracle happens to us every day. And only events on the verge of life and death remind us of the one who gave us life. How often do we think about how we use this gift?
Or maybe this is not a gift at all, but a miracle given on loan? We need this life, we need it as a tool, like a jack, like a stepladder, in order to be able to climb as high as possible on the spiritual “ladder”. In order to save your Soul and in order to help save those who are close to us.
Lazarus, friend of Christ
It was in Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. Lazarus, a friend of Christ, fell ill and died a natural death. The fourth day has passed since his death. His relatives had already buried him according to custom, in a cave.
Knowing about his friend's death, Jesus headed to Bethany. On the way to Lazarus's house, he met Martha, who said that if Jesus had been here, his friend would not have died. Could Jesus not have known about this? Martha seemed to doubt the omnipresence of Jesus God. But the Lord consoled her, saying that her brother would rise again. But even after these words, Martha continued to doubt. She believed that Jesus reminded her of the general Resurrection of the dead. And the Lord forgave her for this lack of faith, she was heartbroken and had lost her beloved brother.
Where Christ appeared, people certainly flocked in huge numbers. And now a whole crowd led by bishops ran to the place where Martha and Jesus met. They all followed Christ to the burial place of Lazarus, but only to laugh at the attempt to resurrect a dead man whom they all knew, whom they themselves buried in a cave. They themselves consoled his sisters at the funeral dinner yesterday. And here they are at the tomb of Lazarus. This is how the episode is described in the Bible (John 11:38-45):
“It was a cave, and a stone lay on it. Jesus says: take away the stone. The sister of the deceased, Martha, said to Him: Lord! already stinks; for he has been in the tomb for four days. Jesus says to her: Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? So they took away the stone [from the cave] where the dead man lay. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father! I thank You that You heard Me. I knew that You would always hear Me; but I said [this] for the people standing here, so that they might believe that You sent Me. Having said this, He cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus! get out. And the dead man came out, entwined on his hands and feet with burial cloths, and his face was tied with a scarf. Jesus says to them: Untie him, let him go. Then many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus had done believed in Him.”
Jesus loved his friend very much, and could have made sure that he did not die at all. But then no one would have thought that Lazarus was alive by the Will of the Lord. People would think that Lazarus simply got well. Coped with the disease. And therefore Jesus allowed death to devour his beloved friend in order to show that the Lord commands death too.
No one thinks that every morning he wakes up according to the Will of God, that his life continues day after day only because it is the Will of God.
After the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, Christ headed to Jerusalem, but not in order to ascend to the throne and become king of the Jews with the help of the crowd that followed him, who witnessed the miracle, but in order to complete his way of the cross and die on the cross for the sins of the world and show people your Resurrection as a victory over death.
Life after death
The miracle of resurrecting a dead man took place. There has never been a miracle like this! People recognized the resurrection of Lazarus; no one could doubt that he was dead. Everyone knew Lazarus, and no one dared to slander this miracle, just as they slandered the healing of the man born blind, saying: “It’s him. It's not him. Like him” (John 9:9)4.
It was precisely this unconditionality of this miracle that became the reason for the hatred of Lazarus himself on the part of the bishops. Their hatred reached the point that they wanted to kill the resurrected one.
Fleeing persecution, Lazarus leaves his native Bethany and goes to the beautiful, flowering island of Cyprus, which at that time was under the rule of Rome. There he became a bishop in the city of Kition and a tireless preacher of Christianity. He was thirty years old at that time. Having survived the persecution of Christians, Lazarus lived in Cyprus until he was sixty years old and went to the Lord.
Holy places
In Bethany, where the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus took place, the square cave in the rock that served as Lazarus’s tomb is a place of worship for believers around the world. A chapel was erected on this site, and a basilica nearby, then a Benedictine monastery appeared, after its destruction a mosque was built.
