Who was Lazarus in the Bible?

Lazarus of Bethany was a close friend of Jesus, brother of Mary and Martha, whom Jesus raised from the dead after four days in the tomb (John 11) - one of the most striking miracles in the Gospels and the direct catalyst for the plot to kill Jesus (John 11:53).

Lazarus lived in Bethany, near Jerusalem, with his sisters Mary and Martha, and John's Gospel describes the family as people Jesus loved (John 11:5). When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters sent word to Jesus, but Jesus delayed his arrival by two days, arriving only after Lazarus had already been dead and buried for four days. Standing before the tomb, Jesus wept (John 11:35, the Bible's shortest verse), then commanded that the stone be rolled away and cried, "Lazarus, come forth" - and Lazarus walked out, still bound in his grave clothes. This public, undeniable miracle, performed just outside Jerusalem before many witnesses, is presented in John's Gospel as the final and greatest of Jesus's "signs," and John 11:53 records that from that day the religious authorities "took counsel together for to put him to death." There is a separate Lazarus mentioned in Jesus's parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), a different figure used illustratively in a teaching story rather than a historical account of Jesus's friend.

Key Passages

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead

John 11:38-44

³⁸ Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ³⁹ Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. ⁴⁰ Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. ⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. ⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. ⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.