Lazarus of Bethany | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Detail fromThe Raising of Lazarus byEduard von Gebhardt, 1896 | |
| Four-days dead, friend of Christ | |
| Died | 1st century AD |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church Anglican Communion Lutheran Church Islam |
| Feast |
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| Attributes | Sometimesvested as anapostle, sometimes as abishop. In the scene of his resurrection, he is portrayed tightly bound in mummified clothes, which resembleswaddling bands. |
Lazarus of Bethany[a] is a figure of theNew Testament whose life is restored byJesus four days after his death, as told in theGospel of John. The resurrection is considered one of themiracles of Jesus. In theEastern Orthodox Church, Lazarus isvenerated asRighteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead.[4] The Eastern Orthodox andCatholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life.
In the context of theseven signs in the Gospel of John, theraising of Lazarus atBethany – today the town ofAl-Eizariya in theWest Bank, which translates to "the place of Lazarus" – is the climactic narrative: exemplifying the power of Jesus "over the last and most irresistible enemy of humanity:death. For this reason, it is given a prominent place in the gospel."[5]
The nameLazarus is frequently used in science and popular culture in reference to apparent restoration to life; for example, the scientific termLazarus taxon denotes organisms that reappear in the fossil record after a period of apparent extinction, and also theLazarus sign and theLazarus syndrome. There are also numerous literary uses of the term.
A distinct character of the same name is also mentioned in theGospel of Luke in Jesus' parable of therich man and Lazarus, in which both eponymous characters die, and the former begs for the latter to comfort him from his torments in hell.
Theraising of Lazarus is a story of themiracle of Jesus recounted in theGospel of John (John 11:1–44) in theNew Testament, as well as in theSecret Gospel of Mark (a fragment of an extended version of theGospel of Mark) in which Jesus raises Lazarus of Bethany from the dead four days after his entombment.[6][7][8] The event took place at Bethany. In John, this is the last of the miracles that Jesus performs before thepassion,crucifixion and his ownresurrection.
The biblical narrative of the raising of Lazarus is found in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John.[9] A certain Lazarus, who lives in the town of Bethany nearJerusalem, is introduced as a follower of Jesus.[10] He is identified as the brother of the sistersMary andMartha. The sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, "he whom thou lovest," is ill.[11] Jesus tells his followers: "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so thatGod's Son may be glorified through it." Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, according to the narrator, Jesus intentionally remains where he is for two more days before beginning the journey. The disciples are afraid of returning toJudea, but Jesus says: "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him." When the apostles misunderstand, he clarifies, "Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe."
When Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead and has already been in his tomb for four days. He meets first with Martha and Mary in turn. Martha laments that Jesus did not arrive soon enough to heal her brother ("if you had been here, my brother would not have died") and Jesus replies with the well-known statement, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."[12] Martha affirms that she does truly believe and states, "Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who has come into the world." Later the narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, "Jesus wept."[13]
In the presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners, Jesus comes to the tomb. Jesus asks for the stone of the tomb to be removed, but Martha interjects that there will be a smell. Jesus responds, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" Over the objections of Martha, Jesus has them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb and says a prayer. They take the stone away then Jesus looks up and says: "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." He then calls Lazarus to come out ("Lazarus, come forth!") and Lazarus does so, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. Jesus then calls for someone to remove the grave-cloths, and let him go.
The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event "believed in him". Others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem.
The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12. Six days before thePassover on which Jesus iscrucified, Jesus returns to Bethany and Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves.[14] Jesus and Lazarus together attract the attention of many Jews and the narrator states that the chief priests consider having Lazarus put to death because so many people are believing in Jesus on account of this miracle.[15]
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, the longest coherent narrative in John aside from thePassion, is the culmination of John's "signs". It explains the crowds seeking Jesus onPalm Sunday, and leads directly to the decision ofCaiaphas and theSanhedrin to kill Jesus.
