LAZARUS AS A BIBLICAL AND NON-BIBLICAL MOTIF: Lazarus's Effect On Culture Part 4---Conclusion

Some concluding remarks on the Lazarus narrative are as follows: Lazarus is a symbolic figure in the bible and has been utilized far beyond the bible, in other symbolic ways. Lazarus is viewed as a symbolic figure in different ways in different cultures. Lazarus is a unique motif present in the bible and in all art-forms beyond the bible. The two major purposes Lazarus serves as a symbol are: Lazarus as a symbol of resurrection and Lazarus as a symbol of belief and trust. Two other uses of the Lazarus figure are: Lazarus being a witness for Christ and Lazarus being a symbolic figure that represents aspects of God’s mission to humankind through the life and death of Jesus. These purposes are major factors of the reason in which John included the Lazarus narrative in his Gospel. The use of the Lazarus theme outside of the bible vary from art-form to art-form. Lazarus appears as a metaphor for many different themes within literary sources. He is, also, present in the visual arts such as paintings, sculptures and movie films. The symbol of Lazarus is pertinent in music as well and is mainly used in the lyrics of songs, but not so much straightforward instrumental songs. In conclusion, Lazarus has had a profound effect on his culture (around the time of Christ and the early years of the Christian church) as well as our culture.

LAZARUS AS A BIBLICAL AND NON-BIBLICAL MOTIF: Lazarus's Effect On Culture Part 3

Another point that is closely related to the use of the symbol of Lazarus in the literary and art world is the use of Lazarus in the musical world. The Lazarus symbol is found more directly in song lyrics rather than music in it’s naked and raw form. (Although, the Lazarus symbol can be seen in songs with just music itself such as instrumental songs written about Lazarus which usually contain rising metrical notes, but these are merely subdued references to the Lazarus motif and are indirectly connected to the Lazarus narrative itself).
Some hymns may utilize elements of the Lazarus motif, but there are too many hymns which contain hints of the Lazarus theme so for sake of time and space---focusing on the more obscure references to Lazarus in song lyrics is more suitable for a brief survey of how the Lazarus theme has cropped up in non-biblical sources. The first song that comes to mind is the folk song, “Po’ Laz’us.’ Specifically the eighth stanza which says: “Laz’us’ sister run an’ tol her mother.../‘Po’ Laz’us dead, Lawd, Lawd, po’ Laz’us dead.’”# Although this song is about an outlaw named Lazarus, the lines in the eighth
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# - Lomax, 309.

stanza bear a striking resemblance to Mary and Martha’s plea to Jesus. The Lomaxes state about this song: “the ballad takes up the story (of this desperado and in dramatic terms seeks in purpose the issue of)...describing the death of this tough guy with obvious sympathy and in powerfully tragic lines.”#
Another song of interest is the traditional song, ‘In My Time Of Dyin’.’ The main thought of the song is summed up in the first stanza which is as follows:
Well, in my time of dying don't want nobody to mourn
All I want for you to do is take my body home
Well, well, well, so I can die easy
Well, well, well
Well, well, well, so I can die easy
Jesus gonna make up, Jesus gonna make up
Jesus gonna make up my dying bed.#
The Lazarus/Jesus connection comes in full focus in this traditional song. The main purpose in this song is to convey a sense of comfort in knowing that Jesus will meet us when we die. This song reinforces the use of Lazarus as a symbol for the resurrection of believers.
A curious song by Woody Guthrie entitled ‘The Dying Doctor (aka The Company Town Doctor)’has a stanza which conveys the following scene:
I quit my job as the family doctor
I nailed up my shingle and went on my own
I carried my pillbag and waded those waters
I set by a deathbed in many a home.
I saw you catch rainwater in rusty washtubs
I saw you come home dirty up out of your pits
Watched you ride with your coffin up to your graveyard
With not a nickel to pay your burying debt.#
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# - Lomax, 289.

