Who was Lazarus in the Bible?

He Whom You Love: A Journey into the Stories of Lazarus

In the vast web of the Holy Scriptures, certain names echo with a special power, resonating through the centuries with messages of hope, warning, and divine love. The name Lazarus is one such name. Derived from the Hebrew Eleazar, it carries a promise in its very syllables: “God has helped”.¹ This name appears in the New Testament in two distinct and powerful stories, both of which reveal the powerful heart of God and offer timeless lessons for our own walk of faith.

One Lazarus is a poor beggar, whose story challenges our understanding of justice and eternity. The other is a beloved whose miraculous return from the grave stands as one of the most breathtaking displays of Christ’s divine power. For many, these two figures can be a source of confusion. Yet, by exploring their stories separately and together, we can untangle the details, uncover the deep compassion of Jesus, and find our own faith strengthened by the truth that, in our deepest need, God is our help. Join us on a journey to discover who Lazarus was, and what his stories mean for us today.

Were There Two Different Men Named Lazarus in the Bible?

One of the most common questions that arises when studying the Gospels is whether the Lazarus from Jesus’s parable and the Lazarus who was raised from the dead are the same person. The answer is clear: the New Testament speaks of two different men named Lazarus.⁴ Understanding the distinction between them is the first step to unlocking the unique spiritual treasures each story holds.

The first Lazarus is a central character in a powerful teaching given by Jesus, recorded in the Gospel of Luke. This Lazarus is a desperately poor beggar, whose life of suffering on earth is contrasted with that of a wealthy man.⁴ Whether this is a parable (a fictional teaching story) or Jesus recounting a true event is debated by scholars, but its primary purpose is to teach powerful truths about the afterlife and our responsibility to the poor.⁴

The and more famous, Lazarus is Lazarus of Bethany. His story, found only in the Gospel of John, is a historical account of a real person who was a dear friend of Jesus and the brother of two other well-known figures, Mary and Martha.¹ This Lazarus was not a beggar; he and his sisters had a home in Bethany where they hosted Jesus.⁵ His story is not a parable, but the narrative of one of Jesus’s most astounding miracles: being raised from the dead after four days in a tomb.¹²

Although their circumstances were vastly different, their stories are woven together in the grand narrative of Scripture, offering complementary lessons on faith, compassion, and the life that awaits us beyond the grave.

The Two Lazaruses: A Comparison

To help clarify the differences, the following table provides a simple comparison of these two important biblical figures.

What Is the Story of the Poor Beggar Lazarus and the Rich Man?

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a story that is both haunting and deeply instructive. It is a tale of two men, two lives, and two eternal destinies, found in Luke 16:19–31.

The story begins by painting a picture of extreme contrast. There was a rich man, whose name we are never told, who lived a life of unimaginable luxury. He “dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day”.⁷ Purple dye was incredibly expensive, a color reserved for royalty and the very wealthy, signaling his status and opulence. His life was a daily celebration of earthly pleasure.

At the very gate of this man’s splendid home lay a beggar named Lazarus. His condition was the polar opposite of the rich man’s. He was “covered with sores” and desperately poor, longing for even the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s banquet table.⁹ In a poignant detail, the text notes that “even the dogs came and licked his sores”.⁵ In that culture, dog saliva was sometimes considered to have therapeutic properties, meaning these stray animals showed more compassion to Lazarus than the wealthy man who lived just feet away.⁵

In time, as it does for all people, death came for both men. And here, the story takes a dramatic turn. Their earthly circumstances are completely and eternally reversed. The beggar Lazarus died and “was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side”.⁴ This phrase, “Abraham’s bosom,” evokes an image of honor, comfort, and intimate fellowship in the heavenly banquet.⁸ The rich man also died and was buried. But his experience was one of horror. He found himself in Hades, a place of conscious “agony in this fire”.⁴

From his place of torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham in the distance, with Lazarus comforted by his side. In desperation, he cried out, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue”.¹³ His request was denied. Abraham explained that a “great chasm” was fixed between them, an impassable barrier that sealed their eternal fates.⁷ Their destinies were now final.

