Bible Study for Saturday, April 25th, 2026
The Raising of Lazarus
This week’s Lesson Sermon Subject: Probation After Death
Click here to play the audio as you read:
Bible Study Questions and Readings
Each life has its silent sorrow;
All grief its bright to-morrow;
Each home its unseen, heavy cross;
Each heart its plenty, after loss;
Each day its promise rich.
Then rise, my heart, to levels high!
Though days seem dark, thy God is nigh
His brooding love is over all,
And, held by Him, I cannot fall.
Then to the winds I cast my fears,
And, looking to the eternal years,
I leave the dreamland of the past,
And, rising heavenward, sure and fast,
To heights of sinlessness attain,
And thus my Paradise regain.
“Fear Not, Trust, and Be Undismayed” from Poems and Verses by Carol Norton (link), page 21
Topic: Trust
Moderator: Thomas from NY
Text: John 11 : 1-57 (link)
Questions:
- Where is Bethany? What is the significance of Bethany in the life of Jesus?
- How should we speak of problems? — “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” (John 11:11)
- How do you maintain trust in God when there seems to be a delay? — “When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.” (John 11:6)
- Is a healing ever beyond hope? — “Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.” (John 11:39)
Notes from the Discussion
Who was Carol Norton?
Carol Norton (1869–1904): A male Christian Science practitioner, lecturer, and writer. He was a relative of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and one of the first five lecturers appointed to the Christian Science Board of Lectureship by Mary Baker Eddy in 1898. He died young, leaving behind a legacy of writings in the Christian Science Journal.
Is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow related to Samuel Longfellow?
Yes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Samuel Longfellow were brothers. Henry was the elder, born in 1807, while Samuel was born in 1819, making him ten years younger.
Samuel Longfellow was a Unitarian minister and the author of an early biography of his famous poet brother. While Henry was widely recognized as the greater poet, Samuel was considered the greater hymnist, having compiled the influential “Book of Hymns” in 1840 and writing numerous hymns, including one for the ordination of Henry’s friend Edward Everett Hale.
Biography, from Longyear Museum
CAROL NORTON, a relative of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was born and raised in Eastport, Maine, where he received most of his education. After further study in New York, Carol entered the business world at an early age, achieving marked success. He failed in his quest for satisfying religious teaching, however. III health placed him under the care of several physicians whose help was without avail, and “as a last resort” he turned to Christian Science. Mr. Norton’s health was fully restored in one treatment, but he chiefly rejoiced because he had finally found the Truth. He devoted himself wholly to the furtherance of this religion, and by 1891 was an active worker in the New York City Christian Science Institute.
In 1894, he received seven lessons in Christian Science from Mary Baker Eddy and two years later his name appeared as a practitioner in The Christian Science Journal. Mrs. Eddy invited him to attend her last class taught in 1898 and awarded him the degree of C.S.D. Carol Norton was a gifted speaker, and that same year was appointed by Mrs. Eddy to become one of the first five lecturers on the newly formed Christian Science Board of Lectureship. A devout student, Carol Norton had endeared himself to Mrs. Eddy through his loving nature, strong moral character, writing and speaking ability, and appreciation of womanhood, thus she clearly considered him to be an exceptional young man. Perhaps his most enduring contribution to the Cause of Christian Science was as a writer. Twenty-five of his articles and poems were printed in the Christian Science Journal between 1892 and 1904.
Bethany was a village in Judea about two miles east of Jerusalem (John 11:18), a distance considered a “Sabbath day’s journey” (Acts 1:12). Bethany was situated on the well-traveled road to Jericho. Some scholars think Bethany was more like a modern subdivision or a neighborhood rather than an entire town. The edges of Bethany reached to the Mount of Olives and also bordered Bethphage, a suburb of Jerusalem.
Bethany is probably best known for being the hometown of Jesus’ good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Bethany was the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1, 41–44), it was the home of Simon the leper (Mark 14:3–10), and it was the place where Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume (Matthew 26:6–13). Other references to Bethany are Mark 11:1 and Luke 19:29, which describe the preparations for Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the cursing of the fig tree in Mark 11:11–13, and the place where Jesus stayed overnight during His final week of earthly ministry, between His triumphal entry and His crucifixion (Matthew 21:17).
The name Bethany is translated by some to mean “house of figs,” as there are many fig trees and palms in the area; others translate it as “house of misery,” speculating that Bethany was a designated place for the sick and those with contagious diseases.
Bethany is also significant as the place near which Christ ascended back into heaven (Luke 24:50). Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus gathered His eleven disciples to give them final instructions before He left the earth (Luke 24:50–51). He took them to the Mount of Olives, in “the vicinity of Bethany” (verse 50), where He blessed them and commissioned them. The Lord was then lifted up into the clouds (Acts 1:9). As the disciples stood staring upwards, two angels appeared to them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Under such circumstances, to say that there is no evil, is an evil in itself. When needed tell the truth concerning the lie. Evasion of Truth cripples integrity, and casts thee down from the pinnacle.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 448
Making Haste Slowly by Mary Nares Craig
Habakkuk 3 : 17, 18
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
There is no fatal mistake; there is no unforgivable wrong; there is no unpardonable sin; there is no permanent injury; there is no incurable disease; there is no such thing as too late.
from Divinity Course and General Collectanea, (the “Blue Book”), by Mary Baker Eddy, page 205
Truth Solves all Problems by Beulah G. Hines
from “The Life-giving Voice” by Irving C. Tomlinson from the February 17, 1912 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
Prof. Hermann S. Hering lectured yesterday [Nov. 19] before a large and attentive audience at the Orpheum Theater. Forrest A. Heath, who introduced Professor Hering, said in part,—
The first time that my attention was seriously called to Christian Science, was about nine years ago, when I received word from home that my mother, who had been an invalid for seventeen years, was going to try, as a last resort, the application of its teachings. I distinctly recall the shock it gave me—the feeling that she was indeed beyond hope of recovery when there was nothing but Christian Science for her to turn to. Her condition was the result of blood-poisoning, following vaccination, according to each of the many physicians consulted. There were operations and long periods of helplessness, and each physician in turn gave up the case. I had occasion a few months later to go to the home of my parents and see what had occurred. Instead of the dull look, the chalky cheeks, the spiritless gait of the years of misery and suffering, there were bright eyes, a hopeful countenance, and the glow of returning health—such a look as one wants to see on one’s mother’s face.—Jersey City Journal.
Revised notes after reading “Bethany Moments” Joseángel Domínguez
Bethany is “what every Christian home should be—a place where Christ is always welcome, like when he stayed with” Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.
Where talking to God is normal, and we invite the Christ into our daily lives, work, and hearts.
Where Christ Jesus would feel at home.
Where there are Bethany moments, like “sitting at [Jesus’] feet and listening to his words.”
Taking moments for silent prayer throughout the busyness of our day, and turning daily tasks into acts of love and service to God.
We are not adding more activities to our day, but infusing our activities with a sense of God’s presence.
Looking around for good and praising God.
Talitha Cumi Story Freedom Christian by Annie Jefferson Holland
If Jesus awakened Lazarus from the dream, illusion, of death, this proved that the Christ could improve on a false sense. Who dares to doubt this consummate test of the power and willingness of divine Mind to hold man forever intact in his perfect state, and to govern man’s entire action? Jesus said: “Destroy this temple [body], and in three days I [Mind] will raise it up;” and he did this for tired humanity’s reassurance.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, pages 493 to 494