# - My Back Pages: A Closer Look At The Music Of Bob Dylan--- “In My Time Of Dyin’”---http://hem.passagen.se/obrecht/backpages/chords/

# - The Songs Of Woody Guthrie--- http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/3448/dyingdoc.html

This song may suggest a messianic figure and/or possibly a Lazarus type figure. The doctor in the song seems to represent Jesus; on the other hand, the doctor may appear to be the Lazarus figure in the song. Whatever the case may be, there is more depth in the song than appears to be on the surface. It is impossible to take this song on face value alone, but perhaps Guthrie doesn’t expect one to read much into his songs or maybe he does?
Pete Seeger, one of Woody Guthrie’s contemporary, also, takes up the Lazarus theme in a few of his songs. One of which is the following song:
IN DEAD EARNEST

If I should die before I wake,
All my bone and sinew take
Put me in the compost pile
To decompose me for a while.

Worms, water, sun will have their way,
Returning me to common clay
All that I am will feed the trees
And little fishes in the seas.

When radishes and corn you munch,
You may be having me for lunch
And then excrete me with a grin,
Chortling, "There goes Lee again."

'Twill be my happiest destiny
To die and live eternally.#
This song is one that infers the resurrection of believers in a satirical joke which pokes fun at death and dying in a very dark comical way. Seeger only contributed to the
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Pete Seeger’s Songs--- http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JimCapaldi/indeadearnest.htm

music of this song, but Seeger’s ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ is another song that makes an indirect connection to the Lazarus motif. This connection is seen in the lines: “Where have all the graveyards gone?/Gone to flowers, everyone.”# Here again is the presence of the recurrent theme in John and the bible as a whole of the resurrection of believers, this theme is also represented in the Lazarus figure as stated elsewhere here. The connection in this song with Lazarus and the resurrection of believers, again, is only one of indirectness and only can be seen if reflected upon hard enough.
Bob Dylan, a disciple of Woody Guthrie, utilizes the Lazarus theme in several different ways. In, the song, ‘Oh, Sister,’ Dylan expresses the theme of resurrection in the following verses: “We grew up together/From the cradle to the grave/We died and were reborn/And then mysteriously saved.”# This emphasizes the element of salvation present in Christian resurrection. Dylan’s ‘In The Garden’ conveys a different message dealing with elements of the Lazarus motif. “Nicodemus came at night so he wouldn't be seen by men/Saying, ‘Master, tell me why a man must be born again.’.../...When He (Jesus) rose from the dead, did they believe?”# These verses seem to get at the heart of Dylan’s Lazarus connection. The born again motif echoes resurrection themes and Christ’s ascension to Heaven is the way in which most Christians view the resurrection of Christians. ‘Saving Grace’ off of the same album, Saved, states: “Well, the death of life,
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# - Pete Seeger’s Songs--- http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JimCapaldi/WhereHaveFlowers.htm

# - Dylan, 382.

# - Dylan, 448.

then come the resurrection/Wherever I am welcome is where I’ll be.” In this statement, Dylan reiterates the themes that he plays around with in the previously mentioned song. “Dead man, dead man/When will you arise?/Cobwebs in your mind/Dust upon your eyes.”# The chorus of the song, ‘Dead Man, Dead Man’ by Bob Dylan directly communicates a connection with the Lazarus story. The “When will you arise?” line echoes Jesus’ statement: “wake up (or) Lazarus, come forth.” The word ‘arise’ is a clever pun on resurrection and the arisen Christ. The whole of this song is a statement pointed to non-believers, especially the ones whom are politicians, which calls non-believers to wake up.
A song that Sting did a song entitled ‘Lazarus Heart, ’ which shifts the focus away from using the metaphor of Lazarus as a Christian theme. In some essence a messianic figure is present in the lyrics, but in a more secular way. The refrained chorus of the song is as follows:
Every day another miracle
Only death will keep us apart
To sacrifice a life for yours
I'd be the blood of the Lazarus heart
The blood of the Lazarus heart.#
This refrain suggests that in human love we become like Lazarus through self-sacrifice; in turn, this reiterates the messianic theme in the song. Jesus sacrificed Himself for others and so should we for others.
In a Woody Guthriesque song, Bruce Springsteen (the Boss) writes the following
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# - Dylan, 459.

