John 11 JOHN 11:1-6 The Death of Lazarus Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick.
He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, look, the one you love is sick." When Jesus heard this, he said, "This sickness will not lead to death, but to God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days.
The chapter we have now begun is one of the most remarkable in the New Testament. For grandeur and simplicity, for pathos and solemnity, nothing was ever written like it. It describes a miracle which is not recorded in the other Gospels--the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Nowhere shall we find such convincing proofs of our Lord's Divine power. As God, He makes the grave itself yield up its tenants. Nowhere shall we find such striking illustrations of our Lord's ability to sympathize with His people. As man, He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.
Such a miracle well became the end of such a ministry. It was fit and right that the victory of Bethany should closely precede the crucifixion at Calvary. These verses teach us that true Christians may be sick and ill as well as others. We read that Lazarus of Bethany was one "whom Jesus loved," and a brother of two well-known holy women. Yet Lazarus was sick, even unto death! The Lord Jesus, who had power over all diseases, could no doubt have prevented this illness, if He had thought fit. But He did not do so.
He allowed Lazarus to be sick, and in pain, and weary, and to languish and suffer like any other man. The lesson is one which ought to be deeply engraved in our memories. Living in a world full of disease and death, we are sure to need it some day. Sickness, in the very nature of things, can never be anything but trying to flesh and blood. Our bodies and souls are strangely linked together, and that which vexes and weakens the body can hardly fail to vex the mind and soul.
But sickness, we must always remember, is no sign that God is displeased with us; no, more, it is generally sent for the good of our souls. It tends to draw our affections away from this world, and to direct them to things above. It sends us to our Bibles, and teaches us to pray better. It helps to prove our faith and patience, and shows us the real value of our hope in Christ. It reminds us that we are not to live always, and tunes and trains our hearts for our great change. Then let us be patient and cheerful when we are laid aside by illness.
Let us believe that the Lord Jesus loves us when we are sick no less than when we are well. These verses teach us, secondly, that Jesus Christ is the Christian's best Friend in the time of need. We read that when Lazarus was sick, his sisters at once sent to Jesus, and laid the matter before Him. Beautiful, touching, and simple was the message they sent. They did not ask Him to come at once, or to work a miracle, and command the disease to depart. They only said, "Lord, he whom You love is sick," and left the matter there, in the full belief that He would do what was best.
Here was the true faith and humility of saints! Here was gracious submission of will! The servants of Christ, in every age and climate, will do well to follow this excellent example. No doubt when those whom we love are sick, we are to use diligently every reasonable means for their recovery. We must spare no pains to obtain the best medical advice. We must assist nature in every possible manner to fight a good fight against its enemy. But in all our doing, we must never forget that the best and ablest and wisest Helper is in heaven, at God's right hand.
Like afflicted Job our first action must be to fall on our knees and worship. Like Hezekiah, we must spread our matters before the Lord. Like the holy sisters at Bethany, we must send up a prayer to Christ. Let us not forget, in the hurry and excitement of our feelings, that none can help like Him, and that He is merciful, loving, and gracious. These verses teach us, thirdly, that Christ loves all who are true Christians. We read that "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." The characters of these three good people seem to have been somewhat different.
Of Martha, we are told in a certain place, that she was "anxious and troubled about many things," while Mary "sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word." Of Lazarus we are told nothing distinctive at all. Yet all these were loved by the Lord Jesus. They all belonged to His family, and He loved them all. We must carefully bear this in mind in forming our estimate of Christians. We must never forget that there are varieties in character, and that the grace of God does not cast all believers into one and the same mold.
Admitting fully that the foundations of Christian character are always the same, and that all God's children repent, believe, are holy, prayerful, and Scripture-loving, we must make allowances for wide varieties in their temperaments and habits of mind. We must not undervalue others because they are not exactly like ourselves. The flowers in a garden may differ widely, and yet the gardener feels interest in all. The children of a family may be curiously unlike one another, and yet the parents care for all. It is just so with the Church of Christ.
There are degrees of grace, and varieties of grace; but the least, the weakest, the feeblest disciples are all loved by the Lord Jesus. Then let no believer's heart fail because of his infirmities; and, above all, let no believer dare to despise and undervalue a brother. These verses teach us, lastly, that Christ knows best at what time to do anything for His people. We read that "when He had heard that Lazarus was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was." In fact, He purposely delayed His journey, and did not come to Bethany until Lazarus had been four days in the grave.
No doubt He knew well what was going on; but He never moved until the time came which He saw was best. For the sake of the Church and the world, for the good of friends and enemies, He kept away. The children of God must constantly school their minds to learn the great lesson now before us. Nothing so helps us to bear patiently the trials of life as an abiding conviction of the perfect wisdom by which everything around us is managed. Let us try to believe not only that all that happens to us is well done, but that it is done in the best manner, by the right instrument, and at the right time.
We are all naturally impatient in the day of trial. We are apt to say, like Moses, when beloved ones are sick, "Heal her now, Lord, we beseech you." (Num. 12:13.) We forget that Christ is too wise a Physician to make any mistakes. It is the duty of faith to say, "My times are in Your hand. Do with me as You will, how You will, what You will, and when You will. Not my will, but Your be done." The highest degree of faith is to be able to wait, sit still, and not complain.
Let us turn from the passage with a settled determination to trust Christ entirely with all the concerns of this world, both public and private. Let us believe that He by whom all things were made at first is He who is managing all with perfect wisdom. The affairs of kingdoms, families, and private individuals are all alike overruled by Him. He chooses all the portions of His people. When we are sick, it is because He knows it to be for our good; when He delays coming to help us, it is for some wise reason.
The hand that was nailed to the cross is too wise and loving to smite without a needs-be, or to keep us waiting for relief without a cause. Technical Notes: 1. Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3. Therefore his sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. 4.
When Jesus heard that , he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified through it. 5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6. So, when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the same place where he was. The raising of Lazarus, described in this chapter, is one of the most wonderful events recorded in the Gospels and demands more than ordinary attention. In no part of our Lord’s history do we see Him so distinctly both man and God at the same time: man in sympathy, and God in power.
Like each of the few incidents in our Lord’s ministry related by St. John, it is placed before us with peculiar minuteness and particularity. The story is singularly rich in delicate, tender, and beautiful expressions. Before entering upon it, I venture to offer the following preliminary remarks. (a) The raising of Lazarus was manifestly intended to supply the Jews with one more incontrovertible proof that Jesus was the Christ of God, the promised Messiah. In the tenth chapter, at the Feast of Dedication, our Lord had been asked, “If You are the Christ, tell us plainly” (John 10:24).
