# Why did Lazarus have to die again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 21, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593 "2009-10-21T11:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593/41 "2009-10-29T12:08:23Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Where in the New Testament is that? Matthew Chapter28:v52-53 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593/42 "2009-10-29T16:22:06Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > The Lazarus story doesn’t jibe with these though, which makes me wonder if it was added later. Lazarus certainly didn’t have faith- he was dead- so his did not make him rise. His sisters didn’t have faith either- they fussed at Jesus for not coming earlier and when Jesus personally said “roll back the stone” they basically said “won’t do any good, he stinketh”- it almost seems Jesus raised Lazarus to spite them (“sometimes dead is bettah”). So this is not faith but flat out magic. I always read it as PR. Jesus knew damned well that Lazarus was gravely ill- he specifically said they would wait to make the journey to see him. Jesus could easily have healed Lazarus, and his companions knew it- I think it is mentioned specifically. He only begins the journey when word comes that Lazarus has died. Perhaps Jesus felt that the healings weren’t as impressive as they once were to the potential converts. I think Jesus was using Lazarus as a convenient tool to awe the masses- I mean, forget clearing up leprosy- this guy was _dead_. Aside- one of my favorite paintings is Rembrandt’s _The Raising of Lazarus_, currently hanging at LACMA. It has a very Pet Sematary feel to it, especially in Christ’s own face as Lazarus lurches up out of the grave- even he looks pretty shocked and a bit afraid, as if he too wasn’t completely sure what would happen when he called out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593/43 "2009-11-06T20:37:55Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > That’s actually the same word in Greek, _anastasis_, “raising up,” but it’s not clear at all that Paul intends to imply a physical resurrection, especially since he explicitly says in 1 Cor. 15 that physical resurrections are impossible, calls people “fools,” for believing otherwise and says that all resurrections are spiritual. Are you sure he says that? It’s not my understanding of the passage at all. > **[Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 15 - English Standard Version](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015&version=ESV)** > > The Resurrection of Christ - Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For... He starts off by talking about the resurrection of Christ. And he seems to be describing a physical resurrection. Later he promises a resurrection to all followers of Christ and that for most people their resurrection will be in a new spiritual body. I don’t see this as contradicting the story of Christ’s resurrection, or Lazurus being raised from the dead. I don’t see where he says that a physical resurrection is impossible. It’s possible I’m wrong. Perhaps you would care to explain what I’ve misunderstood. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593/44 "2009-11-08T00:30:14Z")
That’s the point I tried to make some time ago. Paul’s subject seems to veer between Jesus’ Resurrection and the General Resurrection, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what he means. But he does agree with Jesus’ teaching that the General Resurrection involves something different from Lazarus’, something that it seems we’re not altogether prepared to comprehend. And _that,_ ultimately, is why Lazarus had to die again: he hadn’t reached the end of his journey – merely taken a very unusual detour. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_LDJRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@Don\_LDJRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_LDJRC)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593/45 "2009-11-08T02:18:11Z")
Did God create evil? ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593/46 "2009-11-08T13:23:50Z")
> [@Don\_LDJRC](#): > > Did God create evil? In a way, Yes, If God created Satan and knew all things ahead of time, then he had to know that Satan would turn evil and yet he created him. Just as with Adam and Eve, If he knew they would disobey and still created them, then he was responsible because they were flawed, Yet he punished them, not with loss of soul(according to Genesis) but with death. If one creates a faulty product the creator is at fault. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-lazarus-have-to-die-again/514593.md?page=2)