Other Resurrections Performed by Jesus in Gospels
Beyond his own resurrection, which is a cardinal doctrine of the gospel [1], Jesus performed several other resurrections during his earthly ministry, as recorded in the Gospels [3]. These miracles served as powerful demonstrations of his divine authority and his power over death.
One notable instance is the raising of Jairus's daughter, found in Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8. Jairus, a synagogue official, pleaded with Jesus to heal his dying daughter. Though she died before Jesus arrived, Jesus entered the house and, taking her hand, commanded her to rise, and she was immediately restored to life. This event, like other resurrections, often occurred before a large number of witnesses [4].
Another significant resurrection is that of the widow's son at Nain, recorded in Luke 7. As Jesus approached the town, he encountered a funeral procession for the only son of a widow. Moved with compassion, Jesus touched the coffin and commanded, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. This miracle, too, was witnessed by many [4].
The most extensively detailed resurrection performed by Jesus is that of Lazarus, recounted in John 11. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived in Bethany. Despite the decay that would have set in, Jesus commanded the stone to be rolled away from the tomb and called out, "Lazarus, come forth!" Lazarus emerged from the tomb, still bound in grave clothes. This miracle is considered a foremost event in the preaching of Christ's power, demonstrating that he who made man could also raise him [7, 8]. The resurrection of Lazarus led many who witnessed it to believe in Jesus, though some reported it to the Pharisees [4].
These resurrections, while distinct from Jesus's own resurrection, which involved his glorified body [9], foreshadowed his ultimate victory over death. The early church fathers, such as Tertullian and Origen, acknowledged these miracles, even noting that critics like Celsus attributed them to sorcery rather than divine power [5]. Augustine also reflected on the difference between Lazarus's resurrection and Christ's, noting that Lazarus was raised to mortal life, while Christ was raised to an immortal one [9]. The Gospels record that Jesus performed "many other signs" beyond those specifically detailed, particularly after his own resurrection [6, 2].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Resurrection of Christ — One of the cardinal facts and doctrines of the gospel. If Christ be not risen, our faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:14). The whole of the New Testament revelation rests on this as an historical fact. On the day of Pentecost Peter argued the necessity of Christ's resurrection from the prediction in Ps. 16 (Acts 2:24-28). In his own discourses, also, our Lord clearly intimates his resurrection (Matt. 20:19; Mark 9:9; 14:28; Luke 18:33; John 2:19-22). The evangelists give circumstantial accounts of the facts connected with that event, and the apostles, ”
- John “John 21:14 (Geneva1599) — This is now the third time that Iesus shewed himselfe to his disciples, after that he was risen againe from the dead.”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Gospels — The name Gospel (from god and spell, Ang. Sax. good message or news, which is a translation of the Greek euaggelion) is applied to the four inspired histories of the life and teaching of Christ contained in the New Testament, of which separate accounts are given in their place. They were all composed during the latter half of the first century: those of St. Matthew and St. Mark some years before the destruction of Jerusalem; that of St. Luke probably about A.D. 64; and that of St. John towards the close of the century. Before the end of the second century, t”
- John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on John 11:45: many . . . which . . . had seen . . . believed . . . But some . . . went . . . to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done--the two classes which continually reappear in the Gospel history; nor is there ever any great work of God which does not produce both. "It is remarkable that on each of the three occasions on which our Lord raised the dead, a large number of persons was assembled. In two instances, the resurrection of the widow's son and of Lazarus, these were all witnesses of the miracle; in the third (of Jairus' daughter) they were necessa”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. XLVIII. (part 1): Celsus, moreover, unable to resist the miracles which Jesus is recorded to have performed, has already on several occasions spoken of them slanderously as works of sorcery; and we also on several occasions have, to the best of our ability, replied to his statements. And now he represents us as saying that "we deemed Jesus to be the Son of God, because he healed the lame and the blind." And he adds: "Moreover, as you assert, he raised the dead." That He healed the lame and the blind, and that therefore we hold”
- John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 20:30: And many other signs truly did Jesus,.... Besides these wonderful appearances to his disciples once and again, when the doors were shut about them: and which signs refer not to what was done before, but after his resurrection; and which he did, in the presence of his disciples; for he appeared to, and conversed with no other but them after his resurrection: which are not written in this book; of John's Gospel; though they may be elsewhere; such as his appearing to the two disciples going to Emmaus, and to the eleven on a mountain in Galilee, and to five hundred bre”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XI. 1--54. (part 1): 1. Among all the miracles wrought by our Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of Lazarus holds a foremost place in preaching. But if we consider attentively who did it, our duty is to rejoice rather than to wonder. A man was raised up by Him who made man: for He is the only One of the Father, by whom, as you know, all things were made. And if all things were made by Him, what wonder is it that one was raised by Him, when so many are daily brought into the world by His power? It is a greater deed to create men than to raise”
- John (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on John 11 (introduction): In this chapter we have the history of that illustrious miracle which Christ wrought a little before his death - the raising of Lazarus to life, which is recorded only by this evangelist; for the other three confine themselves to what Christ did in Galilee, where he resided most, and scarcely ever carried their history into Jerusalem till the passion-week: whereas John's memoirs relate chiefly to what passed at Jerusalem; this passage therefore was reserved for his pen. Some suggest that, when the other evangelists wrote, Lazarus was alive, and it would”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — TO DEOGRATIAS, MY BROTHER IN ALL SINCERITY, AND MY FELLOW-PRESBYTER, AUGUSTIN SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD. (part 2): two kinds of resurrection corresponds to that which is promised to us? is it that of Christ, or that of Lazarus ? They say, "If the former, how can this correspond with the resurrection of those who have been born by ordinary generations, seeing that He was not thus born ? 3 If, on the other hand, the resurrection of Lazarus is said to correspond to ours, here also there seems to be a discrepancy, since the resurrection of Lazarus w”