In reply He had distinctly appealed to His “works” as the best evidence of His Messiahship. He had deliberately challenged attention to those works as witnesses to His commission. And now, after a short interval, we find Him for the last time within two miles of Jerusalem, before many eyewitnesses, doing such a stupendous work of Divine power that a man might have thought any skeptic would have been silenced forever.
After the raising of Lazarus, the Jews of Jerusalem, at any rate, could never say that they were left destitute of proofs of Christ’s Messiahship. (b) The raising of Lazarus was meant to prepare the minds of the Jews for our Lord’s own resurrection. It took place between Christmas and Easter, and probably within two months of His own crucifixion. It proved incontrovertibly that a person dead four days could be raised again by Divine power, and that the restoration to life of a corpse was not an impossibility with God.
I think it impossible not to see in this a latent design to prepare the minds of the Jews for our Lord’s own resurrection. At any rate, it paved the way for men believing the event to be not incredible. No one could say on Easter Sunday, when the grave of Jesus was found empty and the body of Jesus was gone, that His resurrection was an impossibility. The mere fact that between winter and Easter in that very year a man dead four days had been restored to life within two miles of Jerusalem, could silence such remarks.
Though improbable, it could not be called impossible. (c) The raising of Lazarus is of all our Lord’s miracles the one which is most thoroughly credible and supported by most incontrovertible evidence. The man who disbelieves it may as well say plainly that he does not believe anything in the New Testament and does not allow that a miracle is possible. Of course, there is no standing ground between denying the possibility of miracles and denying the existence of a creating God. If God made the world, He can surely change the course of nature at any time, if He thinks fit.
The famous skeptic, Spinosa, declared that if he could be persuaded of the truth of the miracle before us, he would forsake his own system and embrace Christianity. Yet it is extremely difficult to see what evidence of a fact a man can desire if he is not satisfied with the evidence that Lazarus really was raised from the dead. But, unhappily, none are so blind as those who will not see. The following passage from Tittman, the German Commentator, is so sensible that I make no apology for giving it at length, though somewhat condensed.
“The whole story,” he says, “is of a nature calculated to exclude all suspicion of imposture and to confirm the truth of the miracle. A wellknown person of Bethany, named Lazarus, falls sick in the absence of Jesus. His sisters send a message to Jesus announcing it; but while He is yet absent Lazarus dies, is buried, and kept in the tomb for four days, during which Jesus is still absent. Martha, Mary, and all his friends are convinced of his death.
Our Lord, while yet remaining in the place where He had been staying, tells His disciples in plain terms that He means to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, that the glory of God may be illustrated and their faith confirmed. At our Lord’s approach, Martha goes to meet Him and announces her brother’s death, laments the absence of Jesus before the event took place, and yet expresses a faint hope that by some means Jesus might yet render help. Our Lord declares that her brother shall be raised again and assures her that He has the power of granting life to the dead.
Mary approaches, accompanied by weeping friends from Jerusalem. Our Lord Himself is moved, and weeps, and goes to the sepulchre attended by a crowd. The stone is removed. The stench of the corpse is perceived. Our Lord, after pouring forth audible prayer to His Father, calls forth Lazarus from the grave in the hearing of all. The dead man obeys the call, comes forth to public view in the same dress that he was buried in, alive and well, and returns home without assistance.
All persons present agree that Lazarus is raised to life and that a great miracle has been worked, though not all believe the person who worked it to be the Messiah. Some go away and tell the rulers at Jerusalem what Jesus has done. Even these do not doubt the truth of the fact. On the contrary, they confess that our Lord by His works is becoming every day more famous, and that He would probably be soon received as Messiah by the whole nation. And therefore the rulers at once take counsel how they may put to death both Jesus and Lazarus.
The people, in the mean time, hearing of this prodigious transaction, flock in multitudes to Bethany, partly to see Jesus and partly to view Lazarus. And the consequence is that, by and by, when our Lord comes to Jerusalem, the population goes forth in crowds to meet Him and show Him honor, and chiefly because of His work at Bethany.
Now if all these circumstances do not establish the truth of the miracle, there is no truth in history.” I only add the remark that when we consider the place, the time, the circumstances, and the singular publicity of the raising of Lazarus, it really seems to require more credulity to deny it than to believe it. It is the unbeliever, and not the believer, of this miracle who seems to me the credulous man. The difficulties of disbelieving it are far greater than those of believing it. (d) The raising of Lazarus is not mentioned by Matthew, Mark, or Luke. This has stumbled many persons.
Yet the omission of the story is not hard to explain. Some have said that Matthew, Mark, and Luke purposely confine themselves to miracles done in Galilee. Some have said that when they wrote their Gospels Lazarus was yet alive, and the mention of his name would have endangered his safety. Some have said that it was thought better for the soul of Lazarus not to draw attention to him and surround him with an unhealthy celebrity till after he had left the world. In each and all of these reasons there is some weight.
But the best and simplest explanation probably is that each Evangelist was inspired to record what God saw to be best and most suitable. No one, I suppose, imagines that the Evangelists record a tenth part of our Lord’s miracles, or that there were not other dead persons raised to life of whom we know nothing at all. “The dead are raised up” was our Lord’s own message, at an early period of His ministry, to John the Baptist (Matt. 11:5). “If the works that Jesus did should be written every one,” says John, “the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” (John 21:25).
Let it suffice us to believe that each Evangelist was inspired to record exactly those events which were most likely to be profitable for the Church in studying his Gospel. Our Lord’s ministry and sayings at Jerusalem were specially assigned to John. What wonder, then, that he was appointed to record the mighty miracle which took place within two miles of Jerusalem and proved incontrovertibly the guilt of the Jerusalem Jews in not receiving Jesus as the Messiah?
Bucer remarks that there is a continually ascending greatness and splendor in those miracles which John was inspired to record in his Gospel, and that the raising of Lazarus was the most illustrious of all. He also observes that our Lord specially chose the great feasts at Jerusalem as occasions of working miracles. Chemnitius remarks: “There is not in the whole Evangelical narrative a more delightful history, and one more abundant both in doctrine and consolation, than this of the raising of Lazarus.
It therefore ought to be studied most closely and minutely by all pious minds. 1.--[ Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus. ] These simple words are the keynote to the whole chapter. All turns on the bodily illness of an obscure disciple of Christ. How much in the history of our lives hinges on little events, and especially on illnesses! Sickness is a sacred thing and one of God’s great ordinances. This illness took place between winter and Easter during the time that our Lord was at Bethabara, beyond Jordan.
