John Chapter 11
Showing all 57 verses for John Chapter 11.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. "
"A man named Lazarus, from the village of Bethany, fell seriously ill. Bethany was the home village of his sisters, Mary and Martha."
I want you to notice this story starts with an ordinary human problem - sickness in a family I care about. Whatever you're facing, I'm not distant from the details of your life.
"(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) "
"This is the same Mary who later poured perfume on Jesus's feet and dried them with her hair - it's her brother who is sick."
I let a woman's raw devotion become part of how she is remembered - her love, not her status, is what identifies her to me.
"Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. "
"So the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.'"
I don't need you to script out exactly what you want from me. Just bring me the truth of your situation honestly, and trust the relationship we already have.
"When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. "
"When Jesus heard this, he said, 'This illness will not end in death - it's going to bring glory to God, and show who the Son of God really is.'"
When you face something painful, I ask you to trust there's a bigger picture even when you can't see it yet. Suffering doesn't get to have the last say.
"Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. "
"Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus."
My love for you isn't measured only by how quickly I remove your pain. Sometimes love acts on a timeline you can't yet understand.
"When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. "
"But when he heard Lazarus was sick, Jesus stayed exactly where he was for two more days."
I don't always move on the timetable you'd choose, even when I love you deeply. Learn to trust the delay rather than reading it as absence or neglect.
"Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. "
"Then after that, he said to his disciples, 'Let's go back to Judea.'"
When it's time to act, I don't hold back out of fear, even when moving forward means walking towards real risk.
"His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? "
"His disciples said, 'Teacher, the Jewish leaders just tried to stone you there - and you want to go back?'"
I don't expect you to pretend you're not afraid. It's fine to name real danger honestly, even while still choosing to follow through.
"Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. "
"Jesus replied, 'Aren't there twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in daylight doesn't stumble, because they can see by the world's light.'"
I want you to know that living with clear purpose - walking 'in the light' - keeps you steady even when everyone around you sees only danger.
"But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. "
"'But if you walk at night, you stumble, because you have no light in you.'"
I'm telling you that having clarity and purpose inside you is what keeps you from stumbling through life, not simply avoiding obviously risky situations.
"These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. "
"After saying this, he added, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm going to wake him up.'"
I want you to see that even death doesn't unsettle me the way it unsettles you - I approach it with the same calm as someone going to wake a friend.
"Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. "
"His disciples said, 'Lord, if he's sleeping, he'll get better.'"
I'm patient with misunderstanding. Even people close to me often need things explained more than once before the truth fully lands.
"Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. "
"But Jesus meant that Lazarus had actually died - they thought he simply meant natural sleep."
I speak in ways that sometimes need unpacking - don't be discouraged if my words take time to fully understand; keep listening rather than assuming.
"Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. "
"So Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead.'"
I won't hide painful truths from you to spare your feelings in the moment. I trust you with reality, because that's where real growth and real faith actually happen.
"And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. "
"'And I'm glad, for your sake, that I wasn't there - so that you may believe. But let's go to him now.'"
Sometimes I let you sit in something difficult longer than you'd like, not because I don't care, but because I want your trust to grow through what's coming.
"Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. "
"Then Thomas, also called the Twin, said to the other disciples, 'Let's go too, so we can die with him.'"
I value loyalty even when it comes wrapped in fear or doubt. Thomas didn't understand what was coming, but he chose to stay by my side regardless.
"Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. "
"When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days."
I don't arrive only when things are still easily fixable. I show up even in situations that look entirely beyond hope.
"Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: "
"Bethany was close to Jerusalem, about two miles away."
I care about the ordinary, physical details of your life - where you live, who's nearby - because the real world is where love and grief actually happen.
"And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. "
"Many people had come from the area to comfort Martha and Mary over their brother's death."
I don't ask you to grieve alone. Community showing up for you in loss matters, and I work within that same community, not apart from it.
"Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. "
"As soon as Martha heard Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed sitting in the house."
I meet people wherever they are in their grief - whether you run to me right away or need more time sitting with your pain first.
"Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. "
"Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.'"
I welcome your honest complaints, even ones directed at me. Real relationship includes being able to say 'why didn't you...' without being pushed away.
"But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. "
"'But even now I know that whatever you ask God for, God will give you.'"
I don't need you to have it all figured out. Even a flicker of trust in the middle of pain is enough for me to work with.
"Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. "
"Jesus told her, 'Your brother will rise again.'"
I give you hope even before you fully understand its shape. Trust the promise first; understanding often catches up afterwards.
"Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. "
"Martha replied, 'I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'"
I want to bring the hope you've filed away as 'someday' into your 'right now.' Don't let a distant future promise stop you from expecting me to act today.
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: "
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if they die, will live.'"
I don't just promise you life beyond death - I am the source of it, available to you right now, not only at the end of time.
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? "
"'And everyone who lives and believes in me will never truly die. Do you believe this?'"
I'm not interested in giving you information to file away - I'm asking you directly whether you'll trust this for your own life, right now, today.
"She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. "
"She said, 'Yes, Lord, I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into the world.'"
I don't need you to understand everything before you commit to trusting me. Martha didn't yet know Lazarus would walk out of that tomb, but she answered honestly anyway.
"And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. "
"After saying this, she went and quietly called her sister Mary, saying, 'The Teacher is here, and he's asking for you.'"
I call for you personally, and I'm glad when others help pass that invitation along with gentleness rather than fanfare.
"As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. "
"As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him."
When you know I'm calling you personally, I hope you respond without delay - not out of fear, but because you know you're genuinely wanted.
"Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. "
"Jesus hadn't yet entered the village itself - he was still at the spot where Martha had met him."
I often meet you outside the noise and crowd first, in a quieter place, before the bigger moment unfolds.
