But before Jesus came, Lazarus got so sick that he died. Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus was sleeping. But Jesus said that he would go to wake him up. The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant. So, then Jesus said plainly that Lazarus had died. Death is like a deep sleep, a sleep that is so deep that the person does not even dream.

Remember, Jesus said that Lazarus was sleeping. What is it like when you are asleep?⁠—

When you are in a very deep sleep, you do not know what is going on around you, do you?⁠— And when you wake up you do not know how long you have been sleeping until you look at a clock.

It is like that with dead persons. They do not know anything that is happening. They do not feel anything. And they cannot do anything.

But some people are afraid of the dead. They won’t go near a graveyard, because they think that the dead might harm them. Can you imagine that? Can a dead person harm someone who is alive?⁠— No, the Bible says that the dead are not able to do anything at all.