The rich man then made one final, futile plea. He begged Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to his father’s house, to warn his five brothers so they would not end up in the same place of torment.⁵ This last request sets the stage for the story’s powerful and unforgettable conclusion, a lesson that would echo with prophetic significance later in Jesus’s ministry.

What Timeless Truths Can We Learn from the Parable of Lazarus?

Jesus’s story of the rich man and Lazarus is more than a dramatic tale; it is packed with timeless truths that speak directly to our hearts today. It is a loving call to examine our lives, our priorities, and our relationship with God and others.

The parable teaches with sobering clarity that heaven and hell are real, literal places, and that our eternal destiny is determined in this life.⁹ The moment we die, our fate is sealed. There are no second chances, no crossing the “great chasm” that separates the saved from the lost.⁹ This story serves as a powerful reminder that the choices we make on earth have eternal consequences.

The parable is also a powerful warning against the sin of indifference. It is crucial to note that the rich man was not condemned for being wealthy, but for his “vicious neglect” of the man suffering at his gate.⁶ He knew Lazarus by name, stepping past him every day, yet he showed no love, sympathy, or compassion.⁵ His heart was hardened by his luxury. This is a powerful challenge to every believer. God loves the poor, and He is offended when His children ignore their plight.⁹ True faith in Christ will inevitably produce a heart of compassion for those in need.⁹

This story exposes the deceitfulness of earthly wealth. The rich man likely saw his riches as a sign of God’s blessing, a dangerous belief that is still common today.⁹ Jesus teaches that earthly treasures can blind us to our spiritual poverty and our desperate need for a Savior. In the end, what matters is not what we have accumulated, but whether we have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.⁹

The theological climax of the parable, But lies in Abraham’s final, stunning statement. When the rich man begs for Lazarus to be sent back from the dead as a sign for his brothers, Abraham replies, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead”.⁷ This is a powerful truth about the nature of faith and unbelief. God has given us His sufficient and powerful Word in the Scriptures. A heart that is hardened against the clear teaching of the Bible will not be persuaded even by the most spectacular miracle.⁹

In a way that only God could orchestrate, this very principle, laid out in a parable in the Gospel of Luke, becomes a prophetic foreshadowing of a real, historical event. The story in Luke provides a spiritual hypothesis: even a resurrection will not convince a hardened heart. The story of the other Lazarus, in the Gospel of John, provides the stunning, real-world proof. The religious leaders of Jesus’s day, who prided themselves on their knowledge of “Moses and the Prophets,” would soon be confronted with an undeniable resurrection—a man named Lazarus walking out of his tomb. Their response was not belief, but a hardened plot to kill both Jesus and the evidence of His power, Lazarus himself.⁴ This reveals that the core issue was never a lack of evidence, but the condition of the human heart.¹² The two stories, though found in different Gospels, are masterfully woven together, creating a single, powerful argument about the choice between faith and unbelief.

Who Was Lazarus of Bethany, the Friend Jesus Raised from the Dead?

The second Lazarus we meet in the Bible is the subject of one of the most moving and dramatic narratives in the entire New Testament. Found in the 11th chapter of John’s Gospel, this is the story of Lazarus of Bethany, a man Jesus loved as a dear friend.⁴

Lazarus lived in the small village of Bethany, just a couple of miles from Jerusalem, with his two sisters, Mary and Martha.¹ This family shared a special bond with Jesus. He had stayed in their home, shared meals with them, and found in their company a place of rest and friendship amidst his demanding ministry.² The depth of this relationship is clear in the message the sisters sent to Jesus when their brother fell gravely ill. It was not a formal request, but a simple, tender appeal from one heart to another: “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick”.¹⁰ They believed that just letting Jesus know would be enough.

Jesus’s response to this urgent news is one of the most puzzling parts of the story. He declared that the illness was not ultimately “to end in death, but is for the glory of God”.¹⁰ Then, instead of rushing to his friend’s side, He intentionally waited two more days where He was.⁴ This delay, which must have been agonizing for the frantic sisters, was a crucial part of God’s plan. It built suspense and set the stage for a miracle so great that no one could deny it.¹⁶

When Jesus finally decided to go, His disciples were filled with fear. They reminded Him that religious leaders in Judea had recently tried to stone Him.⁴ Their fear for their own safety stands in stark contrast to Jesus’s calm resolve. It was then that Thomas, ever the pragmatist, made his famous declaration to the others: “Let us also go, that we may die with him”.¹⁰ His words show a deep loyalty, but also a complete lack of understanding of the glorious event that was about to unfold.