A resurrection story that is very similar is also found in the controversialSecret Gospel of Mark, although the young man is not named there specifically. Some scholars believe that the Secret Mark version represents an earlier form of the canonical story found in John.[16]
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus is the climax of John's "signs". It explains the crowds seeking Jesus onPalm Sunday, and leads directly to the decision ofCaiaphas and theSanhedrin to plan to kill Jesus. Theologians Moloney and Harrington view the raising of Lazarus as a "pivotal miracle" which starts the chain of events that leads to theCrucifixion of Jesus. They consider it as a "resurrection that will lead to death", in that the raising of Lazarus will lead to the death of Jesus, theSon of God, inJerusalem which will reveal the Glory of God.[17]
TheCatechism of the Catholic Church states that the miracle performed by Jesus returned Lazarus to ordinary earthly life as with theson of the widow of Nain andJairus' daughter and that Lazarus and the others who were raised from the dead would later die again.[18] TheRussian Orthodox Church'sCatechism of St.Philaret writes that among the miracles performed by Jesus was the raising of Lazarus from the dead on the fourth day after Lazarus' death.[19] In theSouthern Baptist Convention's 2014 resolutionOn the Sufficiency of Scripture Regarding the Afterlife, the raising of Lazarus is noted among the Bible's "explicit accounts of persons raised from the dead", and comments on those raisings that, "in God's perfect revelatory wisdom, He has not given us any report of their individual experience in the afterlife".[20]
John Calvin notes that, "not only did Christ give a remarkable proof of his Divine power in raising Lazarus, but he likewise placed before our eyes a lively image of ourfuture resurrection."[21] French Protestant ministerJakob Abbadie wrote that Jesus had intentionally delayed his return to Bethany for, "four days, that it might not be said, he [Lazarus] was not really dead."[22] In 2008,Pope Benedict XVI said that the Gospel story of the raising of Lazarus, "shows Christ's absolute power over life and death and reveals His nature as true man and true God" and that "Jesus' lordship over death does not prevent him from showing sincere compassion over the pain of this separation."[23]
Matthew Poole and others saw Lazarus' ability to move despite having his hands and feet wrapped together as a second miracle, butCharles Ellicott disputed that Lazarus' movement would have been restricted by his burial garments.[24][25]
Justus Knecht wrote that the object of this miracle related to the fact that, "the time of our Lord's Passion and Death was at hand, and He wrought this mighty miracle beforehand in order that the faith of His disciples, and more especially of His apostles, might be strengthened, and 'that they might believe' and not doubt when they saw their Lord and Master in the hour of His abasement; and most of all to enable them to hope, when they saw His Body laid in the sepulchre, that He who had raised up Lazarus would Himself rise again."[26]
InRoger Baxter'sMeditations, he reflects on the verse "His sisters therefore sent to Him saying, Lord, behold he whom Thou lovest is sick.", writing that "they do not prescribe to Him what they wish Him to do; to a loving friend it is sufficient to intimate our necessities. Such ought to be the nature of our prayers, particularly in regard to health and other temporal blessings, for we do not know in such cases what is expedient for our salvation."[27]
New Testament scholars try to establish how John's narrative of the raising of Lazarus and the subsequent feet-anointing of Jesus byMary of Bethany (John 11:1–12:11,17) was composed byseeking to explain its apparent relationships with the older textual traditions of theSynoptic Gospels (Mark,Matthew, andLuke). Theauthor of John may have combined elements from several – apparently originally unrelated – stories into a single narrative. These include the unnamed woman's head-anointing of Jesus in Bethany (Mark 14,Matthew 26), the sinful woman's feet-anointing (and hair-wiping) of Jesus inGalilee (Luke 7; these first two may have a common origin, the Lukan account likely being derived from Mark),Jesus' visit to Martha and Mary in the unnamed Galilean village (Luke 10), Jesus' parable of therich man and Lazarus (Luke 16), and possibly others involving Jesus' miraculous raising of the dead (theraising of Jairus' daughter and theraising of the son of the widow of Nain). Meanwhile, other elements were removed or replaced; for example,Simon the Leper/Simon the Pharisee was replaced by Lazarus as the host of the feast in Jesus' honour, and Bethany inJudea was chosen as the setting, while most elements of John's narrative correspond to traditions that the Synoptics set in Galilee. Scholars pay particular attention to verse John 11:2 (and verse John 11:1), which may represent an effort by the author or alater redactor to stress a connection between these stories that is, however, not found in the older canonical gospels.