Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Events
Lazarus And The Tragedy Of Death

Lazarus And The Tragedy Of Death

Last updated on: March 23, 2024 at 2:24 am by Henry Karlson

0 Comments

Lazarus And The Tragedy Of Death 2024-03-23T02:24:05-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Sharon Mollerus: The Miracle Of Raising Lazarus From The Dead, 1120-1140, Spain, The Cloisters Museum / Wikimedia Commons

God created the world, and therefore created us, out of love. Through what the God-man did in his temporal ministry, we are shown the extant of God’s love for us. One of the ways he did this is through his friendship with Lazarus. When he went to see Lazarus in his death, Jesus wept (cf. Jn. 11:35). Even though Jesus knew Lazarus would partake of eternal glory, and that he would soon bring back Lazarus from the dead, he still wept at Lazarus’ death. His love for Lazarus, and therefore, God’s love for Lazarus, was revealed in his sorrow.

Death, as it has been touched by and contaminated by sin, had a sting to it which Jesus came to overturn, and this is what he would do through his own death and resurrection. Jesus knew that the sting of death would not have the final say. But that does not mean it did not, and would not continue to have an effect and cause people to suffer. It certainly did, and continues to do so, as our sin still affects the way we die and what we experience at the point of death. With Lazarus, Jesus confronted death and the way it affects us, showing us that he, and therefore God, is moved by it. His triumph over death requires us to encounter and embrace the tragedy associated with it, a tragedy which we all face, and if we ignore it, if we try to artificially defang the temporal consequences of death, we will not understand why Jesus, who would and did eternally defang it, could be moved by it when Lazarus died.

Jesus also loved Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters (cf. Jn. 11:5), and he went to them to show them his love by going to them to comfort them and share with them the sorrow they felt with the loss of Lazarus. He shows us, once again, that God knows all our pains and sorrows, and has personally come to share them with us, to mourn with us when we mourn, and provide us the comfort which we need. Now, to be sure, what Jesus said to Martha seems to have been initially misunderstood by her:

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world” (Jn. 11:20-27 RSV).

Martha believed Jesus was trying to remind her that Lazarus will rise again at the end of the world, when all the saints will rise from the dead and be glorified. She agreed with him, and probably even felt some comfort in those words, similar to the way we all feel comfort when we are reminded how God will take care of and welcome our loved ones when they die. But Jesus said much more. He indicated that he is the one who will make it possible for the dead to rise up and share in God’s glory. In response, we are told that Martha gave a Christological confession, saying Jesus not only is the messiah, but the Son of God, acknowledging the truth of what he said. She was right to do so, even as Peter right to do so earlier in Jesus’ ministry, but we tend to forget that she offered such a confession, and that is because this is not the end of the story. Jesus came, not only to comfort her and Mary with words, but to give an extraordinary example of his power to give life by resuscitating Lazarus:

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.”3 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go” (Jn. 11:38-43 RSV).

Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and in and through the love Jesus showed to them, we can read the way God loves all humanity, indeed all creation. He brought Lazarus back from the dead in anticipation of his entrance into Jerusalem and the passion which was to come. By doing so, he gave his followers hope so that when the dark times came, the time between his death and his resurrection, they would have something to remember and hold them together. Then, after his resurrection, they would be able to see it in a new light, to realize it was not just one temporal event, but also, it represented something transcendent, so that in and through the way Jesus engaged Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he also engages all of us, trying to give us comfort and hope when we deal with death in our lives. In this way, we should see this as an example of God’s love, not just for Lazarus, but for all humanity, with Lazarus representing all of us in himself. Certainly, we should realize the story gives us a glimpse of how God looks at death, to see that God does not consider it insignificant, but rather, sees the tragedy for what it is and is moved by it.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

General Christian

Religious Events

Previous Post

March 20, 2024

Ressourcement, Aggiornamento and Women

Next Post

March 24, 2024 We Should Not Try To Manipulate Jesus

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Gosh, did that hit the spot. I have been having great anxiety lately. And I ..."

Mark Wilson

Rejecting Doom: Christian Hope And Human ..."

"Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Thank you for your very, very powerful and very, very insightful analysis of the relationship ..."

alwayspuzzled

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Given the amount of lethal malevolence that has prevailed in human history for the past ..."

alwayspuzzled

We Must Value Our Health

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz