Lazarus of Bethany

A figure in the Gospel of John whom Jesus raises from the dead after four days in the tomb. His raising becomes a sign of Jesus’s power over death.

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Raising of Lazarus: A miracle in John 11 in which Jesus calls Lazarus out of his tomb after four days. This is the episode that defines Lazarus’s place in the Gospel.
Resurrection of the dead: The return of dead people to life, understood in religious traditions as a divine act or future event. Lazarus’s restoration is a vivid instance, though John distinguishes it from Jesus’s resurrection.
Resurrection of Jesus: The Christian claim that Jesus rose bodily from the dead after his crucifixion. Lazarus returns to mortal life, while Jesus’s resurrection has a distinct theological status.
Historical reliability of the Gospels: The study of how accurately the Gospels represent past events and people. Lazarus is known chiefly through John, so his historical status is debated.
Bethany: A village near Jerusalem associated with Jesus and several New Testament events. Lazarus lives here with his sisters, and his tomb is nearby.
Sign (theology): An act or event understood as revealing divine identity or purpose. John presents Lazarus’s raising as a sign that reveals Jesus’s glory.
Raising of Jairus’s daughter: A Gospel miracle in which Jesus restores a dead girl to life. Like Lazarus’s raising, it depicts Jesus restoring someone to life, but the circumstances differ.
Johannine signs source: A proposed source or tradition behind some miracle narratives in the Gospel of John. Some scholars examine whether the Lazarus episode drew on earlier material.
Martha of Bethany: A disciple of Jesus and sister of Lazarus and Mary in the Gospel of John. She meets Jesus before Lazarus is raised and professes faith in him.
Jesus wept: A brief statement in John 11:35 describing Jesus’s tears at Lazarus’s tomb. The moment links the miracle with grief and Jesus’s response to loss.