#20: “The Death of Lazarus”
SCRIPTURE: John 11:1-37
INTRO:
The people involved in this remarkable episode in the life and ministry of
Jesus are Mary, her sister, Martha, and Lazarus, their brother. They live in the
village of Bethany, not the Bethany beyond the Jordan, but the Bethany on the
eastern slape of the Mount of Olives, a suburb of Jerusalem.
Since there were many “Marys,” John identifies this one as the “Mary who
anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair.” Both Matthew
(26:6-13) and Mark (14:3-9) relate this incident that actually didn’t happen until
just before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but John uses it to identify
Mary. Remember, John is writing this gospel account several years after it all
happened.
First of all, note that…