This session explores the painful topic of death.

Why do you think it is a subject that we so often avoid talking openly about?

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Dd Dead man walking

Historical context

Jesus makes some bold claims about himself, not least that he is the Messiah, God’s saviour of the world. In the previous chapter, he claims to be God’s Son. The Jewish leaders are so outraged that they respond with murderous intent: ‘We are not stoning you for any good work ... but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God’ (John 10:33). They understand Jesus to mean that he claims to share the same nature as God, whom he calls his Father.

Jesus is now confronted with the death of a very close friend. Can he offer any hope in the face of death? Will he confirm his incredible claims to be God? What evidence is there to suggest that we should take his claim to be the saviour of the world seriously?

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John 11: 1–6

The death of Lazarus




What relationship does Jesus have with Lazarus and his family (see verses 2 and 5)? Why do you think they send for Jesus?


When Jesus hears about Lazarus’ illness, what is so surprising about his response? What do the disciples fear will happen (verses 5–8)?


At what point does Jesus decide to go and see Lazarus? How do the disciples misunderstand what he says in verses 11–16?


It would seem utterly pointless for Jesus to walk for four days in order to see Lazarus now. What reason does Jesus give in verses 4 and 15 to explain his delay?

In the Hebrew Scriptures, ‘glory’ refers to the visible manifestation of God, usually in the form of radiance and splendour. Jesus says that, through what will happen at the home of Lazarus, the disciples are going to see that Jesus has the same glory, the same nature, as God. His deliberate delay in going to Bethany is for this purpose.

John 11: 17–27

Jesus comforts the sisters of Lazarus








Describe the scene that confronts Jesus when he arrives at the home of Lazarus. How do you think Mary and Martha feel? What do you think they expect Jesus to do? (see verses 17–24 and 30–33)


What astonishing claim does Jesus make about himself in verses 25–26? According to Jesus, how is it possible for anyone to be confident of life after death?

John 11: 28–48




‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.

35 Jesus wept.



Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead







The plot to kill Jesus




When Mary is made aware that Jesus has arrived, she goes out to meet him. What strikes you most about Jesus’ response to her grief (verses 32–36)?


Jesus is said to be ‘deeply moved in spirit and troubled’ in verse 33 – literally ‘angry’ and ‘outraged’ in the original language. His grief is understandable, but why do you think he is so angry?

The Hebrew Scriptures teach that death was not part of the original human experience. As people turned away from God, the giver of life, their inevitable punishment was to experience death. Jesus is not only grieved by the death of a friend, he is also angry at the way in which death has caused so much pain in the world.


What was the crowd expecting to happen in verses 36–37? What was Martha expecting in verse 39?


What happens when Jesus calls Lazarus out of his tomb? How does this relate to his claim about himself in verses 25–26?


How does Jesus want people to respond to what they see (verses 41–42)? How do they actually respond (verses 45–48)?

What does this mean for us?

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Apple founder Steve Jobs spoke of the inevitability of death: ‘I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept. No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.’

If what Jesus claims about himself is true, how might faith in him give us hope in the face of death, the ‘destination we all share’?

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