Lazar onemocní a umírá
1Ježíšův přítel Lazar těžce onemocněl. Žil se svými sestrami Marií a Martou ve vesnici Betanii. 2(Marie byla ta žena, která pomazala vzácnou mastí Ježíšovy nohy, jak se ještě dovíme.)
3Bály se o bratrův život, a tak poslaly Ježíšovi vzkaz:
„Pane, tvůj milovaný přítel je vážně nemocný.“
4Když se to Ježíš dověděl, řekl: „Nebojte se, Bůh nechce Lazarovu smrt, chce jen oslavit svého Syna.“
5-6Měl velmi rád obě sestry i Lazara, ale přesto se ještě dva dny zdržel na místě, kde ho zastihla zpráva o Lazarově nemoci. 7Teprve pak řekl svým učedníkům: „Pojďme tedy do Betanie!“
8Ale ti namítali: „Mistře, ty chceš do Judska? Vždyť tě tam chtěli nedávno zabít, a ty se tam chceš vrátit?“
9„Proč se bojíte, jako by už nastávala noc,“ řekl jim Ježíš. „Můj den ještě neskončil. 10Kdo chodí ve dne, nemusí se bát úrazu, protože dobře vidí na cestu. Teprve cesta za tmy je nebezpečná.“ 11Potom dodal: „Náš přítel Lazar usnul a já ho jdu probudit.“
12Učedníci se zaradovali: „Tak on spí? To mu udělá dobře.“
13Ježíš však nemluvil o uzdravujícím spánku, ale o Lazarově smrti. 14Řekl jim tedy otevřeně: „Lazar zemřel 15a já jsem rád, že jsem k němu nepřišel před jeho smrtí. Mohu vám tak podat nový důkaz o své moci, abyste mi uvěřili. Pojďme tam.“
16Tomáš, kterému říkali Dvojče, rezignovaně povzdechl: „Pojďme, ať třeba umřeme s ním!“
Ježíš těší Martu a Marii
17Do Betanie přišli čtyři dny po Lazarově pohřbu. 18Z Jeru-zaléma bylo do Betanie jen asi tři kilometry, 19a tak mnozí známí z města přicházeli těšit Lazarovy sestry v jejich žalu. 20-21Ty se dověděly, že Ježíš přichází. Marie zůstala doma, ale Marta mu běžela vstříc se slovy: „Pane, kdybys tu byl, bratr by jistě neumřel. 22Ale já vím, že ani teď Bůh neodmítne žádnou tvoji prosbu.“
23„Neboj se,“ odpověděl jí Ježíš, „tvůj bratr bude zase žít.“
24-26Ježíš jí řekl: „To já přináším vzkříšení a život. Ti, kdo ve mne uvěřili, ať zemřeli nebo ještě žijí, v žádném případě nezemřou navždy. Věříš tomu, Marto?“
27„Věřím, že jsi Boží Syn. Jsi Mesiáš, který měl přijít na svět,“ odpověděla.
28Marta se pak vrátila domů a pošeptala své sestře: „Přišel Mistr a chce s tebou mluvit.“ 29Sotva to Marie uslyšela, vstala a spěchala k němu.
30Ježíš se zatím zdržoval na místě, kde se setkal s Martou. 31Židé, kteří Marii utěšovali, se domnívali, že se jde vyplakat k Lazarovu hrobu, proto šli za ní.
32Jakmile Marie našla Ježíše, poklekla před ním na zem a naříkala: „Pane, kdybys byl zastihl Lazara živého, jistě bys ho nenechal zemřít.“
33Mariin pláč Ježíše rozrušil a okázalý nářek Židů se ho nemile dotkl. 34Zeptal se: „Kam jste Lazara pohřbili?“
„Pojď, Pane, ukážeme ti,“ odpověděli. 35Teď vyhrkly slzy i Ježíšovi.
36„Podívejte, jak ho měl rád,“ šeptali někteří mezi sebou. 37Jiní však namítali: „Proč nechal Lazara zemřít? Vždyť před tím uzdravil slepce. Nemohl ho zachránit?“
Ježíš křísí Lazara
38To Ježíše popudilo a vykročil k hrobu. Byla to jeskyně zavalená balvanem.
39„Odvalte ten kámen!“ přikázal Ježíš.
„Pane, bratr zde leží už čtyři dny a jeho tělo je jistě v rozkladu,“ namítla Marta.
40„Kde zůstala tvoje víra, že se Bůh oslaví?“ podivil se Ježíš.
41Otevřeli hrob, Ježíš pohlédl k nebi a modlil se: „Otče, děkuji ti, že mne vyslyšíš. 42Já vím, že vždycky slyšíš, ale říkám to nahlas, aby tito lidé uvěřili, že jsi mne poslal.“
43Pak zvolal: „Lazare, pojď ven!“ 44A Lazar vyšel.
