Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for
your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe;
nevertheless let us go unto him. Jesus therefore again groaning in
himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that
was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath
been _dead_ four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee,
that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Then they took away the stone _from the place_ where the dead was
laid. And Jesus lifted up _his_ eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee
that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but
because of the people which stand by I said _it_, that they may
believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried
with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came
forth.--_St. John xi: 14., 15,38-44._
* * * * *
_NOTE BY THE ARTIST_
_The painting illustrates a form of rock-cut tomb which, though not
so common as others in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, is nevertheless
selected as being in accordance with the description of what took
place in the present instance. It is obviously the type of tomb which
is referred to on a subsequent occasion, and explains the meaning of
"the stone rolled away from the sepulchre" The entrance of the tomb
is at the bottom of a flight of steps, and is covered by a
disc-shaped stone, like a mill-stone, which can be rolled back into a
slot cut in the rock for its reception. (The kneeling man in the
background has apparently just performed this duty?) The entrance is
closed by rolling the stone forward, dropping a small block behind it
to prevent its recession, and finally by covering the
before-mentioned slot with a slab, which, being cemented down, the
tomb is "sealed."_