Background: At the time of Our Lord, ‘bench’ tombs became common, due to Greek influence. There was a central court surrounded by burial chambers, each of which contained waist-high benches on which to place the body. Some tombs, like that of Joseph of Arimathea (in which the body of Jesus was placed), were hewn out of the soft limestone. The entrance was sealed with a stone set in a groove in front of the tomb. The stone could be rolled to seal or open the tomb. Even a small-sized stone, e.g. four feet in diameter and six to ten inches thick, would be almost impossible for one person to move. The reason was re-use and to prevent theft. [Incidentally, the fact that Jesus was buried in the tomb of a stranger, even that of a friend, was the crowning insult. He was not interred among his ancestors, like the patriarchs; he did not ‘sleep with his fathers’. No one sought to put this right].

THE RAISING to life of Lazarus was not resurrection, because he would die again. It was however a death leading to resurrection because it led to the death of Jesus—a sad commentary on what human conviction can lead to. If Lazarus had to die again, what was the point of raising him? John answers that it was a sign, as he had said about the miracle of the wine at Cana: “so that they may believe it was you who sent me” and a sign that in Jesus we have eternal life. For Jesus what mattered was seeing the glory of God. The raising of Lazarus will reveal the mystery of God, who wants men and women to have life and be free. “Unbind him; let him go free” When we allow our sight to be obscured by suspicion, mistrust, doubt, it is as if we put on dark glasses and no longer see the light. Faith breaks away the veil.

Faith in the resurrection was affirmed clearly amongst the Jews only two centuries before Christ. At the time of Jesus not everyone accepted it. Martha accepted it but only as I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day. Jesus corrects her: I am the resurrection and the life. . . whoever lives and believes in me will never die. God created Adam to live and be happy on earth with God. In the Bible then death means alienation from God. Death, in this sense of separation from God, has been overcome. His promise to Adam: fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion is accomplished in mankind being set free: for nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God. Mary greets Jesus as ‘Lord’ unlike Martha and at his feet. Jesus shows genuine emotion. Is it compassion, or is he disappointed as well that Mary is so swallowed up in the emotion surrounding the death of her brother that not even she shows confidence in what he can do for Lazarus? John uses a different word in Greek for Jesus’ ‘weeping’ than he uses for the weeping of the ‘Jews’ and Mary. The people round the tomb have not accepted who Jesus is, so he prays to the Father for them more than about Lazarus, so that they may come to faith. Some believe; some just report the miracle.