Ruce a nohy měl ovinuté plátnem, tvář zahalenou šátkem. „Sundejte mu to,“ přikázal Ježíš, „ať může chodit.“
Úklady náboženských vůdců proti Ježíšovi
45Tehdy mnoho z přihlížejících Židů Ježíšovi uvěřilo, protože se stali svědky tohoto zázraku. 46Někteří z nich však zprávu o této události donesli farizejům. 47Ti se sešli k poradě s předními židovskými kněžími: „Co si s ním počneme? Ten člověk dělá skutečné divy! 48Bude-li ve své činnosti pokračovat, všichni mu uvěří a provolají ho králem. Římané zakročí a je konec s naší vládou, chrámem i národem.“
49Úřadující velekněz Kaifáš řekl: „Vezměte rozum do hrsti! 50Proč by měl být zničen celý národ, ať zemře jeden za všechny.“ 51Když Kaifáš navrhoval tento úklad proti Ježíšovi, netušil, že pověděl slova, která se naplní. Jako velekněz prohlásil, že Ježíš má být obětován za svůj lid. 52Jeho výrok se nevztahoval jen na Židy, ale na lidi ze všech národů, ze kterých bude vytvořena Kristova církev. 53Od této chvíle usilovali židovští kněží a farizejové o Ježíšův život. 54Ježíš přestal veřejně vystupovat mezi Židy a usadil se se svými učedníky v Efrajimu, na okraji pouště.
55Přiblížily se opět Velikonoce. Do Jeruzaléma přišlo mnoho poutníků, aby se ještě před hlavními svátky očistili od hříchů. 56Ptali se po Ježíši a říkali si mezi sebou: „Co si myslíte o tom, že tu není?“
57Kněží a farizejové veřejně vyhlásili, že každý, kdo by o Ježíši věděl, musí to ihned oznámit, aby ho mohli zatknout.
Lazarus Dies
1A man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2Mary would later pour perfume on the Lord. She would also wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick in bed. 3So the sisters sent a message to Jesus. “Lord,” they told him, “the one you love is sick.”
4When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory. God’s Son will receive glory because of it.” 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So after he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. 7And then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short time ago the Jews there tried to kill you with stones. Are you still going back?”
9Jesus answered, “Aren’t there 12 hours of daylight? Anyone who walks during the day won’t trip and fall. They can see because of this world’s light. 10But when they walk at night, they’ll trip and fall. They have no light.”
11After he said this, Jesus went on speaking to them. “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,” he said. “But I am going there to wake him up.”
12His disciples replied, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he will get better.” 13Jesus had been speaking about the death of Lazarus. But his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15For your benefit, I am glad I was not there. Now you will believe. But let us go to him.”
16Then Thomas, who was also called Didymus, spoke to the rest of the disciples. “Let us go also,” he said. “Then we can die with Jesus.”
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17When Jesus arrived, he found out that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. 19Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary. They had come to comfort them because their brother was dead. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him. But Mary stayed at home.
21“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “I wish you had been here! Then my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask for.”
23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24Martha answered, “I know he will rise again. This will happen when people are raised from the dead on the last day.”
25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even if they die. 26And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27“Yes, Lord,” she replied. “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. I believe that you are the one who is supposed to come into the world.”
28After she said this, she went back home. She called her sister Mary to one side to talk to her. “The Teacher is here,” Martha said. “He is asking for you.” 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Jesus had not yet entered the village. He was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31Some Jews had been comforting Mary in the house. They noticed how quickly she got up and went out. So they followed her. They thought she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32Mary reached the place where Jesus was. When she saw him, she fell at his feet. She said, “Lord, I wish you had been here! Then my brother would not have died.”
33Jesus saw her crying. He saw that the Jews who had come along with her were crying also. His spirit became very sad, and he was troubled. 34“Where have you put him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”
37But some of them said, “He opened the eyes of the blind man. Couldn’t he have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38Once more Jesus felt very sad. He came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone in front of the entrance. 39“Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad smell. Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.”
40Then Jesus said, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?”
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up. He said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42I know that you always hear me. But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here. I said it so they will believe that you sent me.”
43Then Jesus called in a loud voice. He said, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of linen. A cloth was around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the clothes he was buried in and let him go.”
The Plan to Kill Jesus
45Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did. So they believed in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What can we do?” they asked. “This man is performing many signs. 48If we let him keep on doing this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come. They will take away our temple and our nation.”
49One of the Jewish leaders spoke up. His name was Caiaphas. He was high priest at that time. He said, “You don’t know anything at all! 50You don’t realize what is good for you. It is better if one man dies for the people than if the whole nation is destroyed.”
51He did not say this on his own because he was high priest at that time. He prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52He also prophesied that Jesus would die for God’s children scattered everywhere. He would die to bring them together and make them one. 53So from that day on, the Jewish rulers planned to kill Jesus.
54Jesus no longer moved around openly among the people of Judea. Instead, he went away to an area near the desert. He went to a village called Ephraim. There he stayed with his disciples.
55It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. Many people went up from the country to Jerusalem. They went there for the special washing that would make them pure before the Passover Feast. 56They kept looking for Jesus as they stood in the temple courtyard. They asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the feast at all?” 57But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders. They had commanded anyone who found out where Jesus was staying to report it. Then they could arrest him.
