How many people did Jesus raise from the dead?
Question: How many times did Jesus raise a person from death?
Response: Jesus raised at least three people from death, according to his followers, who wrote the New Testament of the Bible. Those people include a widow's son in Nain (Luke 7:11-17), the 12-year old daughter of a man named Jairus (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56), and a friend of Jesus named Lazarus (John 11:1-44).
These miracles are explained in detail in the book Jesus the Miracle Worker, by Ray Konig.
Restoring to life the dead son of a widow in Nain
Chronologically, it appears that the first example happened when Jesus and his disciples traveled to Nain, a small village in the region of Galilee, which is in northern Israel. Upon arrival, Jesus and his disciples approach the gates of Nain while a funeral procession is leaving the town. Jesus sees the suffering widow, reaches out to her, and compassionately restores her dead son, as explained by Luke:
11 Soon afterwards, he went to a city called Nain. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him. 12 Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.” 14 He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” 15 He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.
16 Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!” 17 This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea, and in all the surrounding region. (Luke 7:11-17, WEB)
This miracle is similar to one performed by Elijah, who lived about 800 years before the time of Jesus. Elijah raised a widow’s son back to life in Zarephath, a city in the Phoenician area, between Tyre and Sidon, as explained in the Old Testament, in 1 Kings 17:17-24. In the New Testament, Jesus, in Luke 4:24-26, makes a reference to that miracle performed by Elijah. Precedents like this help to establish that Jesus is the savior, the Messiah, who was promised and predicted by the prophets of the Old Testament.
Also, in Luke 7:16, the onlookers proclaim that God has visited his people. Many English translations render this verse with variations along the lines of visited, looked upon, or helped his people. This coincides with one of the promises and predictions of the Old Testament, in Isaiah 7:14, which foretold the miraculous virgin birth of a promised son (the Messiah) who would be referred to as Immanuel, which means God with us.
The restoring of a 12-year-old girl who was Jairus' daughter
Chronologically, the second time that Jesus raised someone from death was in or near Capernaum, when Jesus restored life to a 12-year-old girl who was the daughter of a man named Jairus.
This miracle is described in three of the Gospels of the New Testament, in Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, and Luke 8:40-56.
As described by Luke:
40 When Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 Behold, a man named Jairus came. He was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to come into his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him. 43 A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians and could not be healed by any 44 came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak. Immediately the flow of her blood stopped. 45 Jesus said, “Who touched me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” 47 When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 48 He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
49 While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.”
50 But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed.”
51 When he came to the house, he didn’t allow anyone to enter in, except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother. 52 All were weeping and mourning her, but he said, “Don’t weep. She isn’t dead, but sleeping.”
53 They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, “Child, arise!” 55 Her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. He commanded that something be given to her to eat. 56 Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done. (Luke 8:40-56, WEB)
For Jesus, the girl's death was not permanent, as he was about to show by restoring her to her mortal life. That is why Jesus refers to her condition as "sleeping." The mourners react to Jesus' statement with disbelief, as expressed through their ridicule of him. He then instructs that the nonbelievers be removed from the house before he miraculously restores the dead girl to life.
The raising of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days
The third time that Jesus raises someone from the dead is recorded in the Gospel of John, when Jesus restores the mortal life of a friend named Lazarus, who had been dead for four days:
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. 2 It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”
8 The disciples asked him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.” 11 He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”
12 The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep. 14 So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead. 15 I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”
16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus,[a] said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.”
17 So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia[b] away. 19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”
28 When she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.”
29 When she heard this, she arose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” 32 Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 The Jews therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!” 37 Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
41 So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. 42 I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.
Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.” (John 11:1-44, WEB)
Footnotes: [a] (John 11:16) “Didymus” means “Twin”. [b] (John 11:18) 15 stadia is about 2.8 kilometers or 1.7 miles
Other possible examples of Jesus raising people from the dead
There might have been other times that Jesus restored dead people back to life, such as when Jesus healed a demon-possessed boy in or near Caesarea Philippi, in the northern part of Israel. That event is described in Matthew 17:14-20, Mark 9:14-29, and Luke 9:37-43. In Mark's account, it is said that the boy appeared to be dead just before Jesus took him by the hand and restored him to full health, in Mark 9:26.