The nature of the disease we are not told, but from its rapid course, it is not unlikely that it was a fever, such as is common even now in Palestine. This is the first time that Lazarus is mentioned in the New Testament, and we know nothing certain of his history. Some have conjectured that he was the young ruler who came to our Lord asking what he must do to obtain eternal life, and went away sorrowful at the time but was afterwards converted. Some have conjectured that he is the young man who followed our Lord when he was taken prisoner, mentioned by St. Mark, and fled away naked.
But these are mere guesses, and there is really no solid foundation for them. That he was not a poor man, but comparatively rich, seems highly probable from the “feast” in John 12, the number of friends who came to mourn him, the alabaster box of precious ointment used by his sister, and the sepulchre hewn out of rock. But even this is only a conjecture.
The name “Lazarus,” no doubt, is a Greek form of the Hebrew name “Eleazar.” It is worth noticing that it survives to this day in the modern name of Bethany: “El-Azarizeh.” (See Smith’s Biblical Dictionary .) [ Of Bethany , etc. ] The word “town” in this sentence would have been better translated “village” as it is in sixteen other texts in the New Testament. Bethany, in truth, was only a small village a short two miles from Jerusalem on the east side, and its situation is perfectly known now. It lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, on the road to Jericho.
It is not once mentioned in the Old Testament and owes its fame to its being the place where Lazarus was raised, the place where our Lord rested at night just before the passion, the place from which He commenced His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the place from which He finally ascended into heaven (Luke 24:10), and the dwelling-place of Mary and Martha. Let it be noted that the presence of God’s elect children is the one thing which makes towns and countries famous in God’s sight. The village of Martha and Mary is noticed, while Memphis and Thebes are not named in the New Testament.
A cottage where there is grace is more pleasant in God’s sight than a cathedral town where there is none. Let it be noted that this verse supplies internal evidence that St. John’s Gospel was written long after the other historical parts of the New Testament. He speaks of Martha and Mary as persons whose names and history would be familiar to all Christian readers. There is a peculiarity in the Greek of this verse which is hardly conveyed in our English translation. Literally it would be rendered, “Lazarus from Bethany, out of the town of Mary,” etc.
That “from” Bethany means exactly what we render it, is clear from Acts 17:13 and Heb. 13:24. But why “out of the village, or town of Mary” is said, is not quite so clear. It is open to the conjecture that it may mean “Lazarus was now a man of Bethany, but was originally out of the town of Mary and Martha:” viz., some other place. But this seems unlikely. Webster suggests that “out of” is added by way of emphasis to show that Lazarus not only lived there, but that it was also the place of his nativity. Greswell says much the same.
It is noteworthy that John 1:44 contains exactly the same form of expression about Philip and Bethsaida. It is noteworthy that Mary is named before Martha, though Martha was evidently the older sister and head of the house. The reason, I suppose, is that Mary’s name and character were better known of the two. Chemnitius thinks it possible that all Bethany belonged to Martha and Mary, and that this accounts for the consideration in which they were held and the number of mourners, etc. It is worth remembering that Bethany was a very small place.
Yet Bethsaida was called the “town of Andrew and Peter” (John 1:44) and clearly did not belong to two poor fishermen. 2.--[ It was that Mary, etc. ] This verse is a parenthetical explanation inserted by St. John, after his manner, to make it certain what Mary he refers to as the sister of Lazarus. Christians knew there were in our Lord’s time no less than four Maries: (1) The Virgin Mother of our Lord, (2) the wife of Cleophas, (3) Mary Magdalene, and (4) Mary the sister of Martha.
To prevent, therefore, any mistake, John says “It was that Mary who anointed our Lord, whose brother Lazarus was dead.” Simple as these words seem, there is a singular diversity of opinion as to the question who Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus was, and how many times our Lord was anointed. (a) Some, as Chrysostom, Origen, and Chemnitius, maintain that the anointing took place three times: once in Luke 7 at the house of Simon the Pharisee; once in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper; and once in Bethany at the house of Martha and Mary.
Others, as Ferus, while agreeing with Chrysostom that our Lord was anointed three times, think Mary was the woman who twice did it. (b) Some maintain that our Lord was anointed twice: once at the Pharisee’s house (in Luke 7), and once in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, where Martha and Mary and Lazarus lived for some cause which we do not know. (c) Some, as Augustine, Bede, Toletus, Lightfoot, Maldonatus, Cornelius àLapide, and Hengstenberg, maintain that our Lord was only once anointed, concluding that the narrative in Luke 7 was inserted out of chronological order, Simon the Pharisee and Simon the leper were the same person, and the one anointing took place at Bethany.
Hengstenberg supports his theory very ingeniously, and boldly suggests: (1) that Simon the Pharisee was also called Simon the leper, (2) that he was the husband of Martha and not friendly to Christ, (3) that this accounts for Martha being more “careful and troubled” than Mary, (4) that this explains the presence of unfriendly Pharisees at the raising of Lazarus, (5) that Mary Magdalene was the same as Mary of Bethany, and (6) that Mary of Bethany was the “sinner” in Luke chapter 7.
Toletus frankly admits that the Romish Church holds that there was only one anointing by one person, as it is plainly declared in one of her formularies: viz., the Breviary. My own opinion is decidedly against the last of these views.
I hold that there were at least two anointings: one at a comparatively early period of our Lord’s ministry and another at the close of it; one in the house of an unfriendly Pharisee named Simon and another at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany; one by a woman who had been pre-eminently a sinner and another by Mary the sister of Martha, against whose moral character we know nothing. Why the house of Martha and Mary at Bethany is called the house of Simon the leper, I admit I cannot explain. I can only surmise that there was some relationship of which we know nothing.
But this difficulty is nothing, in my eyes, compared to that of supposing (with Augustine and his followers) that the event described in Luke 7 took place just at the end of our Lord’s ministry. There is strong internal evidence, to my mind, that it did not.
Surely at the end of our Lord’s ministry people would not have said with wonder, “Who is this who forgives sins?” Surely Mary would not be spoken of as a notorious “sinner.” On the other hand, if we hold the view that our Lord was only anointed twice—once at the house of Simon the Pharisee and once at Bethany, it must be frankly admitted that there is a very grave difficulty to be got over. That difficulty is that St.
Mark says that a woman anointed our Lord “two days” before the Passover and poured the ointment on His “head,” while John says He was anointed “six days before the passover” and the ointment poured on His “feet.” I do not see how this difficulty can be got over. If, however, we hold that our Lord was anointed twice in the last week before He was crucified—once “six days” before and once “two days” before, and on each occasion by a woman—the whole thing is clear. That such a thing should be done more than once in those days does not strike me as any objection, considering the customs of the age.