By the time Jesus and His disciples arrived in Bethany, the situation seemed utterly hopeless. Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days.⁴ In the warm climate of the Middle East, this was a major detail. It meant that death was certain and the body would have already begun to decay—a grim reality that Martha would later point out.¹⁰ The family’s home was filled with mourners who had come from Jerusalem to comfort them, highlighting the public nature of their grief and the miracle that was to follow.¹⁰

In their powerful grief, both Martha and Mary greeted Jesus with the same heartbreaking cry: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”.¹⁰ Their words are a raw mixture of sorrow, faith, and perhaps a gentle rebuke for his delay. Yet, even in her devastation, Martha’s faith shone through. She immediately added, “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you”.¹⁰ It is a breathtaking statement of trust, spoken from the depths of loss, setting the stage for Jesus to reveal Himself in a way she could never have imagined.

Why Did Jesus Weep and Wait Before Raising Lazarus?

The story of Lazarus of Bethany contains two actions by Jesus that have touched the hearts of believers for centuries: His intentional delay and His powerful tears. These moments are not just narrative details; they are deep windows into the heart of God, teaching us about His purposes and His compassion.

The reason for Jesus’s delay was not a lack of love, but a demonstration of divine purpose. He stated it plainly from the beginning: this was happening “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it”.¹⁰ By waiting until Lazarus had been dead for four days, a point at which no one could doubt the finality of his death, Jesus ensured that the miracle to come would be absolutely undeniable.²⁵ It was a calculated delay designed to stretch and ultimately strengthen the faith of His disciples, Mary, Martha, and all who would witness it.³ This part of the story teaches us a powerful, if difficult, lesson about trusting God’s timing. Even when His delays cause us pain and we cannot understand His ways, we are called to trust that He is working toward a greater glory.³ God’s delays are not His denials.

Even more moving is the reason for His tears. The shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), is also one of the most powerful.⁵ Knowing He was about to restore Lazarus to life, why did He cry? His tears reveal the beautiful complexity of His character. They show His deep human compassion. When He saw Mary weeping, and all the mourners with her, the Bible says He was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled”.²² He entered into their pain and grieved with them, demonstrating that our God is not distant or unfeeling. He is touched by our suffering and shares in our sorrow.²⁴

But His tears were more than just sympathy. They were also tears of holy grief over the brokenness of His creation. He wept at the horror of death itself—the ugly consequence of sin that was never part of His Father’s original plan. He wept over the “stench” and the “forfeiture of beauty” that death represents.²⁶ The Greek word used for “deeply moved” also carries a sense of indignation and anger.²⁶ Jesus was not just sad; He was righteously angry at the great enemy, Death, and the devastation it brings.

In this, Jesus models for us a complete and holy response to tragedy. His reaction was not one-dimensional. He did not shrink into passive sentimentality, nor did He harden into self-righteousness. He was both tenderly compassionate and fiercely protective. His heart broke for the people He loved, and at the same time, He was moved to righteous anger against the very power of sin and death that caused their pain. This validates our own complex emotions in times of loss. It is right to weep with those who weep, and it is also right to feel a holy anger against the sickness, injustice, and evil that bring so much suffering into our world. Jesus shows us that perfect love contains both.

What Is the Deeper Meaning of Jesus Raising Lazarus from the Dead?

The raising of Lazarus is far more than a touching story about friendship; it is a pivotal moment in salvation history, rich with theological meaning that points directly to the heart of the Christian faith.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus’s miracles are called “signs”—powerful acts that point beyond themselves to reveal His true, divine identity. The raising of Lazarus is the seventh and final sign recorded by John, serving as the dramatic climax of Jesus’s public ministry.¹⁰ It is the ultimate proof that backs up His astonishing claim to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life”.¹⁰ He doesn’t just

geben life; He is life itself.