Part of the wall of the medieval chapel at the tomb of Lazarus belongs to the Orthodox Church. A Greek temple was built right there, and a little further - the Greek Orthodox monastery of Martha and Mary, dedicated to the meeting of Martha with Christ on the day of the resurrection of Lazarus. The stone on which Christ sat when meeting Martha is now the main shrine of the monastery.
In the 9th century, the Byzantine emperor Leo the Wise ordered the relics of Lazarus to be transferred to Constantinople. And in the city of Kition (now Larnaca) a temple was built in honor of Christ’s friend Lazarus.
We cordially congratulate you on the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. We wish you a peaceful Senior Week and a joyful meeting of the Bright Resurrection of Christ. God help you!
Father Spiridon (Sammur) joins our congratulations. Father serves in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and cordially congratulates all of you, dear readers of the Elitsa project, on the upcoming Easter of the Lord.
Lent is the main and longest fast of the year. For Orthodox Christians, this is a special time of spiritual wakefulness, repentance and prayer.During the period of Great Lent, from the first to the Resurrection of Christ, the Church remembers many events inextricably linked with the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saturday of the sixth week of Great Lent is called Lazarus Saturday by the Church - in honor of the great miracle performed by the Savior - the resurrection of Lazarus.
The establishment of the celebration of Lazarus Saturday before Palm Sunday and Holy Week dates back to the first centuries of Christianity.
In the 7th-8th centuries, the holy hymns - St. Andrew of Crete, Cosmas of Mayum and John of Damascus - composed special hymns for this holiday, which are sung by the Church today.
According to the Holy Scriptures, Christ performed the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus shortly before the celebration of the Jewish Passover - the last Passover in the earthly life of the Savior.
In the village of Bethany near Jerusalem, Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, fell ill. The Lord loved Lazarus and his sisters and often visited this pious family.
When Lazarus fell ill, Jesus Christ was not in Judea. The sisters sent to inform Him about their brother's illness, but Christ said: "".
Having spent two more days in the place where he was, the Savior said to the disciples: "".
Jesus told them about the death of Lazarus, but the disciples thought that He was talking about an ordinary dream. Then the Lord told them directly: "".
Martha was the first to know about the coming of the Savior and hurried to meet Him. Maria was at home in deep grief. Martha met the Savior and said: "".
Jesus Christ tells her: "". Martha said: “day.”
Then the Savior announced to her: ““? Martha replied: "".
Mary, as soon as she heard that the Teacher had come and was calling her, hurried to Jesus Christ. Seeing Mary weeping and the Jews weeping with her, Jesus Himself was grieved in spirit and shed tears.
Lazarus was already buried in the cave, but Christ wanted to see him. The entrance to the cave was blocked with a stone, and the Savior ordered it to be rolled away. Martha said to Christ: "". Jesus answered: “If you believe, will you see the glory of God?”
They rolled away the stone from the cave. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: "".
With a loud voice Christ cried out: "". And the dead man came out of the tomb, wrapped in burial shrouds. Jesus said to the crowd: "".
The rumor about the miracle began to spread throughout Judea. Many came to Lazarus's house to see him, and when they saw him, they gained faith in Jesus Christ.
It was not by chance that Christ showed the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus a few days before His death on the cross. He knew His last days were coming. He knew that many would deny Him. Wanting to strengthen the faith of His disciples and give them hope in eternal life, the Lord reveals His divine power, which obeys death.
The miracle of the resurrection was a prototype of the future Resurrection of Christ, and at the same time the subsequent resurrection of all humanity during the Second Coming of the Savior.
