In the eleventh chapter of John's Gospel we read of one of the most remarkable healings recorded in the Scriptures, namely, the resurrection from the dead of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus. Only a metaphysician of the highest order could have overcome the opposition and annulled the false material laws which contributed to the death and burial of Lazarus.
This was the third occasion in the course of his three years' ministry on which Jesus had raised the dead. The first was the raising of Jairus' daughter, who had just died (see Mark 5:22-43). The second was the son of the widow of Nain, who was being carried out of the city for burial (see Luke 7:11-17). The third was that of Lazarus of Bethany.
Some see in these successive resurrections the Master's progressive steps of spiritual understanding; in other words, it is thought that Jesus was proving the truth of eternal life step by step, each case requiring a deeper understanding of God and man than the one preceding it. Lazarus had lain in a rock-hewn tomb for four days. A stone had been rolled on the mouth of the tomb to cover the opening. There could be no doubt that, to material sense, Lazarus was dead.