# - Sting Lyrics--- http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sting/lazarusheart.html

lines:
The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land.#
Underneath those lines, death is the main theme, as well, death is seen as the main theme for the whole of the song. The Lazarus connection is seen in the line: “The highway is alive tonight, “ because Lazarus was made alive, but this may just be wishful thinking connection wise being that highways are generally alive anyways. The other connections are eerie and reflect the Boss’s obsession with folk music, because folk songs normally display religion in darker terms than we think about.
Cat Stevens, one of the most prolific songwriters of the twentieth century and perhaps the VERY BEST, also, uses the Lazarus motif in more obscure and indirect references. The song, ‘Tuesday’s Dead’ has the following lyrics:
If I make a mark in time, I can't say the mark is mine.
I'm only the underline of the word.
Yes, I'm like him, just like you, I can't tell you what to do.
Like everybody else I'm searching thru what I've heard.

(Refrain): Whoa, Where do you go? When you don't want no one to know?
Who told tomorrow Tuesday's dead

Oh preacher won't you paint my dream, won't you show me where you've been
Show me what I haven't seen to ease my mind.
Cause I will learn to understand, if I have a helping hand.
I wouldn't make another demand all my life.
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# - Bruce Springsteen Lyrics--- http://www.xs4all.nl/~maroen/engels/bruce.html

What's my sex, what's my name, all in all it's all the same.
Everybody plays a different game, that is all.
Now, man may live, man may die searching for the question why.
But if he tries to rule the sky he must fall.

Now every second on the nose, the humdrum of the city grows.
Reaching out beyond the throes of our time.
We must try to shake it down. Do our best to break the ground.
Try to turn the world around one more time.
Yeah, we must try to shake it down do our best to break the ground
Try to turn the world around one more time.#
This song uses the Lazarus metaphor in a more uncontrolled manner, possibly in order to show the spiritual confusion that Cat Stevens was experiencing at the time when he wrote this song. The verse: “Reaching out beyond the throes of our time” possibly suggests what is to come in the next life and ‘break the ground’ lyric conveys a sense of spiritual angst towards sin and how to break free from it. The answer to this of course is faith in Jesus, in which we receive the gift of resurrection. (However, Cat Stevens looks at this song in retrospect and sees it as one of the many cobblestones that was laid in his journey to his conversion to Islam and changing his name to Yusuf Islam thereafter).
Another song of his, ‘Sitting’ was written at an even more spiritually confusing time in his life. He knows he is bound to die someday and he needs to know the answer to what lies beyond death and the answer to the key to the universe and the purpose of life, etc. The same old questions that plague all of our minds at some point in our lives. Lazarus as a motif shows up in this song in a few of the pun-like words. (For these see the full song lyrics for ‘Sitting’ under the Presentation heading). One other example from Cat Stevens which plays with the Lazarus symbol is the song ‘King Of Trees’ off of the
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# - Cat Stevens.Com--- http://catstevens.com/discography/songs/00112.html

Buddha And The Chocolate Box album. Specifically these lines relate to Lazarus’ connection with the resurrection of Christ and His people:
And if my mind breaks up
In all so many ways
I know the meaning of
The words I love you
And if my body falls inside
An early grave
The forest and the evergreens
Are coming to take me back
So slowly as I roll
Down the track.#
These lines speak specifically and very directly of a resurrection of some sort. The ‘King of Trees’ of the title on a more indirect level could be a metaphor for Jesus as He is hanging on the cross, but glancing at the rest of the song it seems to be merely conveying as sense of salvation through nature which several classic poets and authors played with. The resurrection reference is referred to in the lines: “The forests and the evergreens/Are coming to take me back.”
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# - Cat Stevens.Com--- http://catstevens.com/discography/songs/00015.html