That our Lord’s language in defense of the woman should on each occasion be the same is somewhat remarkable; but it is only a minor difficulty. On the whole, therefore, if I must give an opinion, I incline to agree with Chrysostom that there were three anointings. I also think there is something in the view of Ferus that Mary, sister of Lazarus, anointed our Lord twice—once six days before the passover and once again two days before. The use of the past participle in the verse before us seems to me no difficulty at all. It is, of course, true that at this time Mary had not anointed our Lord.
But it is no less true that John evidently mentions it by anticipation, as a historical fact long past and well known in the Church when he wrote his Gospel, which his readers would understand. “It was that Mary who afterwards anointed Christ’s feet.” Let us note in this verse that the good deeds of all Christ’s saints are carefully recorded in God’s book of remembrance. Men are forgetful and ungrateful. Nothing done for Christ is ever forgotten. Let us note that sickness comes to Christ’s people as well as to the wicked and worldly. Grace does not exempt us from trial.
Sickness, on the contrary, is one of God’s most useful instruments for sanctifying His saints and making them bear fruit of patience, and for showing the world that His people do not serve Him merely for what they got of bodily ease and comfort in this life. “Job does not serve God for nothing,” was the devil’s sneer in the days when Job prospered. “Lazarus and his sisters make a good thing of their religion” might have been said if they had had no trials. Brentius remarks, “God does not go away when bodily health goes away.
Christ does not depart when life departs.” 3.--[ Therefore his sisters...saying. ] This is an example of what all Christians should do in trouble. Like Mary and Martha, we should first send a message to Christ. By prayer we can do it as really as they did.
This is what Job did in his trouble; he first of all “worshiped” and said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” This is what Asa did not do; “He sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.” (Job 1:20 and 2 Chr. 15:12.) Let it be noted that the Greek would be more literally rendered “the sisters” and not “his.” This message, from the expression “heard” in the next verse, would seem to have been a verbal and not a written one. [ Lord...love is sick. ] This is a very touching and beautiful message.
Its humble and respectful confidence is noteworthy: “He whom You love is sick.” They do not say, “Do something,” or “Heal him,” or “Come at once.” They simply spread the case before the Lord and leave Him to do what He thinks wisest and best. It is like Hezekiah spreading Sennacherib’s letter before God (2 Kings 19:14). The name given to Lazarus is noteworthy. They do not say “our brother” or “Your disciple,” or even “one who loves You,” but simply “he whom You love,” one whom You have been pleased to treat graciously and kindly as a beloved friend.
Christ’s love to us and not our love to Christ is the blessed truth which we ought continually to keep before our minds. His love never changes; ours is wavering and uncertain. The idea of some, that sending a message to Christ was a mark of weak faith in the two sisters, as if it showed doubt of Christ’s omniscience, is absurd. At this rate we might never pray, and might say there is no need because God knows all! The word “behold” seems either to indicate something “sudden” in the illness of Lazarus, like Mark 2:21, and to be used adverbially, or else we must take it as an imperative verb.
“Behold a case of great affliction; look upon it and see. He whom You love is sick.” This would be like Hezekiah’s prayer, “Open Your eyes and see” (2 Kings 19:16). We can hardly suppose that such disciples as Martha and Mary would think it a strange or surprising thing that a disciple of Christ should be ill; yet it is possible they did. However, Theophylact and Ferus suppose that “Behold implies a degree of wonder and surprise.
Rupertus remarks on the message containing no request: “To a loving friend it was quite enough to announce the fact that Lazarus was sick.” Affectionate friends are not verbose or lengthy in descriptions. Brentius remarks that the message is like all true prayer: it does not consist in much speaking and fine long sentences. Musculus and Chemnitius both remark that when a man’s child falls into a well or pit, it is enough to tell a loving father the simple fact in the shortest manner possible, without dwelling on it verbosely and rhetorically.
Rollock observes how useful it is to have praying sisters. Let us note that Christ’s friends may be sick and ill just like other people. It is no proof that they are not beloved and specially preserved and cared for by God. “Whom the Lord loves He chastens.” The purest gold is most in the fire; the most useful tools are oftenest ground. Epaphroditus and Timothy were both of weak health, and Paul could not prevent it. 4.--[ When Jesus heard that, he said. ] This verse seems to contain the reply which our Lord gave to the messenger.
It was to him probably, though in the hearing of all His disciples, that He addressed the words which follow. It is as though He said, “Go, return to your mistress, and say as follows.” [ This sickness is not unto death, etc. ] The meaning of this sentence must evidently be taken with qualification. Our Lord did not mean that Lazarus would not in any sense die.
It is as though He said, “The end of this sickness is not Lazarus’ death and entire removal from this world, but generally the glory of God, and specially the glorifying of Me, His Son, which will be effected by my raising him again.” Death’s temporary victory over us is not complete till our bodies perish and return to dust. This was not allowed in the case of Lazarus, and hence death had not full dominion over him though he ceased to breathe and became unconscious. It is undeniable that there was something dark and mysterious about our Lord’s message.
He might, of course, have said plainly “Lazarus will die, and then I will raise him again.” Yet there is a wonderful likeness between the style of His message and many an unfulfilled prophecy. He said enough to excite hope and encourage faith and patience and prayer, but not enough to make Mary and Martha leave off praying and seeking God. And is not this exactly what we should feel about many an unfulfilled prediction of things to come? Men complain that prophecies are not so literally fulfilled as to exclude doubt and uncertainty.
But they forget that God wisely permits a degree of uncertainty in order to keep us watching and praying. It is just what He did with Martha and Mary here. Let us remember that the final result of Lazarus’ sickness is what we should desire as the result of any sickness that comes on us and our families—that God and Christ may be glorified in us. We cannot say, “It shall not end in death,” but we can say “By God’s help, it shall be for God’s glory.” Chrysostom observes: “The expression that in this passage denotes not cause but consequence. The sickness happened from other causes.
Christ used it for the glory of God.” Calvin remarks that God wishes to be honored by Christ being glorified. “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father” (John 5:23.) 5.--[ Now Jesus loved Martha, etc. ] This verse is meant to show that all the members of the family at Bethany were disciples of Jesus and beloved by Him, the brother as well as the sisters, and one sister as well as the other. “A happy family,” Lampe remarks, “in which all the members were objects of Christ’s special love!” We do not know where Lazarus was at the time when Jesus stopped at Martha’s house in Luke 10.
