English: OBS Study Questions - English

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37. Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

What the Story Says

  1. What did Jesus say would be the result of Lazarus being sick?

    He said that Lazarus' illness would cause people to honor God (#37-01).

  2. How long did Jesus wait before he went to see Lazarus?

    Jesus waited two days in the place where he was (#37-02).

  3. What did Jesus mean when he said that Lazarus was sleeping?

    When Jesus said Lazarus was sleeping, he was using a polite way to say that Lazarus was dead (#37-02), (#37-03).

  4. How long had Lazarus been dead when Jesus finally arrived at his home?

    Lazarus had already been dead for four days by that time (#37-04).

  5. What title did Jesus give to himself when he spoke to Martha?

    Jesus said that he was the Resurrection and the Life (#37-05).

  6. Who did Martha say that Jesus was?

    She said he was the Messiah, the Son of God (#37-05).

  7. Why was Martha afraid to open the tomb?

    She was afraid that the body of Lazarus would smell bad because he had been dead for four days (#37-07).

  8. What did Jesus say to his Father was the reason that he was praying to his Father?

    Jesus said he was praying to his Father so that the people standing around would believe that God had sent Jesus into the world (#37-08).

  9. What did Lazarus do when Jesus told him to come out of the tomb?

    Lazarus became alive again and came out of the tomb, still wrapped in the grave clothes (#37-10).

  10. Why did the religious leaders of the Jews plan to kill Jesus and Lazarus?

    They envied Jesus, because the people believed in him (#37-11).

What the Story Means to Us

  1. Why do you think Jesus spoke about Lazarus' death as if Lazarus was asleep?

    Lazarus had died, but he would not remain dead. Jesus knew that he would make Lazarus alive again. Jesus perhaps said Lazarus was asleep in order to show that his death was temporary. In the same way, God speaks of all believers who die as being asleep. This encourages Christians when a fellow believer dies.

  2. Why did Jesus wait for two days before he went to Lazarus?

    Jesus did not want his friend Lazarus to suffer, or his sisters to grieve. But the most important thing to Jesus was to honor God. Therefore, Jesus allowed Lazarus, Martha, and Mary to suffer so the God would be honored when Jesus made Lazarus alive again. For Christians, suffering is temporary, and can bring glory to God.

  3. Why were the disciples surprised that Jesus wanted to go to Lazarus in Judea?

    The Jewish leaders in Judea wanted to kill Jesus. However, Jesus was not afraid to die. In fact, he came to earth in order to die for sinners. Therefore, he was willing to go to Judea even though he knew they wanted to kill him there.

  4. In what way was the faith of Martha and Mary limited?

    Martha and Mary both believed that Jesus was able to prevent Lazarus from dying. However, neither of them understood that Jesus could raise Lazarus to life even after he had died.

  5. Why do you think the religious leaders did not believe in Jesus even after he raised Lazarus from the dead?

    The religious leaders hated Jesus becaused people listened to Jesus instead of to them. The wanted power over people so badly that they would not even believe in him when he performed a miracle that only God can do. Their sin kept them from seeing that Jesus was God.

Summary

Jesus honored God with everything he did. He was not afraid of people who wanted to kill him. He was willing to allow Lazarus to die even though it made Martha, Mary, and Jesus himself very sad. The most important thing was to honor God. As a result, Martha, Mary, the disciples, and many others saw God work powerfully through Jesus to raise Lazarus to life again. This proved that Jesus was the Resurrection, the Life, the Messiah, and the Son of God. However, even these proofs did not stop the sinful religious leaders from hating Jesus and plotting to kill him.