LAZARUS AS A BIBLICAL AND NON-BIBLICAL MOTIF: Lazarus's Effect On Culture Part 2

Another way that Lazarus is used as a symbol in a non-biblical context is through the medium of works of art (paintings, sculpture and other visual arts). Here are twelve different paintings from the 400s A.D. to the 20th century which show Lazarus and artists’ interpretations of the Lazarus character:
(Raising of Lazarus, Ivory Carving, 400's A.D. Faith Central, New Zealand.) This ivory carving by an unknown artist is one of the earliest artistic interpretations on the raising of Lazarus. In this carving, Lazarus is seen in a shroud which was the common burial custom of Jesus’ day. The message in this work of art is to show the mystical elements of Christ’s divinity which is clearly shown by the rod that he holds in His hand. The raising of Lazarus for many can be seen as a magical moment in Jesus’ ministry. Lazarus’ symbolic function in this carving comes across as being that he was merely another person involved in one of Jesus’ miracles.

(Scenes from the Life of Christ: 9. Raising of Lazarus, Giotto di Bondone, 1304-1306. Web Gallery of Art.) In this painting by Bondone, Lazarus is seen in a funeral wrap, but is shown with a halo crowning his head. This seems to suggest the symbolism as Lazarus being a believer in Christ. Bondone actually did more than one painting of the raising of Lazarus which suggests that he was aware of the significance of this event and it’s inclusion in John’s Gospel. In Bondone’s other painting of this scene, the scene is basically set up in the same way as this painting interprets it.

(St Lazarus between Martha and Mary, Unknown Spanish, c 1490. Web Gallery of Art.) In this painting by an unknown Spanish artist, Lazarus is seen fully raised between two women considered to be Mary and Martha. The title of the painting ‘St. Lazarus between Martha and Mary’ seems to be evidence that whoever the artist may be was in the faction of believers whom believed that Lazarus was the ‘Beloved Disciple.’ The title’s link between Lazarus and the sainthood raises the possibility to this belief.

(The Resurrection of Lazarus, Sebastiano del Piombo, 1517-19. Web Gallery of Art.) Piombo’s painting displays a different take on the raising of Lazarus all together, in the way that he sets the scene up. Lazarus is shown still being weak from death and smelling of death. Sebastiano del Piombo uses his interpretation of the Lazarus scene to show the disbelief of several members of the crowd assembled at scene and by doing this he shows that Lazarus was an important figure in Jesus’ ministry. Piombo captures all the elements of sensations (sight, smell, sound and feeling) present at the raising of Lazarus by his use of colors and motion in the painting. It is a lively interpretation of Lazarus’ resuscitation.

(The Raising of Lazarus, Rembrandt, 1630. Web Gallery of Art.) Rembrandt’s painting of Lazarus being raised has an eerie like presence to it. It seems to depict the seen in a more Gothic manner than the other artists’ interpretations. Whatever the case may be with why Rembrandt chose to interpret this scene in this particular way doesn’t really matter---this painting still has relevance for viewing the Lazarus motif used in the art world. Perhaps the main reason why this painting is puzzling is the meaning of the painting to individual interpreters as opposed to the meaning of the painting to the artist---one suggestion may be that he is trying to play with humankind’s fascination/obsession with death and what comes after death.

(The Raising of Lazarus (etching), Rembrandt, 1632. Olga's Gallery.) Here is another work of art by Rembrandt which clearly gives further evidence that Rembrandt may have planned to interpret the raising of Lazarus in a rather Gothic light in order to convey a more concrete image of ancient tombs. This etching of Rembrandt’s shows the raising of Lazarus from a different perspective and with the absence of color displays the darkness of a tomb. The use of blank white space symbolizes the light Lazarus may have seen after being dead for however long he was dead till Jesus raised him.

(The Resurrection of Lazarus, Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet, CGFA, 1706, canvas, Musée du Louvre, Paris.) This is an interesting painting, because it appears to show two men raised from the dead (unless I am mistaken). Jouvenet seems to be interested in the same aspects of the Lazarus scene as Piombo was with his use of stimulating several sensations all at once to transport the person whom looks at this painting to the scene of Lazarus’ raising itself. Jouvenet recognizes the importance of the symbolic Lazarus figure too which also links him with Piombo’s thinking.