[28][29][30] They further note that the actual anointing will not be narrated until verse 12:3, and that neither Mary, nor Martha, nor the village of these sisters, nor any anointing is mentioned in the Gospel of John before this point, suggesting that the author (or redactor) assumes the readers already have knowledge of these characters, this location and this event, and wants to tell them that these were connected (which he apparently knew the readers did not commonly know/believe yet) long before giving the readers more details.[31][28] Elser and Piper (2006) posited that verse 11:2 is evidence that the author of the Gospel of John deliberately mixed up several traditions in an 'audacious attempt (...) to rework the collective memory of the Christ-movement.' The author did not strive to give a historically accurate account of what had happened, but instead, for theological purposes, combined various existing narratives in order to construct Lazarus, Mary and Martha of Bethany as a prototypical Christian family, whose example is to be followed by Christians.[28] Zangenberg (2023), however, doubts that John 11 was dependent on the other synoptic stories, finding the evidence for this theory insufficient. He also argues that John displays an accurate knowledge of Jewish burial customs at the time, as attested by archaeology and ancient Jewish texts.[32]
Earlier commentators includedeistLysander Spooner, who wrote in 1836 that it was unusual that the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) do not mention the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, which seems as if it could have been a demonstration of the miraculous powers of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels do include passages concerning the activities of the sisters of Lazarus but fail to mention their brother's resurrection. Spooner wrote that this seemed to indicate that the author of the Gospel of John, "was actually dishonest, or that he took up, believed and recorded a flying story, which an occurrence of some kind had given rise to, but which was without any foundation in truth."[33] In 1892,agnostic speakerRobert G. Ingersoll found the narrative historically implausible, writing that, if Lazarus had in fact died, potentially participating in anafterlife, and then subsequently had been resurrected, the experiences Lazarus could have shared with others would likely have been more interesting than everything else in the New Testament, would have drawn widespread attention to Lazarus during his lifetime and might have made him less afraid than others that did not have his experience when Lazarus approached death for a second time.[34]Exegesis in theInterpreter's Bible (1953) comparing the raising of Lazarus to other resurrections in the Bible comments that, "The difference between revival immediately after death, and resurrection after four days, is so great as to raise doubts about the historicity of this story, especially in view of the unimaginable details in vs. 44. Yet there are features in this story which have the marks of verisimilitude."[35] Other scholars posit that the events leading to Jesus's death in Synoptic Gospels were based on an early account, before the Gospel of Mark was written, in which many characters are anonymous because they were still living and would be subject to persecution, whereas John's account of the same events was written much later and could name the anonymous characters and could also include the raising of Lazarus because all of the individuals had died, and were no longer subject to persecution.[36][37]
The reputed firsttomb of Lazarus is in Bethany and continues to be a place ofpilgrimage to this day. Several Christianchurches have existed at the site over the centuries. Since the 16th century, the site of the tomb has been occupied by the al-Uzair Mosque. The adjacentRoman Catholic Church of Saint Lazarus, designed byAntonio Barluzzi and built between 1952 and 1955 under the auspices of theFranciscan Order, stands upon the site of several much older ones. In 1965, aGreek Orthodox church was built just west of the tomb.
The entrance to the tomb today is via a flight of uneven rock-cut steps from the street. As it was described in 1896, there were twenty-four steps from the then-modern street level, leading to a square chamber serving as a place of prayer, from which more steps led to a lower chamber believed to be the tomb of Lazarus.[38] The same description applies today.[39][40]
The first mention of a church at Bethany is in the late 4th century, but both the historianEusebius of Caesarea[41] (c. 330) and theBordeaux pilgrim do mention thetomb of Lazarus. In 390Jerome mentions a church dedicated to Saint Lazarus, called theLazarium. This is confirmed by the pilgrimEgeria in about the year 410. Therefore, the church is thought to have been built between 333 and 390.[42] The present-day gardens contain the remnants of a mosaic floor from the 4th-century church.[43] The Lazarium was destroyed by an earthquake in the 6th century, and was replaced by a larger church. This church survived intact until theCrusader era.
