147 XXI. LAZARUS. IN a town called Bethany, there lived another man of the name of Lazarus, with his two sisters, Martha and Mary, They were a holy and pious family, and on that account had been honoured with the friendship of our Lord, who loved both Lazarus and his sisters. Now while our Saviour was at a place called Bathabara, some distance from Bethany, it happened that Lazarus was taken dangerously ill, and his sisters, in great alarm, sent to our Lord to tell Him of it; so He set out for Be thany, though he knew miraculously that Lazarus was already dead, and had been laid in the grave four days, and Martha and Mary, who were tenderly attached to their brother, were in great sorrow; as soon, however, as the news of Christ's arrival reached them Martha went out to meet Him, and said to Him, "Lord, if Thou hadst "been here, my brother had not died." Jesus said, "Thy brother shall rise "again." But Martha thought He meant that Lazarus should rise at the Day of Judgment; and she answered that she knew he would rise again at the last day. However, she soon found that the resurrection our Saviour meant, was one that was to take place immediately; and she went to call her sister, and told her that the Lord was come and was enquiring for her. Poor Mary had hitherto sat still in the house in silent grief; but when her sister whispered to her that her Saviour was calling for her, she instantly arose and went to Him. Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after the death of their brother, and they were now with Mary in the house. So when they saw her rise up so suddenly, they said, "She is going to the grave to weep "there;" and they followed her out; but she took a different direction, and went to the place where the Lord Jesus was. When she saw Him, and remembered the love He had shown to her dear brother, who was now no more, she threw herself at his feet, exclaiming, as Martha had done before, " Lord, "if thou hadst been here, my brother "had not died." Now when our Saviour saw poor Mary weeping at His feet, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, He was troubled in spirit, and — Jesus wept! Then said the Jews, " Behold, how "He loved him ;" and some among them wondered whether He who could open the eyes of the blind, could not have saved the life of Lazarus. He was now going to prove that He was able to do a still greater miracle; for He was going to restore his life, four days after he had been buried. Accordingly, He proceeded towards the grave, followed by Martha, and Mary, and the Jews. The tomb where Lazarus had been laid was a cave with a stone at the entrance; and when they arrived at the place, the Lord commanded that the stone should be taken away. He then raised His eyes to Heaven, and praised God; and turning to the cave, cried in a loud and commanding voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" At the command of Christ, Lazarus awoke from the sleep of death, and came forth instantly from the cave, bound with the grave clothes in which he had been buried. He was received, as you may well suppose, with heartfelt joy by his sisters, and with astonishment and fear by all. The fame of this miracle was soon spread abroad, and when the chief priests and Pharisees heard it, they called a council, where they agreed that it was dangerous to the state that Christ should continue to preach to the people, and to perform miracles in support of what He taught; and from that hour it was determined that he |