Lazarus
“Abbreviated form of Eleazar, meaning 'God has helped'”
Summary
The name of two figures in the New Testament: the brother of Mary and Martha whom Jesus raised from the dead, and a beggar in Jesus' parable contrasted with a rich man.
☩Lazarus of Bethany
Lazarus lived in Bethany with his sisters Martha and Mary, and all three were especially beloved by Jesus (John 11:5). When Lazarus became ill, his sisters sent word to Jesus, who delayed two days before traveling to Judea. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days and buried in a tomb. In one of the Gospel's most dramatic scenes, Jesus commanded 'Lazarus, come forth,' and the dead man emerged still wrapped in graveclothes (John 11:43-44). This miracle prompted many Jews to believe in Jesus, but it also galvanized the religious leaders to accelerate their plot to kill Him—and to consider killing Lazarus as well, since his living presence was a standing testimony to Jesus' power (John 11:45-53; 12:10).
☩Significance of the Miracle
The raising of Lazarus stands as the climactic sign in John's Gospel, demonstrating Jesus' claim to be 'the resurrection and the life' (John 11:25). It occurred publicly before many witnesses, including Jews from Jerusalem who came to mourn (John 11:19). The miracle proved that Jesus had authority over death itself, and it served as a preview of His own resurrection. According to tradition preserved by Epiphanius, Lazarus was thirty years old when raised and lived another thirty years afterward. Later legends, though unreliable, claim he traveled to Cyprus or even Provence, France.
☩Lazarus in the Parable
In Jesus' parable (Luke 16:19-31), Lazarus is a beggar covered with sores who lay at the gate of a rich man, longing for scraps from his table. After death, their situations reversed completely: Lazarus was carried by angels to 'Abraham's bosom' (the place of honor at the heavenly feast), while the rich man suffered torment in Hades. This is the only parable in which a character is given a proper name, likely chosen for its meaning 'God has helped'—signifying the beggar's faith in God despite earthly poverty. The rich man's fate came not merely from being wealthy, but from his selfish failure to use his wealth for others.
☩Legacy
The parable made such a deep impression on Christian consciousness that the name 'Lazarus' passed into many languages as a common term for the sick and poor. Medieval 'lazar houses' and 'lazarettos' were hospitals for lepers, named after this Lazarus whom tradition (incorrectly) assumed to be leprous. The 'lazzaroni' of Italian cities were named from this association with beggary. The Knights of St. Lazarus, a twelfth-century military order, dedicated themselves to ministering to lepers in memory of this parable.
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Lazarus," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Lazarus," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Lazarus," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 4.James Hastings (ed.), "Lazarus," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).