In 1143 the existing structure and lands were purchased byKing Fulk and QueenMelisende of Jerusalem and a largeBenedictine convent dedicated to Mary and Martha was built near the tomb of Lazarus. After thefall of Jerusalem in 1187, the convent was deserted and fell into ruin with only the tomb and barrel vaulting surviving. By 1384, a simplemosque had been built on the site.[40] In the 16th century, theOttomans built the larger al-Uzair Mosque to serve the town's (now Muslim) inhabitants and named it in honor of the town's patron saint, Lazarus of Bethany.[43]
According to theCatholic Encyclopedia of 1913, there were scholars who questioned the reputed site of the ancient village (though this was discounted by the Encyclopedia's author):
Some believe that the present village of Bethany does not occupy the site of the ancient village; but that it grew up around the traditional cave which they suppose to have been at some distance from the house of Martha and Mary in the village; Zanecchia (La Palestine d'aujourd'hui, 1899, I, 445ff.) places the site of the ancient village of Bethany higher up on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, not far from the accepted site of Bethphage, and near that of the Ascension. It is quite certain that the present village formed about the traditional tomb of Lazarus, which is in a cave in the village. The identification of this cave as the tomb of Lazarus is merely possible; it has no strong intrinsic or extrinsic authority. The site of the ancient village may not precisely coincide with the present one, but there is every reason to believe that it was in this general location."[44]
While there is no further mention of Lazarus in the Bible, theEastern Orthodox andRoman Catholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life. He is most commonly associated withCyprus, where he is said to have become the firstbishop ofKition (Larnaka), andProvence, where he is said to have been the firstbishop of Marseille.
According toEastern Orthodox Church tradition, sometime after theResurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to fleeJudea because of rumoured plots on his life and came toCyprus. There he was appointed byBarnabas andPaul the Apostle as the firstbishop ofKition (present-day Larnaca). He lived there for thirty more years,[45] and on his death was buried there for the second and last time.[46]
Further establishing the apostolic nature of Lazarus' appointment was the story that the bishop'somophorion was presented to Lazarus by the Virgin Mary, who had woven it herself. Such apostolic connections were central to the claims toautocephaly made by the bishops of Kition—subject to thepatriarch of Jerusalem—during the period 325–431. The church of Kition was declared self-governing in 431 AD at theThird Ecumenical Council.[47]
According to tradition, Lazarus never smiled during the thirty years after his resurrection, worried by the sight of unredeemed souls he had seen during his four-day stay in Hell. The only exception happened when, seeing someone stealing a pot, he smilingly said: "the clay steals the clay."[1][46]
In 890, a tomb was found in Larnaca bearing the inscription "Lazarus the friend of Christ".Emperor Leo VI ofByzantium had Lazarus'remainstransferred toConstantinople in 898. The transfer wasapostrophized by Arethas,bishop of Caesarea, and is commemorated by theEastern Orthodox Church each year on17 October.
