Life over death

¹⁷So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already. ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away. ¹⁹Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house. ²¹Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. ²²Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. ²⁶Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.” ²⁸When she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.” ²⁹When she heard this, she arose quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him. ³¹Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” ³²Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” ³³When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled, ³⁴and said, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵Jesus wept. ³⁶The Jews therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!” ³⁷Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?” ³⁸Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. ⁴²I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”