Perhaps he was not converted at that time. But this is only conjecture. We are generally apt to undervalue the grace of Martha and overvalue that of Mary because of what happened when Jesus was at Martha’s house before. Many foolish things are sometimes lightly said against mothers and mistresses as being Marthas—“careful and troubled about many things.” Yet people should remember that different positions call out different phases of character. Mary certainly shines more brightly than Martha in the 10th of Luke; but it is a grave question whether Martha did not outshine her in the 11th of John.
Active-minded Christians come out better under some circumstances; quiet-minded Christians in others. Our Lord teaches us here that He loves all who have grace, though their temperaments differ. Let us learn not to judge others rashly and not to form hasty estimates of Christians, until we have seen them under every sort of circumstances—in winter as well as summer, in dark days as well as bright. Let it be noted that the Greek word here rendered “loved” is not the same that is rendered “loves” in the third verse.
The word describing the love of Jesus to the three in this verse is a word expressing a high, deep, excellent, and noble affection. It is the same as Mark 10:21 and John 3:16. The word used in the message of the sisters is a lower word, such as is used to describe the affection between a parent and child or husband and wife. It is the word used for “kiss” in Matt. 26:48, Mark 14:44, and Luke 22:47. It is very noticeable that this word is carefully avoided here, when the the two sisters are mentioned. The Holy Ghost inspired John to abstain even from the appearance of evil.
What a lesson this ought to be to us! Let it be noted that we see here an example of the broad distinction that ought to be drawn between Christ’s general love of compassion which He feels towards all mankind, and His special love of election which He feels towards His own members. He loved all sinners to whom He came to preach the Gospel, and He wept over unbelieving Jerusalem. But He specially loved those who believed on Him. 6.--[ So, when He had heard, etc. ] It is impossible not to remark an intentional and most instructive connection between this verse and the preceding one.
Our Lord loved the family of Bethany, all three of them; and yet when He heard Lazarus was sick, instead of hastening at once to Bethany to heal him, He quietly remained at Bethabara for two days, without moving. We cannot doubt that this delay was intentional and of purpose, and it throws immense light on many of God’s providential dealings with His people. We know that the delay caused immense mental pain and suffering to Martha and Mary, and obliged Lazarus to go through all the agony of death and the sorrow of parting.
We can easily imagine the grief and suspense and perplexity in which the household at Bethany must have been kept for four days, when their loving Master did not appear; and we know that our Lord could have prevented it all, but did not. But we know also that if He had at once hurried to Bethany and healed Lazarus, or spoken a word from a distance at Bethabara and commanded his healing (as in John 4:50), the mighty miracle of raising him would never have been wrought, and the wonderful sayings of Bethany would never have been spoken.
In short, the pain of a few was permitted for the benefit of the whole Church of Christ. We have here the simplest and best account of the permission of evil and suffering. God could prevent it. God does not love to make His creatures suffer, but God sees there are lessons which mankind could not learn unless evil was permitted. Therefore, God permits it. The suffering of some tends to the good of many. “He who believes shall not make haste.” We shall see at the last day that all was well done.
Even the delays and long intervals which puzzle us in God’s dealings are wisely ordered and are working for good. Like children, we are poor judges of half-finished work. Chrysostom says: “Christ tarried that none might be able to assert that He restored Lazarus when not yet dead, saying it was a lethargy, a fainting, a fit, but not death. He therefore tarried so long that corruption began.” Calvin observes: “Let believers learn to suspend their desires if God does not stretch out His hand to help as soon as they think necessity requires.
Whatever may be His delays, He never sleeps and never forgets His people.” Quesnel remarks: “God permits evil, that He may make the power of His grace and the might of His love more conspicuous in the conversion of a sinner.” Poole remarks: “We must not judge of Christ’s love to us by His mere external dispensations of providence, nor judge that He does not love us because He does not presently come to our help at our time, and in such ways and methods as we think reasonable.” JOHN 11:7-16 Then after this, he said to his disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples replied, "Rabbi, the Jewish authorities were just now trying to stone you to death!
Are you going there again?" Jesus replied, "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks about in the daytime, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks about in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." After he said this, he added, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.
But I am going there to awaken him." Then the disciples replied, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." (Now Jesus had been talking about his death, but they thought he had been talking about real sleep.) Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." So Thomas (called Didymus) said to his fellow disciples, "Let us go too, so that we may die with him." We should notice, in this passage, how mysterious are the ways in which Christ sometimes leads His people.
We are told that when He talked of going back to Judea, His disciples were perplexed. It was the very place where the Jews had lately tried to stone their Master--to return there was to plunge into the midst of danger. These timid Galileans could not see the necessity or prudence of such a step. "Are You going there again?" they cried. Things such as these are often going on around us. The servants of Christ are often placed in circumstances just as puzzling and perplexing as those of the disciples.
They are led in ways of which they cannot see the purpose and object; they are called to fill positions from which they naturally shrink, and which they would never have chosen for themselves. Thousands in every age are continually learning this by their own experience. The path they are obliged to walk in is not the path of their own choice. At present they cannot see its usefulness or wisdom. At times like these a Christian must call into exercise his faith and patience.
He must believe that his Master knows best by what road His servant ought to travel, and that He is leading him, by the right way, to a city of habitation. He may rest assured that the circumstances in which be is placed are precisely those which are most likely to promote his graces and to check his besetting sins. He need not doubt that what he cannot see now, he will understand hereafter. He will find one day that there was wisdom in every step of his journey, though flesh and blood could not see it at the time.
If the twelve disciples had not been taken back into Judea, they would not have seen the glorious miracle of Bethany. If Christians were allowed to choose their own course through life, they would never learn hundreds of lessons about Christ and His grace, which they are now taught in God's ways. Let us remember these things. The time may come when we shall be called to take some journey in life which we greatly dislike. When that time comes, let us set out cheerfully, and believe that all is right.
We should notice, secondly, in this passage, how tenderly Christ speaks of the death of believers. He announces the fact of Lazarus being dead in language of singular beauty and gentleness--"Our friend Lazarus sleeps." Every true Christian has a Friend in heaven, of almighty power and boundless love. He is thought of, cared for, provided for, defended by God's eternal Son. He has an unfailing Protector, who never slumbers or sleeps, and watches continually over his interests. The world may despise him, but he has no cause to be ashamed.
Father and mother even may cast him out, but Christ having once taken him up will never let him go. He is the "friend of Christ" even after he is dead! The friendships of this world are often fair-weather friendships, and fail us like summer-dried fountains, when our need is the greatest; but the friendship of the Son of God is stronger than death, and goes beyond the grave. The Friend of sinners is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. The death of true Christians is "sleep," and not annihilation. It is a solemn and miraculous change, no doubt, but not a change to be regarded with alarm.
