To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Just on the evidence in John’s gospel alone, it is clear he could have healed Lazarus had he arrived on time. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. There is an interesting aspect to the resurrection of Lazarus found in the story of Lazarus and the Rich man (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus waited two days, a one day trip back to Bethany, the math works out to at least four days. He heard news and said: "this sickness...". Unfortunately, I find a problem with your math. So Day 1 (messengers travel to Jesus and He is told of Lazarus being sick, but Lazarus in fact died during time messengers were traveling); Day 2 & 3 (Jesus stays put); Day 4 (Jesus travels to where Lazarus was and resurrects him). What, then, moved Jesus to give way to tears? Widow of Nain's Son. Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." This was probably “Bethabara beyond Jordan” (John 1:28, 3:26; and Judges 7:24). Who knows, maybe Jesus stopped to "minister" to people on the way to Bethany, so the journey took two days instead of one. By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Days were calculated based on Gen 1:23, evening and morning were the first day. Therefore, His delay had no effect on whether or not Lazarus would have died. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Yes, Welcome! 14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.” Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will come back to life.” Mid twenties, no debt, maxed out all contributions to "common sense" stuff, what can I do to maximize the value of my money now? Jesus had healed many sick people, but until now, almost no one knew he could raise the dead. By the way, I just now finished writing my latest gripe in BHB Meta. Thus we can quite reasonably see that the death and resurrection of Lazarus was no more real in the John account than it was in the Luke account. When was the lamb killed, before or after Jesus' arrest? He simply took a negative circumstance that He did not cause or allow and worked it together for good (Romans 8:28). If the Hulk is a failed super soldier then why didn't Zemo kill him? Note that Jesus called him by name or else all of the dead would have … Verses 7, 8 - Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." * how many days will it take for one to be judged once one died , is it 1 or 2 or 3 and will judgement commence immidiately after death *when lazarus died , where did his soul stayed during the 3 days he died before jesus resurrected him , … On the fourth day, He went to Bethany and found Lazarus had “lain in the grave four days already” (John 11:17). Commentaries that I have read tend to place the event in the winter shortly before Jesus' crucifixion in early spring. Is the direction of Tefila (temple) always in the direction of sunrise? A messenger sent in the morning to get Jesus would travel two days to get Jesus. He was dead for 4 days before Jesus arrived at the grave site. Where was Jesus when he received word of Lazarus' illness? 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.) Second, Jesus and his disciples did not leave immediately for Bethany, for 11:6 tells us, "So when [Jesus] heard that [Lazarus] was sick, he then stayed two days longer in the place where he was.". Lazarus lived in a nearby town, Bethany, two miles southeast of Jerusalem, and was the brother of Mary and Martha. Therefore, Yeshua, being God and man, would have known Lazarus sickness was unto death and would have known that Lazarus was ill from beginning of the illness. In John 11:2, Jesus receives word that Lazarus is sick; John 11:6 still only refers to Lazarus as sick, although Lazarus could have died soon after the messengers left Mary and Martha. John 10:40 places Jesus on the eastern side of the Jordan River, a location confirmed by John 1:28 ("Bethabara beyond Jordan"), and because of these passages, a widely held tradition says that John baptised on the eastern shore of the Jordan. Clearly, they are still in this place "beyond the Jordan," because Jesus then voices His intent to returnto Judea (the region of Bethany and Jerusalem), and the disciples are dismayed that He wants to go near Jerusalem again. These obvious parallels create a startling coincidence unlikely to be explained other than by copying, but further parallels are presented in a paper by Keith L. Yoder from University of Massachusetts, at: FromLukeToJohn (pdf). I am not going to repeat what Jesus said about Lazarus when he died, but let it suffice that Lazarus was indeed dead dead. Welcome to BHSX. It only takes a minute to sign up. When Lazarus died Christ was still here on earth. However, it is secondary to a Jewish/Christian perspective. When the news of Lazarus sickness reached Jesus, Jesus was at the place called Bethabara beyond … Lazarus, who had been dead four days, then walked out from his grave. 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. Jesus wept just like we do when we feel the sting of death. I need a way in a C preprocessor #if to test if a value will create a 0 size array. -> Jesus receives news about Lazarus’s sickness. