Lazarus

Lazarus of Bethany is one of the most extraordinary figures in the Gospels — a man who died, was buried for four days, and was called back to life by Jesus. The brother of Martha and Mary, Lazarus was one of Jesus' closest friends; the Gospel of John simply says "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus" (Jn 11:5). When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters sent word to Jesus, but He deliberately delayed His journey — a decision that bewildered and grieved everyone around Him.

The scene at the tomb of Lazarus contains the shortest and most powerful verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept" (Jn 11:35). Standing before the sealed tomb of His friend, the Son of God cried. Then He commanded: "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man walked out, still wrapped in burial cloths. This miracle — the greatest of Jesus' signs in John's Gospel — was the event that decisively turned the Jewish authorities against Him and set in motion the chain of events leading to the cross.

In Catholic theology, the raising of Lazarus is a prefiguration of Christ's own resurrection and of the general resurrection of the dead at the end of time. It is also read as a symbol of the sacrament of Reconciliation — Christ calling the soul dead in sin back to life. The Gospel of Lazarus is proclaimed during Lent, reminding the faithful that the same voice that called Lazarus from the tomb calls each of us from the death of sin into the life of grace.