In John’s Gospel, there is a figure who appears often without a name: reclining beside Jesus at the Last Supper, following him into the high priest’s courtyard, standing at the Cross, and outrunning Peter to the empty tomb. This is “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” who we, at Epiphany, have come to know as Lazarus.
The Rev. Doyt didn’t invent the idea that Lazarus is the Beloved Disciple, but rather, drew on a tradition of biblical scholarship that pushed back on the traditional identification of John the Apostle with this figure. The argument begins with the Gospel’s repeated claims of Jesus loving Lazarus (John 11:3, 11:5, 11:11, 11:35–36), and concludes with the manner in which Lazarus disappears from the narrative after he was raised. The next time an intimate relationship like that between Jesus and Lazarus reappears, it belongs to a disciple who is never named, strongly suggesting that they were, in fact, the same person. If so, John’s Gospel becomes more than a highly imaginative story—it’s the testimony of someone who had experienced what it proclaims: that death does not get the final word.
Doyt first raised the possibility in a 2013 sermon on friendship. In March 2020, as Epiphany moved to online worship in the depths of the pandemic, he returned to Lazarus in a sermon and companion video, making the claim explicit: Lazarus is both the Beloved Disciple and the author of John’s Gospel. The idea became a subject of parish study. This video remains the most viewed of all of Epiphany’s videos on YouTube. The Lazarus Minyan began meeting to examine it, and Ben Logan compiled an annotated bibliography documenting the wider scholarly debate.
Beginning in 2024, Epiphany also started observing Lazarus Saturday on the day before Palm Sunday, with introductory talks and a liturgy shaped by the ancient Christian celebration. In the Byzantine Christian calendar, Lazarus Saturday falls immediately before Palm Sunday and marks the transition from Lent into Holy Week. Lazarus’s raising is understood as a sign of Christ’s Resurrection and the resurrection of the dead.
Barbara Cairns has spoken at Lazarus Saturday twice. In 2025, she shared her journey with Lazarus, a journey that led her to design a pendant honoring the saint. In 2026, she returned with “The Stations of Lazarus,” tracing his movement from friend to witness as a model for Christian discipleship. From biblical scholarship to interpretive framework, and finally, back to parish life and liturgy, Epiphany’s walk with Lazarus has been transformative.
Curious for more? Visit epiphanyseattle.org/lazarus.