John 11:38-57

Again feeling very upset, Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave with a large stone covering the entrance. Jesus said, “Move the stone away.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “But, Lord, it has been four days since he died. There will be a bad smell.” Then Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they moved the stone away from the entrance. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said these things because of the people here around me. I want them to believe that you sent me.” After Jesus said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with pieces of cloth, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take the cloth off of him and let him go.” Many of the people, who had come to visit Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What should we do? This man is doing many miracles. If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation.” One of the men there was Caiaphas, the high priest that year. He said, “You people know nothing! You don’t realize that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for their nation and for God’s scattered children to bring them all together and make them one. That day they started planning to kill Jesus. So Jesus no longer traveled openly among the people. He left there and went to a place near the desert, to a town called Ephraim and stayed there with his followers. It was almost time for the Passover Feast. Many from the country went up to Jerusalem before the Passover to do the special things to make themselves pure. The people looked for Jesus and stood in the Temple asking each other, “Is he coming to the Feast? What do you think?” But the leading priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he must tell them. Then they could arrest him.