by Archimandrite Vassilios Bakoyiannis
On the eve of Palm Sunday, we celebrate the raising of Lazarus—not because it happened on that exact day, but because it is closely connected with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In brief:
It was the month of December, during the Feast of Dedication of the Jewish Temple. Christ was in Jerusalem, in the Temple, for the feast. He spoke to the Jews, who became furious and picked up stones to kill Him. So He left and went to Perea, beyond the Jordan (John 10:31, 39).
There, they told Him that Lazarus was sick. Instead of hurriedly leaving, “He stayed where He was for two more days” (John 11:6). He waited until Lazarus had died and been buried. He was certain He would raise him—otherwise, He would not have attempted it. He called out to the dead man: “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). And the dead man heard Him, came back to life, and walked out of the tomb. Imagine if he had not heard Him…! This was impossible, because it was Almighty God speaking.
“Rabbi, just now they tried to stone You, and You are going back there?” (John 11:8), the disciples said when He told them He would go to Bethany. This means that He returned to Bethany soon after the Feast of Dedication—“just now they tried to stone You”—and there He raised Lazarus, probably in late December or early January.
The raising of Lazarus enraged the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, and so they decided to put Christ to death (John 11:53). But Christ’s plan was to be crucified on the day of the Jewish Passover. Therefore, He left Bethany and withdrew into the wilderness near the Jordan (John 11:54), to wait for Passover.
Six days before Passover, He entered Jerusalem (John 12:1). When the people heard that He had raised Lazarus, they saw Him as an invincible Messiah who would free them from Roman rule. They went out into the streets and welcomed Him with palm branches, shouting “Hosanna” (Matthew 21:9)—meaning, “Save us from Roman oppression.” “This (the raising of Lazarus) was the main reason the crowd went out to meet Him with palm branches,” John notes (John 12:18).
The people interpreted Christ according to their own desires.
How do we see Christ? According to our own desires? Yet Christ is but one thing: our Savior. Have we truly understood this?
Archimandrite Vassilios Bakoyiannis was born in 1953. He was ordained in 1980 and serves the Holy Metropolis of Patras in Greece.
He is a graduate of the Theological Academy of Athens and of the Theological School of the University of Belgrade. He received his M.A. in The-ology from St. Vladimir’s Seminary and his Ph.D. from the Atlantic International University (U.S.A.). In 1974 he began writing and since then has written over 50 spiritual books. The publication of his books in Greece has been exclusively undertaken by “Thavor” publications, (www.ekdoseisthavor.blogspot.com) which have been exclusively established for this purpose and for which he exclusively writes. Several of his books have been translated from the Greek language into English and published by www.archangelsbooks.com.