Only Evangelist John tells about this event. While the Lord was still in Perea, He received news of the illness of His beloved friend Lazarus, who lived in Bethany with his sisters Martha and Mary. This family was especially close to the Lord, and when He was in Jerusalem, it must be assumed, he often visited it in order to rest there from the noise of the crowd constantly watching him and the crafty interrogators of the scribes and Pharisees. The sisters sent to tell the Lord: "Here, the one you love is sick" in the hope that the Lord Himself will hasten to come to them to heal the sick. But the Lord not only did not hurry, but even deliberately remained in the place where he was, “ two days", saying that “This disease does not lead to death, but to the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” The Lord knew that Lazarus would die, and if he said that his illness did not lead to death, it was because he intended to resurrect him. Only two days later, when Lazarus had already died, the Lord said to the disciples: " let us go again to Judea." The Lord points not to Bethany, but to Judea, as the goal of their journey, in order to bring out the thought known to Him, nested in the hearts of the disciples about the danger threatening Him in Judea.
By this, the Lord wanted to root in them the idea of the necessity, and therefore the inevitability, of the suffering and death of their Teacher. The disciples actually expressed fear for Him, recalling that not long ago the Jews wanted to stone Him in Jerusalem. The Lord responds to this fear of the disciples with allegorical speech, borrowing it from the circumstances in which He found himself at that time. This was probably early in the morning, at sunrise: they therefore had 12 daylight hours for their journey.
During all this time, you can travel unhindered: it would be dangerous if you had to travel after sunset, at night, but there is no need for this, because you can reach Bethany even before sunset. In a spiritual sense, this means: the time of our earthly life is determined by the highest Divine will, and therefore, while this time continues, we can, without fear, follow the path determined for us, carry out the work to which we are called: we are safe, for the Divine will protects us from of all dangers, just as the light of the sun protects those who walk during the day. There would be danger if night caught us in our work, that is, when we, contrary to the will of God, decided to continue our activities: then we would stumble. In relation to Jesus Christ, this means that the life and activity of the Lord Jesus Christ will not end before the time determined for it from above, and therefore the disciples should not be afraid of the dangers that threaten Him. Making his way in the light of God's will, the God-man cannot be exposed to unforeseen danger. Having explained this, the Lord points to the immediate purpose of the journey to Judea: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him up.”
The Lord called the death of Lazarus a dream, as He did in other similar cases (see Matt. 9:24, Mark 5:29). For Lazarus, death really was like a dream due to its short duration. The disciples did not understand that the Lord was talking about the death of Lazarus, taking into account what He had previously said that this illness did not lead to death: they believed that the Lord would come miraculously to heal him. "If you fall asleep, you will recover"- it was said, probably, in order to dissuade the Lord from traveling to Judea: “there is no need to go, since the illness has taken a favorable turn.”
Then the Lord, putting aside any dissent from the disciples and wanting to emphasize the absolute necessity of going to Judea, told them directly: "Lazarus is dead." At the same time, Jesus added that he rejoiced for them, the Apostles, that He was not in Bethany when Lazarus was sick, since a simple healing of his illness could not strengthen their faith in Him as much as the upcoming great miracle of his resurrection from the dead. . Decisively stopping the conversation caused by the fears of the disciples, the Lord says: " but let's go to him." Although indecision was overcome, the fears of the disciples were not dispelled, and one of them, Thomas, called Didymus, which means Twin, expressed these fears in a very touching way: " Let's go and die with him." that is, if it is impossible to turn Him away from this journey, then shall we really leave Him? Let us also go to death with Him.
When they approached Bethany, it turned out that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. "Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs away." those. about two and a half miles, half an hour's walk, is said to explain how there were a lot of people in the house of Martha and Mary in a sparsely populated village. Martha, being distinguished by her greater liveliness of character, having heard about the coming of the Lord, hastened to meet him, without even telling her sister Mary about this, who "was at home" in great sorrow, accepting the consolations of those who came to console. With sorrow, she says, not reproaching the Lord, but only expressing regret that this happened: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Faith in the Lord instills in her the confidence that even now not everything is lost, that a miracle can happen, although she does not express this directly, but says: “I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” To this the Lord directly tells her: " your brother will rise again." As if checking herself to see if she is mistaken and wanting to prompt the Lord to clarify these words, to make her clearly understand what kind of resurrection the Lord is talking about, and whether it is a miracle that He intends to perform now, or only about the general resurrection of the dead at the end of the world, Martha speaks : “I know that he will rise again on the resurrection, on the last day,” Martha expressed faith that God would fulfill every request of Jesus: therefore, she did not have faith in Jesus Himself as the omnipotent Son of God. Therefore, the Lord raises her to this faith, focuses her faith on His face, saying: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” The meaning of these words is this: in Me is the source of revival and eternal life: therefore, I can, if I want, resurrect your brother now, before the general resurrection. "Do you believe this?" The Lord then asks Martha, and receives an affirmative answer that she believes in Him as the Messiah-Christ who has come to the world.