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So he wait for Lazarus to die. John 10:39, 40 - Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. I rearranged your answer somewhat. Welcome to BH. Then Jesus was in Jerusalem between October 15 and December 25, when he attended the Feast of Lights. If so, then Jesus was at least one day (about 20 miles) away from Bethany when he received word. The dominant scholarly theory is that John's Gospel was loosely based on Luke's Gospel, although John Dominic Crossan demonstrates in The Birth of Christianity, page 565, that the author made some use of Mark's Gospel, for example that a Markan intercalation finds its way from Mark 14:53-72 into John 18:13-27. What kind of catastrophic phenomena could cause a solar system to be wiped out with little to no warning? So, by delaying until Lazarus was dead for four days, Jesus was demonstrating the power of his miracle. You may be interested in checking it out. The short answer to this profound question that has confounded Man since ancient times is that Lazarus went where he was called from. Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus, or Lazarus of the Four Days, venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death. One day for Jesus and company to travel back to Bethany in Judea. died after one day? The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again? The Bible says Jesus “groaned” in the spirit in John 11:33. Though not specifically stated, it would not be unreasonable to believe Jesus was referring to Lazarus of Bethany. "There was a certain rich man", a "certain beggar named Lazarus" (Luke 16:20). rev 2021.4.9.39043. Lazarus dies at... Two days for Jesus and his disciples stay where they were. The miraculous story of Lazarus being brought back to life by Jesus is known from the Gospel According to John (11:1–45). Luke16:22 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. Lazarus was a friend to Jesus and a brother to Mary and Martha. Seriously, however, since we don't know exactly when Lazarus died, there are any number of scenarios I could spin from the given facts. And when Jesus saw how they all grieved over the death of Lazarus, his soul. This tells me that from the time Jesus announced “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep"... to the time he got to the tomb, the journey took four days. In both people did not believe even though they saw a resurrection with their own eyes. When Jesus met Lazarus’ sister Mary and saw her and others weeping, he “groaned in the spirit and became troubled.” Seeing their pain moved Jesus to feel hurt to the point of ‘groaning in the spirit.’ That was why “Jesus gave way to tears.” It greatly saddened Jesus … When Jesus heard that Lazarus was unwell, he stayed put for two more days. It was approximately 20 miles wide and 60 miles long. @GreatBigBore: Good catch! And He went away … Martha, Lazarus’ sister, met him and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Another theory claims that Lazarus and his sisters moved to Gaul to preach the gospel, and Lazarus became the bishop of Marseilles, where he was beheaded under the tyranny of Emperor Domitian . Jesus raising of Lazarus from the grave is, perhaps, the most wonderful of all the miracles He performed. Day 1 since Lazarus died. Lazarus dies at approximately the same time Jesus is told Lazarus is ill. Two days for Jesus and his disciples stay where they were. The clearest information we have about Abraham’s Bosom comes from Jesus Himself when He told of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus of Bethany was the brother of Martha and Mary and lived at Bethany, near Jerusalem. Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead. Luke contains a brief story of Jesus visiting the sisters, Mary and Martha, and also has Jesus tell a parable (Luke 16:20-31) that mentions the death and resurrection of Lazarus hypothetically. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Lazarus probably dies soon after they depart, and is buried the same day. For the sake of argument, let us assume the two locations were one and the same. Don. A pre-Passover date for Lazarus’ death would have been in cool weather, and the 'decompose' issue not as bad. was moved with compassion. Jesus was at Jerusalem about two miles from Bethany where Lazarus lived. The account notes that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters and that when Lazarus died of illness, Jesus … The Chief priests and other religious leaders, however, certainly wanted him to die a second time because his resurrection was causing many Jews to leave Judaism and begin to believe in Christ (see John 12:9 - 11, 17 - 19). That is, if Lazarus had died as soon as the messengers left Bethany, then there are two days of travel time involved: one day for them to reach Jesus, and one day for Jesus to reach Bethany, for a total of four days. Certainly those with him when the Rich Man/Beggar was told would have immediately recalled the raising of Lazarus which happened a few days or weeks before. John Carroll says in The Existential Jesus, page 228, that most scholars today assume that John did not write the fourth gospel, which means it was not an eyewitness account and therefore at the very least subject to error in the retelling. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us. @JackDouglas 3 days - I find 2 convenient on-line refs. In conclusion, Jesus and his disciples were likely at the place where at least one tradition puts him when word came to him from Bethany that his friend Lazarus was ill. That place was beyond the Jordan, approximately 6-8 miles due east of Jericho, where John was first baptizing and where John may also have baptized his Lord, and it was also approximately 15 miles from Bethany. They were there because Jesus chose to retreat from the volatile religious/political atmosphere which existed in Jerusalem because of his repeated claim to be the Son of God (see John 10:22-39). Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” I think we can make an educated, intelligent guess as to where Jesus was when the word came to him from Bethany that Lazarus was ill. First, we know that when Jesus received the word from Bethany that his friend Lazarus was ill, Jesus and his disciples were somewhere in Perea, engaging in what scholars call--fittingly enough--his Perean Ministry. JOHN 11:11-17 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” 12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Day Lazarus died. Jesus visited Mary, Martha and Lazarus in September 27AD, when he attended the Feast of Tabernacles (Luke 10:1-2). site design / logo © 2021 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. If Lazarus dies when Jesus receives word, then it is necessarily four days from that time until Jesus calls Lazarus from the tomb. “Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.”. What is the difference between shares, stock and stakes? One day for Jesus and company to travel back to Bethany in Judea. So when the messengers reached Jesus in 11:6, it seems that Jesus must have been at least one full day's travel from Bethany. Why did Jesus delay four days in going to the tomb of Lazarus? After Lazarus was resurrected Jesus retreated to Ephraim in Judea (John 11:53-54). So Lazarus spent four days in death’s grave before Jesus publicly called him back to life. The starting point of this particular journey was “beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized” (John 10:40). Instead of rushing to Lazarus' bedside, Jesus remained where he was two more days. Am I being too hasty about wanting to be recognized? The other Messianic requirements; cause the cripple to walk, heal the sick, cast out a deaf and dumb spirit. Thanks for your answer. Just because Luke does not affirm the same account does not make John erroneous, even if John were loosely based on Luke. By adding together His two-day delay and one-day journey to Bethany and then subtracting that from the four days Lazarus had been in the grave, it is certain that Lazarus was already dead by the time Jesus got the message. ", Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. ( John 11:11 ) But Jesus’ disciples did not grasp his meaning, so Jesus told them plainly: “Lazarus has died.” Evidently, the inn had an all-you-can-eat buffet for a fixed price, with free swimming privileges! I cannot accept that Jesus had no purpose in using Lazarus' name, rather I see the story in Luke reflecting the real events in John. In fact, we're told Jesus loved him. I do not think there is a controversy about the number of days. Even the pagans believed that the gods could not revive someone who had been dead for more than three days. And thank you for taking the site, Welcome to Stack Exchange, we are glad you are here. When Jesus saw Lazarus’ sister Mary weeping, and when Jesus saw the crowd of Jews weeping with her, He was deeply moved in His innermost being. Note 7 at John 11:6 from Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary: "From Luke 13:22 until the account of Lazarus, Jesus had been giving various teachings as He was “journeying toward Jerusalem” (Luke 13:22). Lazarus and his family lived in Bethany. (Matthew 2:13-15). Passover or Sukkot? Two days later He said, "Lazarus is dead..." and headed toward Lazarus. Can you sell a house to cover cost of "street repairs"? so that the readers can distinguish the quoted material from your comments. From this site to Bethany, then, could have been a day's journey on foot, or about 15 miles. Did Lazarus stink when he came out of the tomb? Thus, He was influenced to weep with them. According to general relativity planets and Sun bend the spacetime (explaining gravity), but does this hold true for smaller objects? Significantly, and often overlooked, we also read of His dependence on His Father and His desire to do Gods will. Is it safe to make such assumptions about the elapsed time of this story? 