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Lazarus is the name applied to two separate
characters who appear in the New Testament. One is
the Lazarus of Jesus' parable which appears solely
in Gospel of Luke|Luke (16.19–31). The other
is the Lazarus of the miracle recounted in Gospel
of John|John (11.41–44).  The name, with its
connotation of one miraculously raised from the
dead, as with Lazarus taxa|Lazarus taxon organisms
that reappear after being considered extinct, has
also appeared in modern-day literature and science
fiction.
TOCleft
==The parable of Lazarus==
:Main article Lazarus and Dives. 
In the  Gospel of Luke 16:19-31, Lazarus is the
beggar at the rich man's table, who receives his
reward in the Hereafter, in Abraham's bosom at the
everlasting banquet, while the rich man craves a
drop of water from Lazarus' finger.  The rich man
of the parable is named Dives. For the last
century, "Catholic Exegesis|exegetes now commonly
accept the story as a parable" (CE 1910,
"Lazarus") "The purpose of the parable is to teach
us the evil result of the unwise neglect of one's
opportunities. Lazarus was rewarded, not because
he was poor, but for his virtuous acceptance of
poverty; the rich man was punished, not because he
was rich, but for vicious neglect of the
opportunities given him by his wealth." (ibid). 

==The miracle of Lazarus==
Lazarus is also a man who lived in the town of
Bethany (Israel)|Bethany ("Lazarus from Bethany,
the village of Mary, sister of Lazarus|Mary and
her sister Martha" John 11.1).  The sisters are
immediately identified: "Mary was the one who had
anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his
feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who
was ill." So the sisters sent word to Jesus that
the one he loved was ill. Jesus tarried where he
was, with the result that, when Jesus arrived, he
found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb
for four days, and Martha reproached him. When
Jesus assured her Lazarus would rise, she took his
meaning for the resurrection on Judgment Day, to
which he replied "I am the resurrection and the
life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies,
will live, and everyone who lives and believes in
me will never die." (11.25–26) In the
presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners, Jesus had
the stone rolled away from the tomb and bid
Lazarus to come out, and so he did, still wrapped
in his gravecloths.

The miracle, the longest coherent narrative in
John aside from the Passion, is the climax of
John's "signs" and leads directly to the decision
of Caiphas and the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus. 

According to this gospel, many Jews visited
Lazarus after this and believed in Jesus in part
because of Lazarus' resurrection. The Gospel says
no more of Lazarus.

==The name "Lazarus"== 
The name "Lazarus" is a Latinized form of the
Greek Lazaros, a contraction Eleazaros or
אֶלְעָז&
#1464;ר ("Elohim|God has helped"), in
Standard Hebrew Elʿazar and in Tiberian
Hebrew ʾElʿāzār. In Hebrew,
the Egyptian god Osiris (whose name in
demotic/hieroglyphics is thought to have been
pronounced Aser) is also translated Elaser (from
"El" meaning god and "Aser"). There are several
elements that link the episode of Lazarus with the
story of Osiris being raised from the dead. In the
Bible the raising is placed in "Bethany" (which in
Hebrew can also be "Beth-Anu", "Beth" meaning
"house"), whereas in the Osiris legend, it is
placed in the house of the dead (which in demotic
is a place named "Annu"). This similarity is used
by some scholars to suggest that the Lazarus story
is part of a general body of motifs shared among
mystery religions in the Mediterranean, which
became absorbed into the Jesus story. 


==The developed Lazarus legend==
According to Christian mythology recorded in the
13th century Golden Legend, Lazarus was the
brother of Martha and Mary Magdalene, a Pharisee,
but because of the rumoured plots fled for his
life to Cyprus, where he later became a Christian
bishop and lived another thirty years. Stories say
that he would always include something sweet in
every meal, but that he was only known to laugh
once in that time. That was when he observed
someone stealing a clay pot, causing him to smile
and say with a laugh, "clay stealing clay".
Medieval tradition also sent Mary, Martha, and
Lazarus to France after the Crucifixion, and
pilgrims visited their tombs at the abbey of
Vézelay in Burgundy. In the Abbey of the Trinity
at Vendôme, a phylactery was said to contain a
relic|tear shed by Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus.
The cathedral of Autun, not far away, is dedicated
to Lazarus as Saint Lazaire.

In the section In paradisum, which often appears
embedded in the Requiem, the deceased is wished to
Paradise—In paradisum deducant te
Angeli— with Lazarus, who once was poor (cum
Lazaro quondam paupere), sreminds us how often the
Lazarus of John,  who possessed a rock-cut tomb
and was resurrected has been conflated with the
beggar Lazarus of Luke.

