John 11:19-40

19Many Jews had come there to visit Martha and Mary. They wanted to help Martha and Mary because their brother had died.

20Martha heard the news that Jesus was coming. So she went out to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house with the visitors.

21Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22But even now, I know that God will answer you. He will do whatever you ask him.’

23Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise and become alive again.’

24Martha replied, ‘I know that he will rise on the last day, to become alive again.’

25Jesus said to her, ‘I have authority over death. I raise dead people, and I give people true life. Anyone who believes in me will live. Even if that person dies, he will continue to live.

26People who believe in me while they are alive will never die. Do you believe that?’

27Martha answered, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah. You are God's Son, the one that God promised to send into the world.’

28After this, Martha went back to the house. She took Mary to speak to her on her own. Martha said to her, ‘The Teacher is here, and he is asking to meet you.’

29When Mary heard this, she got up immediately. She went out to meet Jesus.

30Jesus had not arrived in the village yet. He was still in the place where Martha had met him.

31There were still Jews in the house who were with Mary to help her. They saw her get up quickly and go out. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the place where they had put Lazarus's dead body. They thought that she wanted to go there to weep.

32Mary arrived at the place where Jesus was. When she saw Jesus, she bent down low at his feet. She said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’

33Jesus saw that Mary was weeping. He saw that the Jews who had come with her were weeping too. When Jesus saw them, he felt very sad in his spirit. He was upset about Lazarus's death.

34He asked them, ‘Where have you put his dead body?’ They answered, ‘Come and see, Lord.’

35Jesus wept.

36Then the Jews said to each other, ‘See how much he loved Lazarus!’

37But some of them said, ‘He opened the eyes of the blind man. So surely he would have been able to stop the death of Lazarus.’

38Jesus arrived at the grave where they had put Lazarus's dead body. It was a cave. A large stone covered the front of the hole. Again, Jesus felt very upset.

39He said, ‘Take the stone away.’ Martha, the dead man's sister, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, by now his dead body will have a bad smell. He has been dead for four days!’

40Jesus said to her, ‘I told you already that you must believe in me. Then you will see how great and how powerful God is.’