( The Raising of Lazarus, William Blake, c 1800. Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums.) William Blake was not only a GREAT classic poet, but an artist as well---in this impression of Lazarus being raised from the dead, Blake offers a glimpse of the holy aspect of the miracle of the Lazarus scene in John. In this portrait, Blake’s main goal is to portray the divine and the messianic features of Christ. Blake, also, utilizes the Lazarus theme in several poems of his. Blake has an interest in religious themes in general and plays around with them in his poetry and artwork though his poetry gives him better grounds to play with and develop his use of religious themes.

{The Raising of Lazarus, Gustav Dore, 1865. Felix Just's "Gospel of John" site. [The inscription under the picture itself states: “Resurrection Of Lazarus--- And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.... (John 11:43)”].} Dore did a whole study of the major scenes in the 4th Gospel in black and white. This was one among the many biblical interpretations that he did. Once again, the absence of color suggests the way an ancient tomb would seem to those who entered it. Lazarus is covered in a ghost-like shroud which represents the spiritual resurrection of believers.

(The Raising of Lazarus (After Rembrandt), Vincent Van Gogh, 1890.) Van Gogh’s study of the Lazarus narrative is a focused study of Rembrandt’s painting. The focal point seems to be the relationship between Jesus and Lazarus in the narrative and beyond the narrative itself. The vibrant usage of color in Van Gogh’s painting represents the light and warmth felt when in Jesus’ presence and also the feeling Lazarus must have had after being risen.

(Lazarus, William Congdon, 1961. Christus Rex.) William Congdon’s interpretation of the Lazarus symbol is more of an avant-garde artistic approach. Lazarus is clothed in a purple shroud which represents his resurrection. (One side note: purple in many cultures of the ancient world was a symbol of royalty. For example: Roman emperors had purple stripes on their togas and wore purple cape-like cloaks over them. {This is why Jesus is seen in a purple robe in some artists’ depictions of Him.} Other colors were representative of other ranks of status held by Roman citizens.). Jesus is the white blob to the left which shows that He is ‘the Light.’ Congdon displays the Lazarus scene in an Impressionistic style, eventhough it is rather avant-garde---it still echoes the more classic styles of art. Congdon is trying to emphasize that the main importance of the Lazarus narrative is the relationship between Jesus and Lazarus. This is what made the narrative important and for that reason alone the reader is impacted.

(The Raising of Lazarus, Alfred Leslie, 1975. Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Oil on Canvas, Leslie is an American artist born in 1927.) Leslie’s approach to the Lazarus text brings to mind various mummy movies more than it does the Lazarus text, but nevertheless is representative of a more modern artistic interpretation of the Lazarus symbol. Leslie takes a bold approach in his rendering of the Lazarus story, but shows the person who looks at this painting that Lazarus was just another dead man before Jesus came along. Likewise, before a person accepts Jesus into their lives, they are just another person dead to themselves until the moment that they receive Christ.

Lazarus appears to be in more paintings than sculptures and motion pictures, but is represented in those fields in more subtle manners. Some examples of sculptures in which the Lazarus symbol can be found are: the sculptures of Christ’s ascension and the sculptures which represent the Greco-Roman views of the gods or other divine beings raising the dead. Some film examples are: the appearance of Lazarus in movies about Christ or the bible, horror films and more artsy films.

