May 02nd, 2026

The season of Easter continues on, and the title for this Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Easter. We are also getting closer to that special day named simply “Ascension”. It is also special since that wonderful celebration is on a Thursday. The Gospel Reading for this Sunday continues on in that special account, the Gospel according to John (14:1-14). It is somewhat unusual that this reading is getting closer to the Gospel Reading for the next Sunday, the very same chapter, but the next few verses.

The writings of this website are also currently going through the Gospel according to John, and last week’s writing was closer to the Gospel Reading of the previous Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, in the section of that account normally called chapter ten. With the writings of this website, we translate a little bit of the text at a time, in the order in which it appears in the text, without skipping any parts. We will be dealing with what is typically called chapter eleven of that account, and that chapter deals with the resurrection of Lazarus. And it is translated in an EXTREMELY literal fashion. And that type of translation will be defined in the next two paragraphs.

Now if you are very familiar with this style of translation, you may bypass this paragraph and the next one. The first significant thing to mention regarding the description of this type of translation is that the verse numbers will not be included within the text itself. Hopefully that is not too bothersome. Both the chapter numbers and verse numbers were added quite later after the text was written, and they are certainly helpful when someone is searching for a particular text, but their structure that they give is not always helpful. They may even be somewhat distracting from the message. It is the words and not the numbers that are truly important.

It should also be noted that the words with hyphens occur when more than one English word is used to describe a single word of the ancient Greek. And some of the words chosen below are meant to point out the close connection that sometimes occurs between the English and Greek languages. It may also be said that the meaning of some words often depends heavily upon the context. It is also important to mention that the order of the words below is also the same order that is in the ancient Greek. This may help to show the important words, especially when another word besides the verb is first in the sentence; the verb is usually first in Greek. The exception to this translation order is that there are just a small number of words (like “therefore” and “now”) that are usually second in a sentence that are meant to be first when translated. It should be said that repetition of words is sometimes frequent and should be noted as an emphasis. One more thing to mention is that the verbs in capital letters are called HISTORICAL PRESENTS. That is when a verb in a past tense is expected, but a verb in the present tense is given. This special characteristic of some of the verbs has been explained elsewhere in these writings, and it may be helpful to read some of the other writings of this website. With this in mind, it may also be helpful to have another translation or a study bible nearby as you read the text below.

What follows is an EXTREMELY literal translation of some of what could be called the first part of the eleventh chapter of the Gospel according to John (11:1-16). That eleventh chapter is basically dedicated to the resurrection of Lazarus. It may also be said that a significant amount of space is given to this miracle of Jesus. It should be noted that some critics of Christianity may think that, because this is not included in the other accounts, it did not really happen; after all, it is significant for a person to be dead for four days, and then to come back to life. That is an EXTREMELY significant event. That is even longer than Jesus was in the tomb! Why is it not mentioned elsewhere? The issue rests with what is deemed significant. If the problem with humanity would simply be a lack of good information, then more information is helpful. But sinful humanity is dealing with a much more serious issue. This world is a sinful world; help is desperately needed. And a savior, one who rescues, the God-man Jesus arrives on the scene. (One more thing to note is that there is are mentions of two different types of love in the text below. There is the brotherly love, a love that is used in name of the city of Philadelphia, and then there is the special type of love, the love that God had to give his Son in John 3:16, that type of love you may have heard before; it is agape, and it is phonetically spelled ah-gah’-pay.)

Now  it-was  a-certain-man  being-without-strength,  Lazarus  from  Bethany,  out-of  the  village  of-Maria  and  Martha,  of- the  sister  of-her.  Now  it-was  Maria,  the-one  having-anointed  the  Lord  with-ointment  and  having-wiped-off  the  feet  of-him  with-the  hairs  of-her,  of-whom  the  brother  Lazarus  was-without-strength.  Therefore  they-sent-out,  the  sisters,  toward  him  saying,  “Lord,  see,  he-whom  you-brotherly-love,  he-is-without-strength.”

Now  having-heard,  the  Jesus  said,  “This,  the  without-strength,  not  it-is  toward  death,  but-on-the-contrary,  for-the-sake-of  the  glory  of-the  God,  in-order-that  he-may-be-glorified,  the  Son  of-the  God,  through  it.”

Now  he-agaped,  the  Jesus,  the  Martha  and  the  sister  of-her,  and  the  Lazarus.  Therefore  when  he-heard  that  he-is-without-strength,  then  indeed  he-remained  in  which  he-was,  place,  duo  days;  thereupon  after  this  HE-SAYS  to-the  disciples, “Let-us-lead  into  the  Judea  again.”

THEY-SAY  to-him,  the  disciples,  “Rabbi,  presently  they-were-seeking  you,  to-stone,  the  Jews,  and  again  you-are-going-away  there?”

He-answered,  Jesus,  “Not  twelve  hours  are-there  of-the  day?  If  anyone  walks-around  in  the  day,  not  does-he-stumble,  because  the  light  of-the  world,  this,  he-sees.  Now  if  anyone  walks-around  in  the  night,  he-stumbles,  because  the  light  not  is  in  him.”  These-things  he-said,  and  after  this  HE-SAYS  to-them,  “Lazarus,  the  friend  of-us  has-fallen-asleep,  but-on-the-contrary,  I-am-traveling  in-order-that  I-may-awaken  him.”

Therefore  they-said,  the  disciples,  to-him,  “Lord,  if  he-has-fallen-asleep,  he-will-be-saved.”  Now  he-had-spoken,  the  Jesus,  concerning  the  death  of-him,  now  these-men  thought  that  concerning  the  sleep  of-the  slumber  he-says. 

Therefore  then  he-said  to-them,  the  Jesus,  plainly,  “Lazarus  died,  and  I-rejoice  for-the-sake-of  you,  in-order-that  you-may-believe,  that  not  I-was  there;  but-on-the-contrary,  let-us-lead  toward  him.”

Therefore  he-said,  Thomas,  the-one  being-called  Twin,  to-the  fellow-disciples,  “Let-us-lead  also  we,  in-order-that  we-may-die  with  him.”​

One more thing could be mentioned. This is the third time in this Gospel account that the special title “Lord” is used by the writer to describe Jesus. (Not included are the times that Jesus is called the Lord by someone in the event.) It is interesting that the first time, in what is known as chapter four and verse one, that was a connection to baptism. And the next time is what is known as chapter six and verse twenty-three, that was a connection to eating Jesus’ body and drinking his blood. And this time there is a connection to an anointing. These are all special actions which point us to a very special Lord, the Lord of heaven and earth, and not just words.