They have nothing to fear for their souls in the change, for their sins are washed away in Christ's blood. The sharpest sting of death is the sense of unpardoned sin. Christians have nothing to fear for their bodies in the change; they will rise again by and by, refreshed and renewed, after the image of the Lord. The grave itself is a conquered enemy. It must render back its tenants safe and sound, the very moment that Christ calls for them at the last day. Let us remember these things when those whom we love fall asleep in Christ, or when we ourselves receive our notice to depart this world.
Let us call to mind, in such an hour, that our great Friend takes thought for our bodies as well as for our souls, and that He will not allow one hair of our heads to perish. Let us never forget that the grave is the place where the Lord Himself lay, and that as He rose again triumphant from that cold bed, so also shall all His people.
To a mere worldly man death must needs be a terrible thing; but he that has Christian faith may boldly say, as he lays down life, "I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest--for it is You, Lord, that make me dwell in safety." We should notice, lastly, in this passage, how much of natural temperament clings to a believer even after conversion.
We read that when Thomas saw that Lazarus was dead, and that Jesus was determined, in spite of all danger, to return into Judea, he said, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." There can only be one meaning in that expression--it was the language of a despairing and desponding mind, which could see nothing but dark clouds in the picture. The very man who afterwards could not believe that his Master had risen again, and thought the news too good to be true, is just the one of the twelve who thinks that if they go back to Judea they must all die!
Things such as these are deeply instructive, and are doubtless recorded for our learning. They show us that the grace of God in conversion does not so re-mold a man as to leave no trace of his natural bent of character. The sanguine do not altogether cease to be sanguine, nor the desponding to be desponding, when they pass from death to life, and become true Christians. They show us that we must make large allowances for natural temperament, in forming our estimate of individual Christians. We must not expect all God's children to be exactly one and the same.
Each tree in a forest has its own peculiarities of shape and growth, and yet all at a distance look one mass of leaf and verdure. Each member of Christ's body has his own distinctive bias, and yet all in the main are led by one Spirit, and love one Lord. The two sisters Martha and Mary, the apostles Peter and John and Thomas, were certainly very unlike one another in many respects. But they had all one point in common--they loved Christ, and were His friends. Let us take heed that we really belong to Christ. This is the one thing needful.
If this is made sure, we shall be led by the right way, and end well at last. We may not have the cheerfulness of one brother, or the fiery zeal of another, or the gentleness of another. But if grace reigns within us, and we know what repentance and faith are by experience, we shall stand on the right hand in the great day. Happy is the man of whom, with all his defects, Christ says to saints and angels, "This is our friend." Technical Notes: 7. Then after this he said to his disciples, Let us go to Judea again. 8.
His disciples said to him, Master, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going there again? 9. Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10. But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him. 11. These things he said, and after that he said to them, Our friends Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. 12. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he shall do well. 13.
However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking rest in sleep. 14. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him. 16. Then Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 7.--[ Then...said to his disciples. ] The Greek words which begin this sentence mark an interval of time even more emphatically than our English version does.
The word translated “then” is the same that is translated “after that” in 1 Cor. 15:6,7. [ Let us go to Judea again. ] This is the language of the kind and loving Head of a family and the Chief in a party of friends. Our Lord does not say “I shall go to” or “Follow Me to Judea,” but “Let us go.” It is the voice of a kind Master and Shepherd proposing a thing to His pupils and followers, as though He would allow them to express their opinions about it. How much depends on the manner and language of a leader!
The familiar, easy manner in which our Lord is said here to tell His disciples what He proposes to do, gives a pleasant idea of the terms on which they lived with Him. 8.--[ His disciples said to him, Master. ] The answer of the disciples is an interesting illustration of the easy terms on which they were with their Master. They tell Him frankly and unreservedly their feelings and fears. Let it be noted that the word rendered “Master” here is the well known word “Rabbi.” The use of it shows that there is nothing necessarily insulting, sneering, or discourteous about the term.
It was the title of honor and respect given by all Jews to their teachers. Thus John the Baptist’s disciples said to him, when jealous for his honor, “Rabbi, he who was with thee,” etc. (John 3:26). [ Lately the Jews...stone you. ] The “Jews” here means especially the leaders or principal persons among the Scribes and Pharisees at Jerusalem, as it generally does in St. John’s Gospel. The word rendered “lately” is generally translated “now” or “at this time.” There is not another instance of its being translated “of late” in the New Testament.
Hence the sentence would be more literally rendered, “The Jews even now were seeking to stone You.” They allude to the attempt made at the Feast of Dedication a few weeks before. The attempt was so recent that it seemed “even now.” [ And are You going there again? ] This question indicates surprise and fear. “Do we hear aright? Do You really talk of going back again to Judea?
Do You not fear another assault on Your life?” We can easily detect fear for their own safety, as well as their Master’s in the question of the disciples; yet they put it on “You” and not on “us.” Let us note how strange and unwise our Lord’s plans sometimes appear to His short-sighted people. How little the best can understand His ways! 9,10.--[ Jesus answered...twelve hours, etc. ] The answer which our Lord makes to the remonstrance of His timid disciples is somewhat remarkable.
Instead of giving them a direct reply (bidding them not to be afraid), He first quotes a proverbial saying, and then draws from that saying general lessons about the time which any one who is on a journey will choose for journeying. He draws no conclusion and leaves the application to be made by the disciples themselves. To an English ear the answer seems far more strange than it would to an Eastern one. To quote a proverb is, even now, a common reply among Orientals.
To fill up the sense of our Lord’s elliptical reply and draw the conclusions He meant to be drawn, but did not express, is, however, not very easy. The following may be taken as a paraphrase of it: “Are not the working hours of the day twelve? You know they are, speaking generally. If a man on a journey walks during these twelve daylight hours, he sees his road and does not stumble or fall because the sun, which is the light of the world, shines on his path.
If, on the contrary, a man on a journey chooses to walk in the unreasonable hour of night, he is likely to stumble or fall for lack of light to guide his feet. It is even so with Me. My twelve hours of ministry, my day of work, is not yet over. There is no fear of my life being cut off before the time. I shall not be slain until my work is done. Until my hour is come, I am safe and not a hair of my head can be touched. I am like one walking in the full light of the sun who cannot fall. The night will soon be here when I shall walk on earth no longer; but the night has not yet come.
There are twelve hours in my day of earthly ministry, and the twelfth with Me has not arrived.” This seems to me substantially the correct explanation of our Lord’s meaning. The idea of ancient writers, as Hugo and Lyranus, that by mentioning the twelve hours of the day our Lord meant that men often change their minds as the day goes on, and that the Jews, perhaps, no longer wished to kill Him, is very improbable and unsatisfactory. I grant that the conclusion of the tenth verse, “there is no light in him,” presents some difficulty.
