There was a man named Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha, and he was ill. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, ‘Lord, the man you love is ill.’ On receiving the message, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory so that through it the Son of God may be glorified.’

On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask of him.’

Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’

Sighing again, Jesus reached the tomb. Jesus said, ‘Take the stone away.’ Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, ‘Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day since he died.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?’ So they took the stone away. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said: Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’

The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of material, and a cloth over his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, let him go free.’ Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what he did, believed in him.