At the command of the Lord, Martha then went after her sister Mary in order to bring her to the Lord. Since she called Mary secretly, the Jews who consoled her did not know where she was going and followed her, thinking that she went to the tomb of Lazarus, " cry there." Mary fell with tears at the feet of Jesus, uttering the same words as Martha. Probably, in their grief, they often said to each other that their brother would not have died if the Lord and their Teacher had been with them, and so, without saying a word, they express their hope in the Lord in the same words. Lord "he was grieved in spirit and indignant" at the sight of this spectacle of sadness and death. Ep. Michael believes that this grief and indignation of the Lord is explained by the presence of the Jews, who were crying insincerely and burning with anger against Him, who was about to perform such a great miracle. The Lord wanted to perform this miracle in order to give His enemies the opportunity to come to their senses, repent, and believe in Him before the suffering that lay ahead of Him: but instead, they became even more inflamed with hatred towards Him and resolutely pronounced a formal and final death sentence on him. Having overcome this disturbance of the spirit within himself, the Lord asks: "Where did you put it?" The question was addressed to the sisters of the deceased. “The God-man knew where Lazarus was buried, but when dealing with people, he acted humanly” (Blessed Augustine). The sisters answered: "Lord! come and look." “Jesus shed a tear” – This, of course, is a tribute to His human nature. The evangelist further speaks about the impression that these tears made on those present. Some were touched, while others gloated, saying: “Could not He, who opened the eyes of the blind, prevent this one from dying?” If he could, then, of course, loving Lazarus, he would not have allowed him to die, and since Lazarus died, then, therefore, he could not, and therefore now he is crying. Suppressing the feeling of sorrow in Himself from the anger of the Jews, the Lord approached the tomb of Lazarus and told them to take away the stone. Coffins in Palestine were arranged in the form of a cave, the entrance to which was closed with a stone.
The opening of such caves was carried out only in extreme cases, and even then only after burial soon, and not when the corpse was already decomposing. In the warm climate of Palestine, the decomposition of corpses began very quickly, as a result of which the Jews buried their dead on the same day on which they died. On the fourth day, the decomposition was to reach such a degree that even the believing Martha could not resist objecting to the Lord: “Lord, he already stinks; for he has been in the grave for four days!” Reminding Martha of what was said to her before, the Lord says: “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” When the stone was taken away, the Lord raised His eyes to heaven and said: “Father, I thank You that You heard Me.” Knowing that His enemies attribute His miraculous power to the power of demons, the Lord wanted to show with this prayer that He works miracles by virtue of His complete unity with God the Father. Lazarus' soul returned to his body, and the Lord cried out in a loud voice: "Lazarus! Get out!" The loud voice here is an expression of a decisive will, which is confident of unquestioning obedience, or, as it were, the excitement of a deep sleeper. The miracle of the resurrection was joined by another miracle: Lazarus, bound hand and foot in burial shrouds, was able to leave the cave himself, after which the Lord commanded to untie him. The details of the depiction of this event indicate that it was described by an eyewitness. As a result of this miracle, the usual division between the Jews occurred: many believed, but others went to the Pharisees, the worst enemies of the Lord, obviously with bad feelings and intentions, in order to tell them about what had happened.