The simplest explanation is that it only means “because he has no light.” Pearce conjectures that the clause should be rendered, “Because there is no light in it: viz., the world.” The Greek will perhaps bear this interpretation. Let us note that the great principle underlying the two verses is the old saying in another form, “Every man is immortal until his work is done.” A recollection of that saying is an excellent antidote against fears of danger.
The missionary in heathen lands and the minister at home, pressed down by unhealthy climate or over-abundant work, may take comfort in it, after their Lord’s example. Let us only, by way of caution, make sure that our dangers meet us in the path of duty, and that we do not go out of the way to seek them. Rupertus suggests that our Lord had in His mind His own doctrine, that He was the Light and Sun of the world.
Now as the sun continues shining all the twelve hours of the day, and no mortal power can stop it, so He would have the disciples know that until the evening of His own course arrived, no power of the Jews could possibly check, arrest, or do Him harm. As to the disciples He seems to add, “So long as I am shining on you with my bodily presence, you have nothing to fear; you will not fall into trouble. When I am taken from you, and not till then, you will be in danger of falling into the hands of persecutors and even of being put to death.” Ecolampadius takes the same view.
Melancthon thinks that our Lord uses a proverbial mode of speech in order to teach us the great broad lesson that we must attend to the duties of our day, station, and calling, and then leave the event to God. In the path of duty all will turn out right. Calvin, Bullinger, Gualter, and Brentius take much the same view. Leigh remarks: “Christ comforts from God’s providence. God made the day twelve hours. Who can make it shorter?
Who can shorten man’s life?” Does it not come to this, that our Lord would have the disciples know that He Himself could not take harm till His day of work was over, and that they could take no harm while He was with them? (Compare Luke 13:32,33.) Bishop Ellicot suggests that this was the very time in our Lord’s ministry when He said to the Pharisee, “I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today and tomorrow and the day following.” But I doubt this.
It is certain that there came a time when our Lord said “This is your hour and the power of darkness” to His enemies. Then He was taken, and His disciples fled. 11.--[These things...Lazarus sleeps...wake him up. ] In this verse our Lord breaks the fact that Lazarus is dead to His disciples. He does it in words of matchless beauty and tenderness. After saying “these things” about the twelve hours of the day, which we have considered in the last verse, He seems to make a slight pause.
Then, “after that,” comes the announcement, which would be more literally rendered, “Lazarus, the friend of us, has been laid asleep.” The word “sleeps” means “is dead.” It is a gentle and pathetic way of expressing the most painful of events that can befall man, and a most suitable one when we remember that after death comes resurrection. In dying we are not annihilated. Like sleepers, we lie down to rise again. Estius well remarks: “Sleeping, in the sense of dying, is only applied to men because of the hope of the resurrection.
We read no such thing of brutes.” The use of the figure is so common in Scripture that it is almost needless to give references. (See Deut. 31:16, Daniel 12:2, Matt. 27:52, Acts 7:60, 13:36, 1 Cor. 7:39, 11:30, 15:6-18, and 1 Thess. 4:13,14.) But it is a striking fact that the figure is frequently used by great heathen writers, showing clearly that the tradition of a life after death existed even among the heathen. Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, and Catullus supply instances.
However, the Christian believer is the only one who can truly regard death as sleep, that is, as a healthy, refreshing thing which can do him no harm. Many among ourselves, perhaps, are not aware that the figure of speech exists among us in full force in the word “cemetery,” applied to burial ground. That word is drawn from the very Geek verb which our Lord uses here. It is literally a “sleeping place.” The word “friend” applied to Lazarus gives a beautiful idea of the relation between the Lord Jesus and all His believing people.
Each one is His “friend:” not servant, or subject only, but “friend.” A poor believer has no cause to be ashamed. He has a Friend greater than kings and nobles who will show Himself friendly to all eternity. A dead saint lying in the grave is not cut off from Christ’s love; even in his grave, he is still the friend of Christ. The expression “our” attached to friend teaches the beautiful lesson that every friend of Christ is or should be the friend of all Christians. Believers are all one family of brothers and sisters and members of one body. Lazarus was not “my” friend, but “our” friend.
If anyone is a friend of Christ, every other believer should be ready and willing to hold out his hand to him and say “You are my friend.” When our Lord says “I go that I may awaken him out of sleep,” He proclaims His deliberate intention and purpose to raise Lazarus from the dead. He boldly challenges the attention of the disciples, and declares that He is going to Bethany to restore a dead man to life. Never was bolder declaration made. None surely would make it but One who knew that He was very God.
“I go” is equivalent to saying, “I am at once setting forth on a journey to Bethany.” The expression, “that I may awake him up” is one word in Greek and is equivalent to “that I may unsleep him.” What our Lord went to do at Bethany He is soon coming to do for all our friends who are asleep in Christ. He is coming to awaken them. Some commentators have thought that Lazarus died in the very moment that our Lord said “Our friend sleeps,” and that it means “Lazarus has just fallen asleep and died.” But this is only conjecture, though doubtless our Lord knew the moment of his decease.
Let it be noted that our Lord says “I go” in the singular number, and not “Let us go.” Does it not look as if He meant, “Whether you like to go or not, I intend to go”? Hall remarks: “None can awaken Lazarus out of this sleep but He that made Lazarus. Every mouse or gnat can raise us up from that other sleep; none but an omnipotent power from this.” 12.--[ Then his disciples said...do well. ] It seems strange that the disciples should misunderstand our Lord’s words, considering how commonly death was called sleep.
But their unwillingness to go into Judea probably made them shut their eyes to our Lord’s real meaning. Most writers think that the disciples referred to the general opinion that sleep in a sickness is a sign of amendment. Some, however, suggest that they had gathered from the messenger sent by Martha and Mary what was the precise nature of Lazarus’ illness, and therefore knew that it was one in which sleep was a favorable symptom. The Greek word for “he shall do well” is curious.
It is the same that is often rendered “shall be made whole.” Sometimes it is “healed,” and generally “saved.” The latent thought is manifest: “If Lazarus sleeps, he is getting better, and there is no need of our going to Judea.” 13.--[ However, Jesus spoke, etc. ] This verse is one of those explanatory glosses which St. John frequently puts into his narrative parenthetically.
The three first words of the verse would be more literally rendered, “But Jesus had spoken.” How the disciples could have “thought” or “supposed” that our Lord meant literal sleep and not death seems strange when we remember that Peter, James, and John had heard Him use the same expression after the death of the ruler’s daughter—“The maid sleeps” (Matt. 9:24). Two probable reasons may be assigned. One is that they had heard from the messenger that Lazarus’ recovery turned on his getting sleep, and that if he only got some sleep he might do well.