The Legenda Aurea records the grand lifestyle
imagined for Lazarus and his sisters in the 14th
century:
:Mary Magdalene had her surname of Magdalo, a
castle, and was born of right noble lineage and
parents, which were descended of the lineage of
kings. And her father was named Cyrus, and her
mother Eucharis. She with her brother Lazarus, and
her sister Martha, possessed the castle of
Magdalo, which is two miles from Nazareth, and
Bethany, the castle which is nigh to Jerusalem,
and also a great part of Jerusalem, which, all
these things they departed among them. In such
wise that Mary had the castle Magdalo, whereof she
had her name Magdalene. And Lazarus had the part
of the city of Jerusalem, and Martha had to her
part Bethany. And when Mary gave herself to all
delights of the body, and Lazarus entended all to
knighthood, Martha, which was wise, governed nobly
her brother's part and also her sister's, and also
her own, and administered to knights, and her
servants, and to poor men, such necessities as
they needed. Nevertheless, after the ascension of
our Lord, they sold all these things..." —
Legenda Aurea, Book iv, "Of Mary Magdalene".

==Modern age==

Today Lazarus is honored as a saint by Christians
who honor saints. The transfer of his relics from
Cyprus to Constantinople in 898 is remembered each
year on October 17. In Cuba, a major festival is
dedicated to San Lázaro (syncretised with Babalu
Ayé), but on December 17. In the Eastern Orthodox
Church, the Saturday before Palm Sunday is
remembered as "Lazarus Saturday", and the
scripture readings and hymns focus on Lazarus as a
promise of the resurrection of all. In Christian
funerals, the idea of the deceased being raised by
the Lord as Lazarus was raised is expressed in
prayer.

==In entertainment==
In the motion picture The Last Temptation of
Christ, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead but
Lazarus is subsequently murdered by Jewish zealots
who seek to discredit Jesus of Nazareth as the
Messiah.

Other mentions of Lazarus include the Star Trek
episode "Requiem for Methuselah", which
fictionalized Lazarus as an immortal man known as
"Flint", born in the year 39th century BC|3834 BC,
and gifted with immortality through instant
Biological tissue|tissue regeneration. A second
Star Trek character named Lazarus, unrelated to
the historic Lazarus, was portrayed in "The
Alternative Factor" as an insane scientist bent on
destroying the universe. Besides this, Robert A.
Heinlein has a series of novels that feature
someone named Lazarus Long, who possesses an
unnaturally long life span. An episode of the War
of the Worlds (television)|War of the Worlds TV
series titled "The Raising of Lazarus" revolves
around an alien found in a state of suspended
animation that wakes to wreak havoc. A first
season Stargate SG-1 episode is titled "Cold
Lazarus", the title of an earlier futuristic
television drama by Dennis Potter, concerning
resurrection. 

Variations on the Lazarus themes also appear in
other media, such as the Batman series of comic
books. The criminal mastermind Ra's al Ghul
(Arabic language|Arabic for "The Demon's Head")
relies on his "Lazarus Pits" to maintain his
youth, as well as to heal him when injured. 
According to Batman canon, Ra's Al Ghul has been
using these pits for centuries, since his birth in
the middle ages. The comic series X-Men also
includes a reference to Lazarus. The evil mutant
(fictional)|mutant Apocalypse (comics)|Apocalypse
uses his "Lazarus Chamber" to rejuvenate, similar
to the Batman villain.

Also notable is an episode of the Nickelodeon (TV
Channel)|Nickelodeon television series The
Adventures of Pete & Pete. The episode "Field of
Pete" revolves around a mysterious frosty drink
known as the "Orange Lazarus," which causes a
brain freeze so intense it almost kills whomever
drinks it. This episode also makes numerous other
biblical references.

The Lazarus Child is a book by Robert Mawson,
subsequently released as an independent film in
2004, which tells the tale of a young girl rescued
from a comatose state by a doctor depicted as
caring and wise, yet maligned and mistrusted
because of her unorthodox methods. Of note is a
scene in the story where the doctor brings one of
her doubters around by similarly reviving another
child.

Lazarus is also the name of a single released by
Liverpool band the Boo Radleys.

Lazarus is also the name of a single released by
progressive rock band Porcupine Tree in 2005.

In the TV show Charmed the Lazarus Demon (played
by the rapper Coolio) is a demon which comes back
to life repeatedly after being vanquished, unless
buried in a cemetery.

In the 1996 computer game
Diablo_(computer_game)|Diablo, Lazarus is a priest
who was corrupted by Diablo, the lord of Terror,
and compelled to release diablo from the Soulstone
in which he was encased.

==See also==
* Eleazar
* Saint Sarah
* Lazarus taxon
* Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

==External links==
*http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09096a.htm
Catholic Encyclopedia 1910: Lazarus

*http://www.saintlazarus.org Hospitaller Order of
Saint Lazarus