In recompense to Larnaca, Emperor Leo had theChurch of St. Lazarus, which still exists today, erected over Lazarus' tomb. The marble sarcophagus can be seen inside the church under the Holy of Holies.[46]
In the 16th century, a Russian monk from theMonastery of Pskov visited Lazarus's tomb in Larnaca and took with him a small piece of the relics. Perhaps that piece led to the erection of the St. Lazarus chapel at the Pskov Monastery (Spaso-Eleazar Monastery, Pskov),[b] where it is kept today.[48]
In November 1972, human remains in a marble sarcophagus were discovered under the altar, during renovation works in the church ofChurch of St. Lazarus at Larnaca, and were identified as part of the saint's relics.[48][c]
In June 2012 theChurch of Cyprus gave a part of theholy relics of Saint Lazarus to a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by PatriarchKirill of Moscow and All Russia, after a four-day visit to Cyprus. The relics were brought to Moscow and were given to Archbishop Arseniy of Istra, who took them to theZachatievsky monastery (Conception Convent), where they were put up for veneration.[50]
In the West, according to an alternative medieval tradition (centered inProvence), Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were "put out to sea by the Jews hostile to Christianity in a vessel without sails, oars, or helm, and after a miraculous voyage landed in Provence at a place called today theSaintes-Maries."[44] The family is then said to separate and go in different parts of southeasternGaul to preach; Lazarus goes toMarseille. Converting many people to Christianity there, he becomes the firstBishop of Marseille. During the persecution ofDomitian, he is imprisoned and beheaded in a cave beneath the prison Saint-Lazare. His body is later translated toAutun, where he is buried in theAutun Cathedral, dedicated to Lazarus asSaint Lazare. However, the inhabitants of Marseille claim to be in possession of his head which they still venerate.[44]
Pilgrims also visit another purported tomb of Lazarus at theVézelay Abbey inBurgundy.[51] The Abbey of the Trinity atVendôme was said to hold atear shed by Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus.[52]
TheGolden Legend, compiled in the 13th century, records the Provençal tradition. It also records a grand lifestyle imagined for Lazarus and his sisters (note that thereinLazarus' sister Mary is identified withMary Magdalene):
Mary Magdalene had her surname of Magdalo, a castle, and was born of right noble lineage and parents, which were descended of the lineage of kings. And her father was named Cyrus, and her mother Eucharis. She with her brother Lazarus, and her sister Martha, possessed the castle of Magdalo, which is two miles from Nazareth, and Bethany, the castle which is nigh to Jerusalem, and also a great part of Jerusalem, which, all these things they departed among them. In such wise that Mary had the castle Magdalo, whereof she had her name Magdalene. And Lazarus had the part of the city of Jerusalem, and Martha had to her part Bethany. And when Mary gave herself to all delights of the body, and Lazarus entended all to knighthood, Martha, which was wise, governed nobly her brother's part and also her sister's, and also her own, and administered to knights, and her servants, and to poor men, such necessities as they needed. Nevertheless, after the ascension of our Lord, they sold all these things.[53]
The 15th-century poetGeorges Chastellain draws on the tradition of the unsmiling Lazarus:[54] "He whom God raised, doing him such grace, the thief, Mary's brother, thereafter had naught but misery and painful thoughts, fearing what he should have to pass". (Le pas de la mort, VI[55]).
Lazarus is honored as asaint by those Christian churches which keep the commemoration of saints, although on different days, according to local traditions.
In Christian funerals the idea of the deceased being raised by the Lord as Lazarus was raised is often expressed in prayer.
TheEastern Orthodox Church andByzantine Catholic Church commemorate Lazarus onLazarus Saturday,[1] the day beforePalm Sunday, which is amoveable feast day. This day, together with Palm Sunday, hold a unique position in the church year, as days of joy and triumph between the penitence ofGreat Lent and the mourning ofHoly Week.[56] During the preceding week, the hymns in theLenten Triodion track the sickness and then the death of Lazarus, and Christ's journey from beyondJordan to Bethany. The scripture readings and hymns for Lazarus Saturday focus on the resurrection of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of theResurrection of Christ, and a promise of theGeneral Resurrection. The Gospel narrative is interpreted in the hymns as illustrating thetwo natures of Christ: hishumanity in asking, "Where have ye laid him?",[57] and hisdivinity by commanding Lazarus to come forth from the dead.[58]
Many of the resurrectional hymns of the normal Sunday service which are omitted on Palm Sunday are chanted on Lazarus Saturday. During theDivine Liturgy, the Baptismal Hymn, "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ",[59] is sung in place of theTrisagion. Although the forty days of Great Lent end on the day before Lazarus Saturday, the day is still observed as a fast; however, it is somewhat mitigated. In Russia, it is traditional to eatcaviar on Lazarus Saturday.