The other is that they were so afraid of returning to Judea that they determined to believe Lazarus was getting better and to construe our Lord’s words in the way most agreeable to their fears. It is common to observe that men will not understand what they do not want to understand. Quesnel remarks here: “The misunderstanding of the Apostles was a great instance of stupidity, and shows plainly how sensual and carnal their minds still were.
The knowledge of this is useful in order to convince incredulous persons that the Apostles were not of themselves capable either of converting the world or of inventing the wonderful things and sublime discourses which they relate.” The readiness of the disciples to misunderstand figurative language is curiously shown in two other places—where our Lord spoke of “leaven” and “meat” (Matt. 16:6 and John 4:32). 14.--[ Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. ] Here at last our Lord breaks the fact of Lazarus’ death to His disciples openly and without any further reserve.
He had approached the subject gently and delicately and thus prepared their minds for something painful by steps. First he said simply “Let us to into Judea” without assigning a reason. Secondly He said “Lazarus sleeps.” Lastly He says “Lazarus is dead.” There is a beautiful consideration for feelings in these three steps. It is a comfortable thought that our mighty Savior is so tender-hearted and gentle. It is an instructive lesson to us on the duty of dealing gently with others, and specially in announcing afflictions. The word rendered “plainly” is the same as in John 10:24.
Here, as there, it does not mean “in plain, intelligible language” so much as “openly, unreservedly, and without mystery.” 15.--[ And I am glad...ye may believe. ] This sentence would be more literally rendered, “And I rejoice on account of you, in order that ye may believe, that I was not there.” Our Lord evidently means that He was glad that He was not at Bethany when Lazarus became ill and had not healed Him before his death, as in all probability He would have done. The result now would be most advantageous to the disciples.
Their faith would receive an immense confirmation by witnessing the stupendous miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Thus great good, on one respect, would come out of great evil. The announcement they had just heard might be very painful and distressing, but He, as their Master, could not but be glad to think how mightily their faith would be strengthened in the end. Let us note that our Lord does not say, “I am glad Lazarus is dead,” but “I am glad I was not there.” Had He been there, He seems to say, He could not have refused the prayer of Martha and Mary to heal His friend.
We are not intended to be so unfeeling as to rejoice in the death of Christian friends, but we may rejoice in the circumstances attending their deaths, and the glory redounding to Christ, and the benefit accruing to saints from them. Let us note that our Lord does not say “I am glad for the sake of Martha and Mary and Lazarus that I was not there,” but “for your sakes.” It is no pleasure to Him to see His individual members suffering, weeping, and dying, but He does rejoice to see the good of many spring out of the suffering of a few.
Hence He permits some to be afflicted in order that many may be instructed through their afflictions. This is the key to permission of evil in the world: it is for the good of the many. When we ourselves are allowed of God to suffer, we must remember this. We must believe there are wise reasons why God does not come to our help at once and take the suffering away.
Let us note our Lord’s desire that His disciples “may believe.” He did not mean that they might believe now for the first time, but that they might believe more firmly, heartily, and unhesitatingly; that their faith, in short, might receive a great increase by seeing Lazarus raised. We see here the immense importance of faith. To believe on Christ and trust God’s word is the first step towards heaven. To believe more and trust more is the real secret of Christian growth, progress, and prosperity.
To make us believe more is the end of all Christ’s dealings with us. (See John 14:1.) [ Nevertheless let us go to him. ] The first word here would be more literally rendered “but.” It is as though our Lord said, “But let us delay no longer; let us cast aside all fears of danger; let us go to our friend.” It is noteworthy that our Lord says “Let us go to Lazarus,” though he was dead and would be buried by the time they reached Bethany. Can it be that the disciples thought He had David’s words about his dead child in His mind, “I shall go to him”?
The words of Thomas, in the next verse, seem to make it possible. We may notice three gradations in our Lord’s language about going to Bethany. The first in the seventh verse, where we says in the plural “Let us all go into Judea.” The second in verse 11 where He says in the singular “I go that I may wake him up,” as though He was ready to go alone. The third is here in the plural, “Let us all go.” Toletus thinks that by these words our Lord meant to hint His intention of raising Lazarus. Burkitt remarks: “O love, stronger than death! The grave cannot separate Christ and His friends.
Other friends accompany us to the brink of the grave, and then they leave us. Neither life nor death can separate from the love of Christ.” Bengel remarks: “It is beautifully consonant with divine propriety that no one is ever read of as having died while the Prince of Life was present.” 16.--[Then Thomas...said...we may die with him. ] The disciple here named is also mentioned in John 16:5 and John 20:24-27. On each occasion he appears in the same state of mind—ready to look at the black side of everything, taking the worst view of the position and raising doubts and fears.
In John 14:5 he does not know where our Lord is going. In John 20:25 he cannot believe our Lord has risen. Here he sees nothing but danger and death if his Master returns to Judea. Yet He is true and faithful nevertheless. He will not forsake Christ, even if death is in the way. “Let us go,” he says to his fellow disciples, “and die with our Master. He is sure to be killed if He does go, but we cannot do better than be killed with Him.” Some, as Brentius, Grotius, Leigh, Poole, and Hammond think that “with him” refers to Lazarus. But most commentators think that Thomas refers to our Lord.
With them I entirely agree. Let it be noted that a man may have notable weaknesses and infirmities of Christian character and yet be a disciple of Christ. There is no more common fault among believers, perhaps, than despondency and unbelief. A reckless readiness to die and make an end of our troubles is not grace but impatience. Let us observe how extremely unlike one another Christ’s disciples were. Peter, for instance, overrunning with zeal and confidence, was the very opposite of desponding Thomas. Yet both had grace and both loved Christ.
We must not foolishly assume that all Christians are exactly like one another in details of character. We must make large allowances when the main features are right. Let us remember that this same Thomas, so desponding in our Lord’s lifetime, was afterwards the very Apostle who first preached the Gospel in India, according to ecclesiastical history, and penetrated further East than any whose name is recorded.
Chrysostom says: “The very man who dared not go to Bethany in Christ’s company afterwards ran alone through the world, and dwelt in the midst of nations full of murder and ready to kill him.” Some have thought that his Greek name “Didymus,” signifying “two” or “double,” was given him because of his character being double: viz., part faith and part weakness. But this is very doubtful. In the first three Gospels, in the catalog of the twelve, he is always named together with Matthew the publican. But why we do not know.
The Greek word for “fellow disciple” is never used in the New Testament excepting here.