This incredible miracle serves as a powerful foreshadowing, a “dress rehearsal,” for Jesus’s own resurrection.² But John masterfully includes details that highlight a crucial difference. Lazarus was restored to his mortal, physical life; he would one day have to face death again. Jesus’s resurrection, on the other hand, would be a complete and final victory over death, a transformation into a glorified, immortal body.³⁴ The burial cloths make this distinction clear. Lazarus emerged from the tomb still bound by his grave clothes, needing others to “untie him and let him go”.¹⁰ But on Easter morning, Jesus’s tomb was empty except for the burial cloths, which were left behind, neatly folded. This showed that He was no longer subject to death or its constraints; He had passed through them, conquering death forever.³⁴

The story is also a tangible and glorious promise for all believers. Jesus’s words to Martha—”whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live”—were not just for her comfort in that moment. They are a promise that echoes down to us today.¹⁰ The sight of Lazarus walking out of that tomb is a living, breathing picture of the hope we have for our own resurrection. Because Christ conquered the grave, we too have the promise of eternal life with Him.¹⁶

Finally, the story contains a powerful and tragic irony. This ultimate act of giving life is the very event that seals Jesus’s own death sentence. The miracle was so public and so undeniable that it caused a great wave of people to believe in Jesus.⁴ This terrified the religious authorities, who saw their power and influence slipping away.²⁰ The Gospel of John tells us that it was immediately after this event that the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council, gathered and officially plotted to kill Jesus. The high priest, Caiaphas, unwittingly spoke a prophecy when he declared it was better for one man to die for the nation.¹⁰ And so, the gift of temporary life to Lazarus led directly to the sacrificial death of Jesus, which would offer the gift of eternal life to the entire world.¹⁰

What Happened to Lazarus of Bethany After He Was Resurrected?

The Bible gives us a few tantalizing glimpses into Lazarus’s life immediately after Jesus called him from the tomb, but then Scripture falls silent. We know that he was present at a dinner given in Jesus’s honor in Bethany, reclining at the table with the Lord.¹ We are also told that his very existence was a threat to the chief priests. Because Lazarus was a walking, breathing testament to Jesus’s divine power, causing many to believe, the authorities plotted to kill him as well.⁴

After these brief mentions, we must turn to church tradition to learn what may have happened next. It is important to remember that these accounts are not Scripture, but are ancient stories passed down through the generations of believers. Two major traditions emerged, one in the Western Church and one in the Eastern Church.

The French tradition, which is prominent in the West, holds that after the persecution in Jerusalem began, Lazarus, along with his sisters Mary and Martha, traveled by boat to the coast of Gaul (modern-day France). There, Lazarus is said to have become a powerful preacher of the Gospel and the very first bishop of Marseilles. This tradition concludes that he was eventually martyred for his faith during the persecutions under the Roman Emperor Domitian.¹⁶

The Cypriot tradition, which is central to the Eastern Orthodox tells a different story. In this account, Lazarus fled the persecution in Judea and settled in Cyprus. There, he was later met by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas during their missionary journeys and was ordained by them as the first bishop of Kition (a city now called Larnaca).¹⁸ According to this tradition, he served as bishop for thirty years before his natural death. A famous legend from this tradition says that after his resurrection, Lazarus never smiled again due to the memory of the souls he had seen in the underworld, except for one time when he saw a man stealing a clay pot and remarked, “the clay steals the clay”.⁴¹

These differing traditions also led to different claims about his holy relics. His second tomb was reportedly discovered in Larnaca, Cyprus, in the 9th century, which led the Byzantine emperor to build the magnificent Church of St. Lazarus that stands there today.¹⁸ The emperor had the relics moved to Constantinople. Centuries later, during the Crusades, these relics were said to have been taken from Constantinople to Marseilles, which is why both the East and West have historical claims connected to him.⁴¹

Post-Biblical Traditions of St. Lazarus of Bethany

This table summarizes the two primary traditions about the life of Lazarus after the events recorded in the Bible.

What Are the Catholic Church’s Teachings on Saint Lazarus?

The Catholic Church holds a rich and nuanced understanding of the figures named Lazarus, venerating both as saints but for distinct reasons that highlight different aspects of the Christian life.