Lazarus is also commemorated on the liturgical calendar of theEastern Orthodox Church on the fixed feast day of17 March,[2][d] while thetranslation of hisrelics fromCyprus to Constantinople in 898 AD[61] is observed on17 October.[3][60][e]
On theGeneral Roman Calendar, Lazarus is celebrated, together with his sister Mary of Bethany and their sister Martha, on amemorial on 29 July.[62][63] Earlier editions of theRoman Martyrology placed him among the saints of 17 December.[64]
In Cuba, the celebration ofSan Lázaro on 17 December is a major festival. The date is celebrated with a pilgrimage to a chapel housing an image of Saint Lazarus, one of Cuba's most sacred icons, in the village of El Rincon, outsideHavana.[65]
Lazarus is commemorated in the Calendars of some Anglican provinces. Lazarus isremembered (withMartha andMary) under the title "Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, Companions of Our Lord", on 29 July[66] in theChurch of England with aLesser Festival[67] and as such is provided with proper lectionary readings and collect.
Lazarus is commemorated in theCalendar of Saints of theLutheran Church on 29 July together withMary andMartha.
The name "Lazarus" also appears in theGospel of Luke in the story of Lazarus and Dives (Luke 16:19-31), which is attributed to Jesus.[68] Also called "Dives and Lazarus", or "The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus", the narrative tells of the relationship (in life and in death) between an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. In Hell, the dead rich man calls toAbraham in Heaven to send Lazarus from his side to warn the rich man's family from sharing his fate. Abraham replies, "If they do not listen toMoses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."[69]
Historically within Christianity, the begging Lazarus of the parable (feast day 21 June) and Lazarus of Bethany have sometimes been conflated, with both being depicted in iconography with sores and crutches.[70]
Romanesque iconography carved on portals inBurgundy and Provence might be indicative of such a conflation. For example, at the west portal of theChurch of St. Trophime atArles, the beggar Lazarus is enthroned as Saint Lazarus. Similar examples are found at the church atAvallon, the central portal atVézelay, and the portals of thecathedral of Autun.[71]
The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is anorder of chivalry that originated in aleper hospital founded byKnights Hospitaller in the 12th century byCrusaders of theLatin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Sufferers of leprosy regarded the beggarLazarus (of Luke 16:19-31) as their patron saint and usually dedicated their hospices to him.[72]
Lazarus also appeared in medieval Islamic tradition, in which he was honored as a pious companion of Jesus. Although theQuran mentions no figure named Lazarus, among the miracles with which it creditsJesus includes the raising of people from the dead (QS. Al-Imran [3]:49). Muslim lore frequently detailed these miraculous narratives of Jesus, but mentioned Lazarus only occasionally.Al-Ṭabarī, for example, in hisTaʾrīk̲h̲ talks of these miracles in general.[73]Al-T̲h̲aʿlabī, however, related, closely following theGospel of John: "Lazarus [Al-ʿĀzir] died, his sister sent to inform Jesus, Jesus came three (in the Gospel, four) days after his death, went with his sister to the tomb in the rock and caused Lazarus to arise; children were born to him".[74] Similarly, inIbn al-At̲h̲īr, the resurrected man is called "ʿĀzir", which is another Arabic rendering of "Lazarus".[75]
Viasyncretism, Lazarus (or more precisely the conflation of the two figures named "Lazarus") has become an important figure inSantería as the Yoruba deityBabalu Aye. Like the beggar of the Christian Gospel of Luke, Babalu-Aye represents someone covered with sores licked by dogs who was healed by divine intervention.[65][76] Silver charms known as the crutch of St. Lazarus or standardRoman Catholic–style medals of St. Lazarus are worn astalismans to invoke the aid of the syncretized deity in cases of medical suffering, particularly for people withAIDS.[76] In Santería, the date associated with Saint Lazarus is 17 December,[65] despite Santería's reliance on theiconography associated with the begging saint whose feast day is 21 June.[70]
The raising of Lazarus is a popular subject in religious art.[77] Two of the most famous paintings are those ofMichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (c. 1609) andSebastiano del Piombo (1516). Among other prominent depictions of Lazarus are works byRembrandt,Van Gogh,Ivor Williams, andLazarus Breaking His Fast byWalter Sickert.