"The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. "
"The people who were with Mary in the house comforting her saw her get up quickly and leave, and assuming she was going to the tomb to weep, they followed her."
I sometimes work through people's ordinary assumptions and habits to bring them exactly where they need to be, even without them realising it at the time.
"Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. "
"When Mary reached Jesus and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.'"
I receive your grief in whatever form it takes - whether it's spoken calmly like Martha's, or poured out physically like Mary's collapse at my feet.
"When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, "
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the people who came with her weeping too, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled."
I don't skip past your pain just because I know the outcome will be good. I feel the weight of your grief with you, fully and genuinely.
"And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. "
"He asked, 'Where have you laid him?' They said, 'Lord, come and see.'"
I meet your grief with real, practical presence - I want to go exactly where the pain is, not stay comfortably at a distance from it.
"Jesus wept. "
"Jesus cried."
I'm not embarrassed by tears, and neither should you be. Grieving alongside those you love is not weakness - it's part of loving them fully.
"Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! "
"The people said, 'See how much he loved him!'"
I want my love to be visible in how I respond to people, not just something I say. Let your love for others show itself the same way - through real, felt presence.
"And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? "
"But some of them said, 'Couldn't this man, who opened the eyes of a blind man, have kept Lazarus from dying?'"
I don't take offence at honest questions about why I didn't intervene sooner. Ask them freely - the answer is often bigger than what you can see yet.
"Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. "
"Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance."
I approach even the hardest, most final-looking situations in your life with both deep feeling and practical action, together.
"Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. "
"Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.' Martha, the dead man's sister, said, 'Lord, by now there will be a bad smell - he's been dead four days.'"
I ask you to take practical steps of trust even when your instincts tell you it's hopeless or embarrassing. Faith sometimes means moving the stone before you see the result.
"Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? "
"Jesus said to her, 'Didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?'"
I invite you to take the step of trust before you have full evidence. Often the clearest sign of what's real only appears after you've chosen to believe.
"Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. "
"So they took away the stone. Jesus looked up and said, 'Father, thank you for hearing me.'"
I want you to see that real power isn't about acting alone - it's connected to trust and gratitude towards something greater than yourself.
"And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. "
"'I knew you always hear me, but I said this out loud for the sake of the people standing here, so they'll believe you sent me.'"
I sometimes do things visibly and publicly not for my own sake, but so you can see clearly where the truth and the power really come from.
"And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. "
"After saying this, he called out loudly, 'Lazarus, come out!'"
I speak directly into the deadest, most hopeless parts of your life, and I call you by name into new life - not vaguely, but specifically to you.
"And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. "
"The dead man came out, still wrapped hand and foot in burial cloths, his face covered with a cloth. Jesus told them, 'Untie him and let him go free.'"
I can bring you back to life, but I also want the people around you to help remove whatever is still binding you afterwards - don't be afraid to let others help unwrap what still holds you back.
"Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. "
"Because of this, many of the people who had come to comfort Mary, and who saw what Jesus did, believed in him."
I want the things you witness in your own life - real change, real hope restored - to lead you towards trust, not just amazement.
"But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. "
"But some of them went to the Pharisees and reported what Jesus had done."
I know that even the clearest signs of love and power won't convince everyone. Some will respond with trust, others with suspicion, and that reflects the human heart's freedom to choose, not any weakness in the truth itself.
"Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. "
"So the chief priests and Pharisees called a council meeting and said, 'What are we going to do? This man is performing many miracles.'"
I know that undeniable evidence doesn't always change people's hearts when their own position or comfort feels threatened by it. Guard against letting fear of losing control blind you to what's true.
"If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. "
"'If we leave him alone, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.'"
I want you to notice how fear of losing status can distort good judgement, even in people who consider themselves responsible leaders. Examine your own motives honestly when fear starts driving your decisions.
"And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, "
"One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You don't understand anything at all.'"
I want you to be wary of leaders - or your own inner voice - who claim certainty while dismissing others, especially when that certainty leads towards harming another person.
"Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. "
"'You haven't realised it's better for us that one man dies for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.'"
Even words spoken with cruel intent can end up serving a purpose the speaker never imagined. I can bring good out of the worst human motives, without ever excusing them.
"And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; "
"He didn't say this on his own understanding - as high priest that year, he unknowingly prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation."
I can use unexpected people and situations - even ones acting against me - to point towards the truth. Don't assume every voice speaking truth understands or values what they're saying.
"And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. "
"And not only for that nation, but to gather together into one all of God's scattered children."
My purpose reaches beyond any single group or in-crowd. I came to gather together people who feel scattered, excluded, or far from home, wherever they are.
"Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. "
"From that day on, they plotted together to kill him."
I know my choices to bring life and truth can provoke real hostility from those who feel threatened by them. Living with love and integrity doesn't guarantee safety, but it's still worth doing.
"Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples. "
"So Jesus stopped moving about publicly among the people, and instead withdrew to a town called Ephraim, near the wilderness, staying there with his disciples."
I don't teach you to be reckless with danger. There's wisdom in stepping back and choosing your moment carefully, even while still moving towards what you know you must eventually face.
"And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. "
"The Jewish Passover was approaching, and many people were travelling up to Jerusalem early to purify themselves before the festival."
I see the difference between outward religious preparation and the inward change I actually offer. True transformation isn't about ritual alone - it's about a changed heart.
"Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? "
"They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple, they asked one another, 'What do you think - will he come to the festival at all?'"
I don't let the threat of danger stop me from showing up where I'm needed and expected, even when people are actively watching and waiting to see if I will.
"Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him. "
"The chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should report it, so they could arrest him."
I know that living out love and truth can put a target on you, even from official, respected sources of power. I ask you to stay faithful to what's right, even under real pressure and threat.