John 11:1

The Death of Lazarus

11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. ¹ 

John 11:44

11:44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, ²  and a cloth wrapped around his face. ³  Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him ⁴  and let him go.”

Matthew 21:17

21:17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

Mark 11:11

11:11 Then ⁵  Jesus ⁶  entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. And after looking around at everything, he went out to Bethany with the twelve since it was already late.

Luke 24:50

Jesus’ Departure

24:50 Then ⁷  Jesus ⁸  led them out as far as Bethany, ⁹  and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

¹ tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”

² sn Many have wondered how Lazarus got out of the tomb if his hands and feet were still tied up with strips of cloth. The author does not tell, and with a miracle of this magnitude, this is not an important fact to know. If Lazarus’ decomposing body was brought back to life by the power of God, then it could certainly have been moved out of the tomb by that same power. Others have suggested that the legs were bound separately, which would remove the difficulty, but the account gives no indication of this. What may be of more significance for the author is the comparison which this picture naturally evokes with the resurrection of Jesus, where the graveclothes stayed in the tomb neatly folded (20:6-7). Jesus, unlike Lazarus, would never need graveclothes again.

³ tn Grk “and his face tied around with cloth.”

⁴ tn Grk “Loose him.”

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the transition from the previous narrative.

⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ sn Bethany was village on the Mount of Olives about 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem; see John 11:1, 18.