The Church recognizes and honors two separate saints named Lazarus.⁶

Saint Lazarus of Bethany, the friend of Jesus, is celebrated as a powerful witness to Christ’s divinity and the promise of the resurrection.⁶ He is a symbol of faith and hope, reminding believers that Jesus has the power to transform death into life.¹⁸ His feast day in the Catholic Church is celebrated along with his sisters Martha and Mary, on July 29.³⁹

The other figure, Saint Lazarus the Beggar from Jesus’s parable, is also venerated as a saint. He is honored as the patron saint of the poor, the sick, and especially of lepers.⁵ This patronage developed during the Middle Ages, when his “sores” were commonly interpreted as leprosy.⁵ The historic military and hospitaller group known as the Order of Saint Lazarus was founded in the 12th century at a leper hospital in Jerusalem and was named in honor of

ihm, with its original mission being the care for those afflicted with the disease.⁴⁵

Beyond veneration, the story of the raising of Lazarus of Bethany holds deep sacramental symbolism in Catholic theology. The story is seen as a powerful illustration of Taufe. Just as Lazarus was called from the darkness and decay of the tomb into the light of new life, the believer, through the waters of Baptism, is raised from the spiritual death of sin to a new life in Christ.⁴⁸ For centuries, the Church has used the Lenten Gospel readings about the woman at the well (water), the man born blind (light), and Lazarus (life) as a spiritual journey to prepare catechumens for their own baptism at the Easter Vigil.⁴⁸

The great theologian Saint Augustine saw the raising of Lazarus as a powerful symbol for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (also known as Confession).⁴⁸ He taught that even after Jesus called him back to life, Lazarus was still bound by his grave clothes. In the same way, a person who has sinned, even after receiving God’s forgiveness, can still feel bound by their habits of sin. Jesus’s command, “Untie him and let him go,” symbolizes the grace of absolution given by a priest in the sacrament. This grace unbinds the sinner from the chains of sin and sets them free to walk in the newness of life. For this reason, the sacrament is often called a “second Baptism”.⁴⁸

A Prayer to Saint Lazarus

For those who wish to seek the intercession of this great friend of Christ, the following prayer is a beautiful expression of Catholic devotion:

*Dear Saint Lazarus, friend of Christ Incarnate and patron of the poor and the sick….Quelle(https://saintmichaelusa.org/0729-martha-mary-lazarus/) us in our comfort, and fill us with a hope that overcomes the world.

The story of Lazarus of Bethany is a resounding testament that no situation is ever too far gone for God.²⁴ We all face moments that have the “stench” of death—a relationship that seems broken beyond repair, a medical diagnosis that feels like a death sentence, a spiritual dryness that feels permanent. In these moments of utter hopelessness, the image of Jesus standing before a sealed tomb and calling forth life is our anchor. It reminds us that our God is the God of resurrection, and that in Him, death never has the final word.¹⁷

At the same time, the parable of the beggar Lazarus is a timeless and urgent call to open our eyes and our hearts. It forces us to look past the gates of our own comfortable lives and see the suffering of those around us.⁹ It challenges the temptation to be indifferent and calls us to actively show the love and compassion of Christ to the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the marginalized. It teaches us that our faith is not merely a private ticket to heaven, but a public mission to love as He loved.

Both stories teach us the difficult but essential lesson of trusting God’s heart when we cannot see His hand.³ Mary and Martha had to endure four days of agonizing grief, unable to understand why the friend they trusted had delayed. Their story gives us permission to bring our own pain and confusion to God, while also encouraging us to “interpret our suffering by God’s love, not interpret His love by our suffering”.³ We can pour out our hearts to Him, knowing that He is a Savior who cares so deeply that He weeps with us in our sorrow.³

The stories of Lazarus are an invitation. The beggar Lazarus was invited into eternal comfort. The friend of Jesus was invited out of a tomb of death. In the same way, Jesus stands before each of us today, calling us out of our own tombs—tombs of sin, fear, shame, and despair. He invites us to let go of the grave clothes that bind us and to walk in the freedom and newness of a resurrected life in Him.¹⁸ This is the beautiful promise woven through both stories, the promise that gives us unshakable hope: because He lives, we too shall live.