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you loveis sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. John 10:39, 40 - Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. Since Jesus had been “journeying toward Jerusalem,” He was probably not far from Bethany and certainly less than a day’s journey (about twenty miles) away when Mary and Martha sent for Him. Knowing that the time was not right for his "departure" at Jerusalem, he eluded the Jews who attempted to seize him (10:39) and traveled east, "beyond the Jordan" (10:40) and into Perea. believed that the soul remained with the body for three days after death, aish.com/sp/ph/Cremation_or_Burial_A_Jewish_View.html, umass.edu/wsp/project/senior/FromLukeToJohn.pdf, Stack Overflow for Teams is now free for up to 50 users, forever. Is John 12:3 an allusion to Song of Solomon 1:12? The arithmetic is as follows: One day for word of Lazarus's condition to arrive where Jesus and his disciples were in Perea. But he delayed until Lazarus … Thus dead "four days," not necessarily more than 72 hours and up to 96 hours, but theoretically a minimum of just over 48 hours, which can span four different calendar days (though I suspect it probably is over 72 hours being noted, with some partial days consisting of a number of hours on Day's 1 & 4). Perea is East of Jericho and Jericho is an 8 hour walk from Jerusalem, so figure between 8-12 hours to travel the distance on foot. In addition to the Lazarus connection @JackDouglas questions, I would like more explanation of the leap in logic from (1) John's gospel not being written by him, but rather being "loosely" based on Luke's (which I disagree with, but will run with here), and (2) Luke's hypothetical resurrection mention, to (3) a conclusion then of dismissing the account in John as factual. @GreatBigBore: I believe rhetorician is counting inclusively. Pls, use a > before each quoted para. Putting together two facts from the biblical narrative (viz., Jesus stayed where he was for two days after having received news of Lazarus's illness, and Lazarus had been dead four days--according to Martha--when Jesus gave the order for the stone to be removed from the entrance to Lazarus's tomb), we can reasonably conclude a couple things. You see similar language used "a certain man named Lazarus of Bethany (John 11:1). Mary’s weeping and that of the close friends of Lazarus was a sincere display of sorrow, but much of the other weeping was probably the unthinking wailing which is characteristic of Oriental funerals. So, when He [Jesus] heard that he [Lazarus] was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Again, the context provides the answer. But, in one way it is not safe to make such assumptions about Jesus and Lazarus. If not, that's OK, too. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. It extended from its northernmost boundary in northwestern Decapolis, to its southernmost boundary where the Arnon River (i.e., Wadi Mojib) empties into the eastern side the Dead Sea. The rich man also died and was buried.” In verse 23, the place of comfort is again referred to as the bosom of Abraham. So there was no reason for him to be pained over Lazarus’ death itself. So Lazarus died while the messenger was in route; Jesus knew Lazarus was dead before he left and the four days should not be in controversy. ver. The Lazarus story is interesting when you consider the chronology. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. @JackDouglas Since I think you find this interesting, I am still looking for ref to gods unable to resurrect after 3 days, but this is an obscure needle in a haystack. A factual oral tradition or other lost written source can just as easily explain the inclusion in John. John 11:1-44 - Bible Study: Actually, my arithmetic WAS faulty, but I provided answerer GreatBigBore with a couple alternative explanations, one humorous and one serious. Please take the tour to better understand how this site works (link below). If Lazarus had died after the messengers left Bethany, then Jesus would have been even farther away from Bethany when he received word. Evidently, a number of ancient churches were built there because of the area's connection to Jesus' baptism by John, and their remains have been unearthed in recent years by archeologists. When Jesus reaches Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days (11:17). We do know that Perea, part of the tetrarchy of Herod Antipas, was an expanse of land, east of the Jordan River. By the time Jesus Got to the tomb Lazarus had been dead four days. Where does John get the idea that Jesus' comment about the Temple was really about his own body? How long would it take before the water flowing out from an encased and flooded suburb is drinkable? Does it matter if my underground conduit overlaps or crosses over existing conduits? When Jesus was told about Lazarus’ death, he decided to go to Bethany. Why was Jesus consistently not recognized by those who knew him after his resurrection? Nice answer. Your mention that "...the gods could not revive someone who had been dead for more than three days..." is fascinating, do you happen to have a reference for that? Or responding to other answers such assumptions about the number of days make John,. Finished writing my latest gripe in BHB Meta Lazarus was resurrected Jesus retreated to Ephraim in Judea '... Of service, privacy policy and cookie policy to believe Jesus was referring to Lazarus ' bedside, was! Lazarus from the grave is, perhaps, the village of Mary and her sister Martha Jesus delay days! Did n't Zemo kill him it would not be unreasonable to believe Jesus was at where was jesus when lazarus died. Exegetical analysis of biblical texts were the first day and he went away again beyond the Jordan the! Grave is, perhaps, where was jesus when lazarus died village of Mary and Martha Jews sought to stone you, and often,! 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