LAZARUS AS A BIBLICAL AND NON-BIBLICAL MOTIF: Lazarus's Effect On Culture Part 1

Lazarus has a profound effect on the world of literature and art, in several different ways depending on the interpretation of the writer or the artist. The Lazarus symbol is taken in light of the personal meaning of the Lazarus figure to the writer or artist. Several examples of the use of Lazarus in the world of literature and art are given below. These represent the different arts and the different interpretations of Lazarus as a motif in these different styles of the different universal arts.
Lazarus can be seen as a symbol in several literary works. T. S. Eliot writes of the Lazarus symbol in two of his poems, at least. In the one where he mentions Lazarus’ name, he mistakes the Lazarus that was raised for the Lazarus in Jesus’ parable. Arthur Rimbaud echoes the Lazarus theme in the lines: “...Soldiers whom Death, unflinching Lover, has sown/In our wasted furrows, to flourish again...”# In this passage, the resurrection comes to mind in the line about flourishing again. Poe, most likely dealt with the Lazarus motif, no doubt because the Gothic Romantics were obsessed with the idea of death and the concept of dying. ‘Annabel Lee’ is an example of where this can be found, only she doesn’t come back. She is dead for good. Other literary figures have dealt with the theme of Lazarus, but for sake of time and space, these few examples will have to do. (Side-Note: Nick Drake was a folk-singer from the late 60s to the early 70s who seems to have been influenced by Gothicism and Romanticism, because he has a grim view of life and death).
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# - Rimbaud, 40.

LAZARUS AS A BIBLICAL AND NON-BIBLICAL MOTIF: Main Biblical Point

Lazarus is used as a symbol in the bible in relationship to the believer of Christ. Lazarus if he is the ‘Beloved Disciple’ then a possible interpretation on the symbolism of Lazarus is that he represents the mature Christian. Another way of saying this is that he represents what God wishes us to become. Wardlaw deals with arguments concerning the resurrection of Jesus and the dead in his book. In it he suggests that the transformation of the Christian is part of the resurrective process of life. Here resurrection is a state of becoming. (See Chapter 4 in this book for more details).#
Lazarus is used as a witness for Jesus and is used in the context of the other Gospels as a major facet in the cause for Jesus being crucified. As already discussed, this issue is sometimes misinterpreted. Another issue that goes hand and hand with this one is the issue of the ‘Beloved Disciple’ as mentioned above. If Lazarus was that important and was the so called ‘Beloved Disciple’ then why did it take so long for Jesus
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# - Wardlaw, 128ff. (Loosely Paraphrased)

to arrive on the scene? In the NIV Bible Commentary there is a statement that says that Jesus took four days to arrive on scene and resurrect Lazarus.# This leads into the main viewpoint of which Lazarus is seen as symbolizing in which the majority of scholars have taken but seem to differ on the way they see it.
Lazarus is also viewed as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Also, in conjunction with Lazarus being used as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection , Lazarus is also viewed as a symbol of the resurrection of believers or eternal life. Fairhairn discusses the Greco-Roman views of resurrection on pages 338-339 in Typology of Scripture. In this book, it is evident that Lazarus is used symbolically in a way to illustrate true resurrection as opposed to the heretical interpretations of resurrection taught in John’s day. Ramsey and his co-author’s say that: “before his death Jesus and his disciples were spared the Problem that has bothered men ever since, even down to the recent publication of a teacher in this (Niebuhr’s) school, the relationship of a resurrection conceived as a historical event to future theological belief.” # Lewis goes on to put the theme of Lazarus in a different light: “the Raising of Lazarus differs from the Resurrection of Christ Himself, because Lazarus, so far as we know was not raised to a more glorious mode of existence, but merely restored to the sort of life he had before.”#
Lazarus’ effect on culture beyond the biblical context can be found in the
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# - Barker, 324. (Loosely Paraphrased)

# - Ramsey, 91.

# - Lewis, 180.

relationship between the readers and their interpretation of the text. This is an extension of the biblical context and leads into the context of application of the biblical text. The Lazarus figure is a symbol outside of his biblical usage which is particularly evident in poetry and in the way we view are Christian life. An example of Lazarus being utilized as a way of viewing our Christian life is how we have nothing to fear about death because Christ has been there and conquered it and will be there for us when it is our time to face death. This is one of the reasons why Lazarus (the symbol) was important in his day as well as ours.
The symbolic figure of Lazarus was important in biblical times and is just as important in today’s time, because of this device’s effect on the readers and those who heard the Lazarus narrative. The usage of this device varies from biblical times compared to our times though with not much difference in the main emphasis of the symbol. The Lazarus narrative is mainly seen as a metaphor for the resurrection of the dead on both sides of the time spectrum---meaning the past and now. One way that Lazarus as a symbol is expressed now is through the literary, musical and visual arts.