The Raising of Lazarus is one of the most popular artistic themes in theCatacombs of Rome including examples from the 2nd century.[78]
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Well known in Western culture from their respective biblical tales, both figures named Lazarus (Lazarus of Bethany and the Beggar Lazarus of "Lazarus and Dives"), have appeared many times in music, writing and art. The majority of the references are to Lazarus of Bethany.
In the 1851 novelMoby-Dick byHerman Melville, after writing hiswill and testament for the fourth time, Ishmael remarks that, "all the days I should now live would be as good as the days that Lazarus lived after his resurrection; a supplementary clean gain of so many months or weeks as the case might be."[79][80]
InFyodor Dostoevsky's 1866 novelCrime and Punishment the protagonist Raskolnikov asks his lover Sonia to read him this section of the Gospel.[81]
In two short stories written byMark Twain and posthumously published in 1972, a lawyer argues that Lazarus' heirs had an indisputable claim to any property the resurrected Lazarus had owned before his death.[82][80]
PlaywrightEugene O'Neill in 1925 wrote the playLazarus Laughed, his largest-cast play, presenting Lazarus' life after his resurrection. The play has only been produced once in full, though in reduced-cast versions at other times.
Many works of literature from the 20th century allude to Lazarus, includingTruman Capote's short story "A Tree of Night" inA Tree of Night and Other Stories (1945) andJohn Knowles's novelA Separate Peace (1959). Allusions in 20th-century poetry occur in works such asLeonid Andreyev's book-length poemLazarus (1906),[83][84]T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem "Lazarus" (1920),[85] andSylvia Plath's poem "Lady Lazarus" published in her posthumous anthologyAriel (1965). An allusion to Lazarus also appears in the memoirWitness (1952) byWhittaker Chambers (who acknowledged the influence of Dostoevsky's works), which opens its first chapter, "In 1937, I began, like Lazarus, the impossible return."[86]
Science fiction allusions to Lazarus occur inRobert A. Heinlein'sLazarus Long novels (1941–1987),Walter M. Miller Jr.'sA Canticle for Leibowitz (1960), andFrank Herbert'sThe Lazarus Effect (1983).
In the 2010 bookThe Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy written by American professors of philosophyKathleen Higgins andRobert C. Solomon, at the end of Chapter 5, The Search for Truth, readers are asked to consider: "Could a scientist give an adequate account of the biblical story of the raising of Lazarus?"[87]
Lazarus Is Dead (2011) byRichard Beard is an innovative novel. Its amplifies a detail of the Gospel: Lazarus was Jesus's friend; however Jesus has disciples, but not many friends. Beard traces the story back to Jesus and Lazarus's childhood in Nazareth, after, the two friends' paths have diverged. The novel was described by theSunday Business Post as "no ordinary novel: it is a brilliant, genre-bending retelling and subversion of one of the oldest, most sensational stories in the western canon."
John Derhak'sThe Bones of Lazarus (2012), is a darkly funny, fast-paced, supernatural thriller that traces intersecting lives on a war-torn, resource rich, Caribbean island. The plot revolves around the premise that Lazarus of Bethany, upon his resurrection by Christ, becomes an immortal creature of Judgment, seeking the hearts and souls of the wicked throughout time.
Larry: A Novel of Church Recovery (2019) byBrian L. Boley is a short novel, in which a character named "Larry" appears. "Larry" gives suggestions to a pair of pastors about improving their churches and leading them to growth. But as we read along, we begin to understand that "Larry" may actually be the biblical Lazarus of Bethany, an immortal evangelistic servant of Jesus.
