What does Jesus mean when he says “I Am the Resurrection and the Life”?  (11:25)

What can we learn from this text about Jesus’s relationship with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus?

Why do you think that Jesus waits two days after hearing news of Lazarus’s illness before he goes to visit him?  (11:5, 11:17, 11:39)  What is his overarching purpose that he intends to accomplish through these events?  (11:4, 11:14-15, 11:40-42)

What can we observe in this text about Jesus, and his emotions and affections?  What can we learn about his love for his people?  (11:3, 11:5, 11:36)  What can we learn about his capacity for sadness and grief?  (11:32-35, 11:38)

What does Jesus say people need to do in order to experience resurrection and eternal life?  (11:25-27)

How does Lazarus’s resurrection anticipate (and resemble) Jesus’s resurrection?  (20:1-18)  How does Jesus’s resurrection serve as a pattern for our own resurrection?  (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) 

How should Christians think about death?  How does this passage affect how we think about death?

How should Christians handle suffering in our lives?  How should this passage affect how we handle suffering in our lives?

How might this passage serve to motivate us to be faithful and courageous in evangelism?

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