March 11, 2026 | Be Connected
Jesus Hears about Lazarus' Death
Scripture: John 11:1-16(NIV)
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Devotional
Bethany was a small town close to Jerusalem. Jesus spent quite a bit of time there in His ministry. Here are some examples.
He spent several days and nights there, such as after he cleansed the temple, before and after he rode into Jerusalem, and other times.
In fact, He was near Bethany when He instructed His disciples to go into Jerusalem and bring back a donkey for His triumphal entry.
On another occasion, Jesus saw an out-of-season fig tree in Bethany. Because it didn’t have any fruit, Jesus cursed it so that it withered from the roots. Jesus used this to teach His disciples about the power of faith.
Another time when Jesus was in Bethany, He was having dinner at the home of a man named Simon who had leprosy. A woman came into the room, broke open a jar of outrageously expensive perfume, and poured it on His head and feet to anoint Him for burial. That woman was the Mary in today’s story.
It makes sense that Jesus knew the people of this small town very well. That included a man named Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. Once, when Jesus was at their house, Martha was running around doing meal prep, while her sister Mary was sitting around doing nothing but listening to Him. Jesus lauded the do-nothing sister.
Jesus loved the people of Bethany. Most powerfully, it was in the vicinity of Bethany where the resurrected Jesus lifted up His hands, blessed His followers, and ascended into heaven.
Do you have an affection for someplace where you do not live? What would it look like for you to be given a heart of compassion for the people there? Where is your Bethany?
