I have for years promoted the idea that Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead was a developmentally disabled man. Though I never saw this idea in any authority, it seems to me to fit too well with the Scriptures to ignore. Deciding to write down the reasons why I think it is so consonant with the Bible, I began to research whether anyone else had ever argued similarly. Unfortunately, I found what was worse than no support: the same idea was put forward not too long ago by the sort of person whose reputation is so ruined that it calls into question anything he said. I do not intend to give up the theory merely because that man also had it, but I thought it necessary to mention this briefly to put aside any link between this theory and that man.
Thanks for your article. This morning I was reading this story in preparation for a Bible study and got stuck on verse 3: 'the one you love is ill'. It struck me as odd, since in John's gospel, John is the disciple Jesus loved. Why did it describe Lazarus in that way - a character who was the beneficiary of such an incredible miracle, but otherwise has no agency in the rest of Scripture? What was so special about this family that 11:5 says 'Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus'?
As I thought through the options, I began to picture in my mind a man who had Downs Syndrome, and all the rest of the passage suddenly made a lot more sense, as did the lack of mention of him by the other gospel writers. What an incredible love Jesus had for someone society would not have cared for at all.
It also throws up some interesting questions about the story of Mary & Martha. Was Mary also special needs in some way, or was she just overwhelmed with the fact that someone so important would care so much for her disabled brother? Either way, the perfume on the feet story makes a lot more sense, too.
It was after I had put a few of these thoughts together that I searched to see if anyone else had written about this idea or if I was going off piste somewhere. Your article pulled together a really convincing argument for the story behind the story. So, thanks for confirming my thoughts.
The website won't allow me to comment anywhere without paying, so I will make my heart known here. Your entire first paragraph on what you think needs to be done to Father Louis Leonelli makes me question how competent your bishop was/is in ordaining you. The Community needs reform. The Catholic Church needs reform. Your thoughts on his warranted public humiliation are sinful and sickening.
You missed another one. In John 11:37, some ask, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" I don't think this is merely about healing a sickness. This reference is to the man born blind in John 9, where we hear that none have healed someone blind from birth (Jn 9:32). As we know with some who are born developmentally disabled, they die younger than average. Their question seems to imply that Lazarus was born with some condition, and that the condition caused him to die too soon.
Thanks for your article. This morning I was reading this story in preparation for a Bible study and got stuck on verse 3: 'the one you love is ill'. It struck me as odd, since in John's gospel, John is the disciple Jesus loved. Why did it describe Lazarus in that way - a character who was the beneficiary of such an incredible miracle, but otherwise has no agency in the rest of Scripture? What was so special about this family that 11:5 says 'Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus'?
As I thought through the options, I began to picture in my mind a man who had Downs Syndrome, and all the rest of the passage suddenly made a lot more sense, as did the lack of mention of him by the other gospel writers. What an incredible love Jesus had for someone society would not have cared for at all.
It also throws up some interesting questions about the story of Mary & Martha. Was Mary also special needs in some way, or was she just overwhelmed with the fact that someone so important would care so much for her disabled brother? Either way, the perfume on the feet story makes a lot more sense, too.
It was after I had put a few of these thoughts together that I searched to see if anyone else had written about this idea or if I was going off piste somewhere. Your article pulled together a really convincing argument for the story behind the story. So, thanks for confirming my thoughts.
The website won't allow me to comment anywhere without paying, so I will make my heart known here. Your entire first paragraph on what you think needs to be done to Father Louis Leonelli makes me question how competent your bishop was/is in ordaining you. The Community needs reform. The Catholic Church needs reform. Your thoughts on his warranted public humiliation are sinful and sickening.
You missed another one. In John 11:37, some ask, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" I don't think this is merely about healing a sickness. This reference is to the man born blind in John 9, where we hear that none have healed someone blind from birth (Jn 9:32). As we know with some who are born developmentally disabled, they die younger than average. Their question seems to imply that Lazarus was born with some condition, and that the condition caused him to die too soon.