LAZARUS AS A BIBLICAL AND NON-BIBLICAL MOTIF: Thesis, Intro And Background---Biblical Matters

Thesis Statement: Lazarus is viewed as a symbolic figure in the context of the bible and in non-biblical sources.

Lazarus is an interesting figure of the bible in the fact that the narrative about him suggests that he serves two different main purposes. These two main purposes are: Lazarus being a witness for Christ and Lazarus being a symbolic figure that represents aspects of God’s mission to humankind through the life and death of Jesus. These purposes are major factors of the reason in which John included the Lazarus narrative in his Gospel. Lazarus is also viewed as a symbol outside of the biblical context of the narrative about him as well. Lazarus appears as a metaphor for many different themes within literary sources. He also is utilized in art in more indirect and subtle ways. The symbol of Lazarus creeps up into music as well---mainly the lyrics of songs and not so much straightforward instrumental songs.
Some background on the Lazarus figure can be found not just in John, but in the synoptic Gospels as well. Arthur C. Headlam, in his book on the miracles of the New Testament, portrays the synoptic Gospels as watering down the Lazarus narrative. He states that the differences between the synoptic accounts of the Lazarus narrative from the Johannine account makes the synoptic accounts seem rather unbelievable.# The most reliable source for a background on the Lazarus narrative if this is the case then is the Gospel of John. The text itself is the main way to gain an accurate background on the Lazarus story.
The placement of the Lazarus narrative in the Gospel of John is in the eleventh chapter of John in most bibles (pretty much all of them). The Lazarus narrative seems to be the last of the major miracles of Jesus before the Passion takes place. According to Maclaren, “the series of Our Lord’s miracles before the Passion, as recorded in this Gospel, is fitly closed with the raising of Lazarus.”# Another important
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# - Headlam, 226. (Loosely Paraphrased)

# - Maclaren, 98.

facet of the Lazarus story goes hand and hand with the placement of the Lazarus narrative in John’s Gospel. This is the number of times Lazarus is mentioned in the bible and the importance that that has on one’s reading of the Lazarus narrative.
The number of times Lazarus is mentioned in the bible conveys the message that their are two different Lazarus figures in the bible. Lazarus is mentioned in all four Gospels, but functions in different ways each time he is mentioned. Lazarus is found in a parable of Jesus as well as the narrative about the raising of Lazarus. These two figures could possibly be the same person, but most scholars believe that they are two different figures. The figure of Lazarus mentioned in the parable could possibly be a fictional character. The only mention of Lazarus in New Nave’s Topical Bible is in connection with sickness and death with a resurrection. He is, also, mentioned as being Mary and Martha’s brother. Who knows whether or not these two different Lazarus figures are the same or not? This is a question that can only be answered by Jesus Himself.
Lazarus is considered as a possibility for being the ‘Beloved Disciple.’ Some biblical scholars have set up several arguments to point towards this question. It is unclear, however, whether or not a valid case can be used to find the truth of this matter. This is another one of those questions which only Jesus Himself can answer. There are several factors which lead to Lazarus being considered as a possible candidate for the title of ‘Beloved Disciple’ though. Some of which are pointed out below.
Several factors pointing to Lazarus as ‘Beloved Disciple’ are: Lazarus being a witness to Jesus’ power and the fact that Jesus says that He loved Lazarus. These two examples seem to point to Lazarus as being a possible choice for the ‘Beloved Disciple’ which John mentions in His Gospel. This could come into one of the reasons that Lazarus was so important to John’s Gospel or it could also suggest a possible reason why Lazarus for the synoptic Gospels is seen as the cause for the plans to put Jesus to death. Headlam says that Lazarus is sometimes misrepresented as a premature burial, which may help clear up a reason why Lazarus wasn’t a part of the cause of Jesus’ death nor was the ‘Beloved Disciple.’#
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# - Headlam, 334. (Loosely Paraphrased)