Of all the many miracles performed by the Lord in the days of His earthly life, the resurrection of Lazarus is of particular significance. Lazarus, who comes out of the tomb at the voice of the Savior, depicts our future resurrection from the dead: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is coming, and it is now, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and when they have heard, they shall live" (John 5:25). Lazarus not only died, but walked "the way of the whole earth" (3 Kings 2:2). He was laid in a tomb and experienced corruption. We will walk this path, but we will be raised up by the One Who has power over life and death. But before rising from bodily death, man must be resurrected spiritually. The writer himself survived this in a penal colony, which he called the House of the Dead. In a letter (January-February 1854) to N.I. Fonvizina, the wife of the exiled Decembrist, he says after leaving the prison: "I will tell you about myself that I am a child of the century, a child of disbelief and doubt to this day, and even (I know this) to the grave. What terrible torments this thirst for faith has cost me, and what a thirst for faith has cost me now, which is all the stronger in my soul, the more contrary arguments there are in me. And yet God sometimes sends me moments in which I am completely calm; At these moments I love and find that I am loved by others, and at such moments I have formed within myself a symbol of faith, in which everything is clear and holy to me. This symbol is very simple, here it is: to believe that there is nothing more beautiful, deeper, more sympathetic, more reasonable, more courageous and more perfect than Christ, and not only is there not, but with jealous love I say to myself that it cannot be."

The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus is mentioned three times in the novel. Porfiry Petrovich spoke about him for the first time. By the force of his investigative logic, he came to the conviction that it was Raskolnikov who committed the murder, but he has no direct evidence. He made a psychologically correct decision: to awaken the conscience of the criminal and lead him to a confession. When Raskolnikov, expressing his ideas, mentioned the New Jerusalem, Porfiry Petrovich suddenly asked:

So you still believe in the New Jerusalem, don't you?

"I do," answered Raskolnikov firmly; As he spoke, and throughout his long tirade, he looked at the ground, choosing a point on the carpet.

"Do you believe in God?" Sorry for being so curious.

"I do," repeated Raskolnikov, looking up at Porfiry.

"And--and you believe in the resurrection of Lazarus?"

"I believe it. Why do you need all this?

"Do you literally believe?"

— Literally.

Porfiry Petrovich was not mistaken. The seeds of future repentance fell into Raskolnikov's soul. Therefore, he came to Sonya Marmeladova.

"There was some kind of book on the chest of drawers. Every time he passed back and forth, he noticed her; Now he took it and looked. It was the New Testament in Russian translation. The book was old, second-hand, in a leather binding...

"Where is it about Lazarus?" He asked suddenly.

Sonya stubbornly stared at the ground and did not answer. She stood a little sideways to the table.