³⁰ Jesus had not yet come into their town. He was still where Martha had met Him.

³¹ The Jews had been in the house comforting Mary. They saw her get up and hurry out. They followed her and said, “She is going to the grave to cry there.” ³² Mary went to the place where Jesus was. When she saw Him, she got down at His feet. She said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ Jesus saw her crying. The Jews who came with her were crying also. His heart was very sad and He was troubled. ³⁴ He said, “Where did you lay Lazarus?” They said, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Then Jesus cried. ³⁶ The Jews said, “See how much He loved Lazarus.” ³⁷ Some of them said, “This Man opened the eyes of the blind man. Could He not have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus went to the grave with a sad heart. The grave was a hole in the side of a hill. A stone covered the door. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take the stone away.” The dead man’s sister, Martha, said to Him, “Lord, by now his body has a bad smell. He has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say that if you would believe, you would see the shining-greatness of God?”

⁴¹ They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You for hearing Me. ⁴² I know You always hear Me. But I have said this for the people standing here, so they may believe You have sent Me.”

⁴³ When He had said this, He called with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were tied in grave clothes. A white cloth was tied around his face. Jesus said to the people, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go!”

The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Try to Think of a Way to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus had done put their trust in Him. ⁴⁶ Some of them went to the proud religious law-keepers and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ The religious leaders of the Jews and the proud religious law-keepers gathered a court together. They said, “What will we do? This Man is doing many powerful works. ⁴⁸ If we let Him keep doing these things, all men will put their trust in Him. The Romans will come and take away the house of God and our nation.” ⁴⁹ Caiaphas was the head religious leader that year. He said to them, “You know nothing about this. ⁵⁰ Do you not see it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed?”

⁵¹ Caiaphas did not think of these words himself. He spoke what God had said would happen. He was telling before it happened that Jesus must die for the nation. ⁵² He must die not only for the nation, but also to bring together into one group the children of God who were living in many places.

⁵³ From that day on they talked together about how they might kill Jesus. ⁵⁴ For this reason Jesus did not walk out in the open among the Jews. He went to a town called Ephraim. It was near a desert. He stayed there with His followers.

The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Look for Jesus

⁵⁵ The special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt was soon. Many people from around the country came up to Jerusalem to go through the religious washing before the special supper. ⁵⁶ They looked for Jesus. They stood together in the house of God and asked each other, “What do you think? Will He come to the special supper?” ⁵⁷ The religious leaders of the Jews and the proud religious law-keepers had said that if any man knew where Jesus was, he should tell them. They wanted to take Him.