What does Jesus do when someone dies?
Lazarus was Jesus’ friend. When he got sick, his sisters sent for Jesus, and Jesus didn’t come for two days. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Martha met him on the road: “If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” Jesus wept. Then he had the stone rolled away and called, “Lazarus, come out!” And he did.
Lazarus was Jesus’ friend. When he got sick, his sisters sent for Jesus, and Jesus didn’t come for two days. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Martha met him on the road: “If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” Jesus wept. Then he had the stone rolled away and called, “Lazarus, come out!” And he did.
About 8 minutes: 4 choices and 2 ways-of-knowing stops. Kids play Martha deciding whether to say what she really thinks, a friend watching Jesus cry, and Lazarus hearing his name. The story takes death seriously, keeps every sad line, and never shows the body; the grown-ups note has words for a child who has lost someone.
Ages 6–12
Lazarus was raised once, as a sign of what Jesus can do, and he would still die someday, years later. You can say: Jesus doesn’t promise to undo every death now. He promises something bigger and later, that death isn’t the end for people who belong to him. And right now, he does what he did at Bethany: he cries with us. If your child is grieving, let them see you cry too. The story gives permission.
John 11:1–44. Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany, falls ill; Jesus delays two days and arrives after the burial. Martha confronts him (“if you had been here”) and confesses faith; Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Mary weeps, Jesus weeps (11:35), and at the tomb he has the stone removed, prays, and calls Lazarus out alive. Verses 45–57: the raising convinces many and leads the authorities to plan Jesus’ death. Our story stops at 11:44.