Who Was Lazarus In The Bible? A Character Study

Have you read about Lazarus in the Bible? Who was this man exactly and why is it important for us to know?

The Meaning of Lazarus’ Name

Lazarus’ name comes from the Greek word “Lazaros” and means “whom God helps” and it is a form of the Hebrew name Eleazar which is from the Hebrew word “’El`azar” and means something very similar; “God has helped” so Lazarus name essentially means “whom God helps” or “God has helped.” Elazar was the third son of Aaron the first high priest of Israel and he was the successor of his father as Israel’s high priest. The Lazarus I will write about is the brother of Martha and Mary as we shall later read.

Lazarus and the Rich Man

The story of Lazarus and the Rich Man was given by Jesus in Luke 16:19-31 but nowhere does Jesus say that this is a parable. Jesus doesn’t customarily use names of real people in parables. He typically says “now the master’s servants” or something like that but here in this parable, Jesus gives a specific name; the name of the poor, beggar Lazarus who entered Paradise but the Rich Man didn’t. There is no reason to believe that this is the same Lazarus who is the brother of Martha and Mary and even though there is some speculation that they are one and the same, since both died, there is really no nearness of these two separate accounts in the chronological order in which these two Lazarus’ were mentioned in the gospels of Luke and John. Some speculate that the same Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead (John 11) was the same Lazarus who went to Paradise after he died and was in the “bosom of Abraham” and that Jesus could have brought him back to life. There is no way to prove that he was the same Lazarus but honestly, I cannot conclusively prove that this wasn’t the same Lazarus either but it seems unlikely. The Lazarus I am writing about is not the one from the account of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Lazarus was a very common name among the Jews during Jesus’ earthly ministry so there could have been hundreds or more in Judea at that time.

The Brother of Martha and Mary

The introduction to Lazarus begins in John 11:1-4 where it says “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Jesus was saying that Lazarus’s illness wouldn’t lead to death because Jesus knew that He would raise him from the dead “so that the Son of God” would be glorified and He was! Jesus really loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus (John 11:5) but He still remained where He was for two full days (John 11:6), knowing that Lazarus was going to die in the meantime.

Lazarus Dies

Jesus said something interesting in John11:11 about Lazarus that “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” and the disciples misunderstood Him and thought that if he’s sleeping, he’ll get better (John 11:12-12) so Jesus clearly stated “Lazarus has died” (John 11:14). It’s interesting to note that to Jesus, death is sleep since He stated more than once that “he is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:38) so to Jesus, death is like a sleep since they are still alive. When Jesus arrived in Bethany at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, Lazarus had already been dead for four day (John 11:17-18) and “when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you” (John 11:20-22). Jesus told Martha “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:23-24). Here is where Jesus gives one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible when He says “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this” (John 11:25-26)? This is exactly why Jesus had said earlier “this illness wouldn’t lead to death” because Lazarus was about to be raised from the dead.

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

After Jesus told them to roll away the stone from in front of the grave “they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me” (John 11:41) and then “he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43) and “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go” (John 11:44). I have said many times that if Jesus hadn’t mentioned Lazarus specifically by name, all who were in their graves would have come out of them because Jesus is God and had earlier said “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

Conclusion

Lazarus was raised from the dead but he would die again. Imagine having to die twice but think of this, if you’re born twice as with a physical birth and being born again, you’ll only have to die once and then you will live again, but if you are born only then you’ll die twice; once in a physical death and then an eternal death which is really an eternal destruction that will never end (Rev 20:12-15).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.