John11

Jesus, upon hearing of his friend Lazarus's sickness, intentionally delays his arrival in Bethany. When he finally comes, Lazarus has been dead for four days. After comforting Martha and Mary and declaring himself "the resurrection, and the life," Jesus miraculously calls Lazarus forth from the tomb, raising him from the dead. This profound sign leads many to believe, but also prompts the chief priests and Pharisees to plot Jesus's death.

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Lazarus is Sick; Jesus Delays

At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)

So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”

When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So on hearing that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two days,

and then He said to the disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

“Rabbi,” they replied, “the Jews just tried to stone You, and You are going back there?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.

But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble, because he has no light.”

After He had said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get better.”

They thought that Jesus was talking about actual sleep, but He was speaking about the death of Lazarus.

So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Then Thomas called Didymus said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

Jesus Encounters Martha and Mary

When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, a little less than two miles away,

and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.

So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask of Him.”

“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.

Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.

And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

After Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside to tell her, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”

And when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.

Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him.

When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

“Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered.

Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?”

"Lazarus, Come Forth!"

Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.

“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”

Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”

After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.

But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.

If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all!

You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

Caiaphas did not say this on his own. Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation,

and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.

So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.

Jesus Withdraws; Passover Approaches

As a result, Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.

Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover.

They kept looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple courts, “What do you think? Will He come to the feast at all?”

But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where He was must report it, so that they could arrest Him.

Study Notes for John 11

Verse 1

Bethany was a small village near Jerusalem. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were clearly beloved friends of Jesus, setting the stage for one of John’s seven great “signs.”

Verse 2

This parenthetical note identifies this Mary as the one who later anointed Jesus (John 12:3), suggesting the recipients of the Gospel were already familiar with her story.

Verse 3

The sisters’ message is simple and trusts Jesus' love for Lazarus, but it is not a direct command, leaving the response entirely up to the Lord.

Verse 4

Jesus defines the purpose of the delay: this event is designed not merely to heal, but to manifest God's *glory* and confirm Jesus' divine identity as the Son of God.

Verse 6

The deliberate two-day delay is crucial. By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been dead four days, ensuring that no one could claim he was merely in a coma (a common Jewish belief was that the soul lingered for three days).

Verse 8

The disciples express legitimate fear. Jesus had recently narrowly escaped stoning in Jerusalem (John 10:31), highlighting the danger of returning to Judea.

Verse 9

This analogy of walking during the day refers to following God's appointed time and will. As long as Jesus is acting within God's timing, he is safe from stumbling or harm.

Verse 11

Jesus uses 'sleep' as a common euphemism for death, a usage the disciples misunderstand (v. 12). The New Testament often uses this metaphor to emphasize that death for believers is temporary, awaiting resurrection.

Verse 14

Jesus uses plain language to clarify the situation, emphasizing the reality of the death necessary for the subsequent miracle to have its full impact on their faith.

Verse 16

Thomas (meaning 'twin,' *Didymus* in Greek) shows a mixture of pessimism and fierce loyalty, believing they are all walking toward certain death alongside their friend Lazarus.

Verse 17

The fact that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days confirms the definitive nature of his death, removing any possibility of resuscitation or misdiagnosis in the eyes of Jewish tradition.

Verse 18

Fifteen furlongs is about 1.8 miles. This proximity to Jerusalem explains the large number of Jewish mourners present (v. 19), making the miracle a public, verifiable event.

Verse 20

Martha’s action shows her characteristic energy and initiative, contrasting with Mary, who remains passive in the house (a reflection of typical mourning customs).

Verse 21

Martha’s statement reflects the common belief that Jesus’ power was limited by physical distance, yet it is immediately followed by a profound affirmation of faith (v. 22).

Verse 24

Martha affirms the orthodox Jewish belief in a general resurrection at the end of time, showing her hope is theological but generalized, not specific to this moment.

Verse 25

Jesus’ seventh and greatest 'I Am' statement in John: 'I am the resurrection and the life.' He is not merely the agent of resurrection, but the source and embodiment of eternal life itself.

Verse 27

Martha’s confession is one of the most complete in the Gospels, paralleling Peter's confession (Matt 16:16). She recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God.

Verse 33

The Greek word translated 'groaned in the spirit' (*embrimaomai*) suggests deep indignation and emotional turmoil, often directed against the power of death and the sorrow it causes.

Verse 35

Jesus wept. This shortest verse in the Bible shows Jesus' perfect humanity and empathy. He grieves not only for Lazarus but for the pain and destruction that death brings to humanity.

Verse 37

The mourners, having witnessed Jesus' previous signs, question why his power did not extend to prevention, revealing their limited understanding of God's timing.

Verse 38

Jesus again groans, indicating the great spiritual conflict involved in confronting death, the final enemy (1 Cor 15:26).

Verse 39

Martha’s pragmatic concern confirms that decomposition had begun, reinforcing the reality of the miracle about to occur and highlighting her momentary lapse of faith.

Verse 40

Jesus reminds Martha of the foundational principle of faith necessary to witness the display of God's power, linking belief directly to seeing the divine glory.

Verse 41

Jesus’ public prayer is instructional, not necessary for God to hear Him. It confirms that the ensuing miracle is performed through the authority granted by the Father.

Verse 44

Lazarus emerged still bound in linen grave clothes, indicating the immediate and complete restoration of life. The command to 'Loose him' symbolizes the church’s role in freeing those called to new life.

Verse 45

This spectacular miracle immediately divides the witnesses: many believe, but others rush to inform the hostile religious authorities.

Verse 48

The council fears that a popular uprising centered on Jesus will provoke a violent reaction from Rome, resulting in the loss of their limited self-governance ('our place and nation').

Verse 49

Caiaphas, the high priest, speaks cynically, advocating for political expediency—sacrificing one man to preserve the status quo.

Verse 51

John interprets Caiaphas's political calculus as divine prophecy. Because of his office, the high priest unknowingly declared God’s plan for the sacrificial death of Jesus.

Verse 52

The scope of Jesus' death extends beyond Israel ('that nation') to include all of God's 'scattered children'—a reference to the future inclusion of Gentiles into the unified body of Christ.

Verse 54

Jesus withdraws from public ministry near Jerusalem to the city of Ephraim, demonstrating careful timing before His final voluntary entrance into Jerusalem for the Passover.

Verse 55

The Passover pilgrimage required ritual purification, explaining why many people arrived early in Jerusalem, creating a public atmosphere of anticipation regarding Jesus’ whereabouts.

Verse 57

The chief priests and Pharisees formalize their hostility by issuing a public warrant for Jesus' arrest, confirming the high level of danger He faced.

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John11

Lazarus is Sick; Jesus Delays

Jesus Encounters Martha and Mary

"Lazarus, Come Forth!"

The Plot to Kill Jesus

Jesus Withdraws; Passover Approaches

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