Richard Zimler'sbestselling novelThe Gospel According to Lazarus (2019 in English) is written from the perspective of Lazarus himself. The book presents Yeshua ben Yosef (Jesus' Hebrew name) as an early Jewish mystic and explores the deep friendship between Lazarus and Yeshua, who - within the fictional setting - have been best friends since childhood. The themes of the book include how we cope with a loss of faith, the terrible sacrifices we make for those we love, the transcendent meaning of Yeshua's mission, and how we go on after suffering a shattering trauma.The Observer review summarized the novel as "A very human tale of rivalry, betrayal, power-grabbing and sacrifice.... Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this brave and engaging novel...is that Zimler manages to make the best-known narrative in western culture a page-turner."[88]
In music, a popular retelling of the biblical Lazarus story from the point of view of Lazarus in heaven is the 1984gospel story-song "Lazarus Come Forth" byContemporary Christian Music artistCarman.[89][90] A modern reinterpretation of the story is the title track to the albumDig, Lazarus, Dig!!! by the Australian alternative bandNick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Several other bands have composed songs titled "Lazarus" in allusion to the resurrection story, includingPorcupine Tree,Conor Oberst,Circa Survive,Chimaira,moe.,Wes King,Placebo, andDavid Bowie (written while he was terminally ill).[91]
Lazarus is sometimes referenced in political figures returning to power in unlikely circumstances. WhenJohn Howard lost the leadership of theLiberal Party of Australia, he rated his chances of regaining it as "Lazarus with a triple bypass".[93] Howard did regain the leadership and went on to becomePrime Minister of Australia. FormerPresident of Haiti,Jean Bertrand Aristide, was termed the "Haitian Lazarus" by journalistAmy Wilentz, in her description of his return to Haiti from exile and the political significance of this event.[94]
In the Batman comic book series,Ra’s al Ghul is often restored to life by a pool known as the Lazarus Pit.
A futuristic, dystopian, four-part television series set in the 24th century,Cold Lazarus, was written by Dennis Potter when he was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. A 20th-century writer, Danial Feeld, is cryogenically frozen, and the plot revolves around attempts to resurrect his thoughts from his frozen head.
In theDoctor Who episode "The Lazarus Experiment", has Professor Richard Lazarus demonstrate an experiment that causes him to look like a younger man, before an error in his work turns him into a life-force sucking monster.
In theindieroguelikevideo game,The Binding of Isaac, one of the playable characters is called Lazarus; this character is resurrected after death once each floor in the game.
When Lazarus died, he was raised by Jesus from the dead after he had been entombed for four days. This miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead inspired many Jews to believe in Jesus as the Christ.
640{...}Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus.{...}
{...}
646 Christ's Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jairus' daughter, the young man of Naim, Lazarus. These actions were miraculous events, but the persons miraculously raised returned by Jesus' power to ordinary earthly life. At some particular moment they would die again. Christ's Resurrection is essentially different. In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space.(...)
He raised the dead: the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus on the fourth day after his death.
WHEREAS, Though the Scriptures include explicit accounts of persons raised from the dead, such as Jairus' daughter, the widow of Nain's son, and Lazarus, in God's perfect revelatory wisdom, He has not given us any report of their individual experience in the afterlife (Deuteronomy 29:29; Mark 5:21–43; Luke 7:11–17; John 11:35–44);
bound hand and foot: and here is a second miracle, that one so wrapped and bound up should be able to move and come forth.(Matthew Poole)
many of the older expositors regard the power to move, when bound hand and foot, as itself a miracle. But this seems not to be necessary, and if not necessary, is not to be resorted to. (Comp. Note on John 6:21.) The grave-clothes may have been bound round the limbs separately(Charles Ellicott)
It seems to me that he would have been an object of great interest.{...}Thousands would have inquired of him about the other world;{...}His experience would have been vastly more interesting than everything else in the New Testament.{...}When he came to die again, people would have said: "He is not afraid; he has had experience; he knows what death is."
Thus, it has been urged by some, by Grotius and by Olshausen, that the three earlier Evangelists, writing in Palestine, and while either Lazarus or some of his family yet survived, would not willingly draw attention, and, it might be, persecution, upon them (see John 12:10); but that no such causes hindered St. John, who wrote at a much later period, and not in Palestine, but in Asia Minor, from bringing forward this miracle. The omission on their part, and the mention upon his, will then be a parallel to a like omission and mention of the name of the disciple who smote off the ear of the High Priest's servant, only St. John mentioning that it was Peter who struck the blow (xviii. 10).
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."St. Lazarus of Bethany".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.Mark Twain, who refers ironically to the legal implications of Lazarus's resurrection.
