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.

Lazarus is Sick; Jesus Delays

There was a man who had fallen sick. His name was El‘azar, and he came from Beit-Anyah, the village where Miryam and her sister Marta lived.

(This Miryam, whose brother El‘azar had become sick, is the one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)

So the sisters sent a message to Yeshua, “Lord, the man you love is sick.”

On hearing it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may receive glory through it.”

Yeshua loved Marta and her sister and El‘azar;

so when he heard he was sick, first he stayed where he was two more days;

then, after this, he said to the talmidim, “Let’s go back to Y’hudah.”

The talmidim replied, “Rabbi! Just a short while ago the Judeans were out to stone you — and you want to go back there?”

Yeshua answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a person walks during daylight, he doesn’t stumble; because he sees the light of this world.

But if a person walks at night, he does stumble; because he has no light with him.”

Yeshua said these things, and afterwards he said to the talmidim, “Our friend El‘azar has gone to sleep; but I am going in order to wake him up.”

The talmidim said to him, “Lord, if he has gone to sleep, he will get better.”

Now Yeshua had used the phrase to speak about El‘azar’s death, but they thought he had been talking literally about sleep.

So Yeshua told them in plain language, “El‘azar has died.

And for your sakes, I am glad that I wasn’t there, so that you may come to trust. But let’s go to him.”

Then T’oma (the name means “twin”) said to his fellow talmidim, “Yes, we should go, so that we can die with him!”

Jesus Encounters Martha and Mary

On arrival, Yeshua found that El‘azar had already been in the tomb for four days.

Now Beit-Anyah was about two miles from Yerushalayim,

and many of the Judeans had come to Marta and Miryam in order to comfort them at the loss of their brother.

So when Marta heard that Yeshua was coming, she went out to meet him; but Miryam continued sitting shiv‘ah in the house.

Marta said to Yeshua, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”

Yeshua said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Marta said, “I know that he will rise again at the Resurrection on the Last Day.”

Yeshua said to her, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever puts his trust in me will live, even if he dies;

and everyone living and trusting in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

After saying this, she went off and secretly called Miryam, her sister: “The Rabbi is here and is calling for you.”

When she heard this, she jumped up and went to him.

Yeshua had not yet come into the village but was still where Marta had met him;

so when the Judeans who had been with Miryam in the house comforting her saw her get up quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

When Miryam came to where Yeshua was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Yeshua saw her crying, and also the Judeans who came with her crying, he was deeply moved and also troubled.

He said, “Where have you buried him?” They said, “Lord, come and see.”

Yeshua cried;

so the Judeans there said, “See how he loved him!”

But some of them said, “He opened the blind man’s eyes. Couldn’t he have kept this one from dying?”

"Lazarus, Come Forth!"

Yeshua, again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying in front of the entrance.

Yeshua said, “Take the stone away!” Marta, the sister of the dead man, said to Yeshua, “By now his body must smell, for it has been four days since he died!”

Yeshua said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you keep trusting, you will see the glory of God?”

So they removed the stone. Yeshua looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

I myself know that you always hear me, but I say this because of the crowd standing around, so that they may believe that you have sent me.”

Having said this, he shouted, “El‘azar! Come out!”

The man who had been dead came out, his hands and feet wrapped in strips of linen and his face covered with a cloth. Yeshua said to them, “Unwrap him, and let him go!”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

At this, many of the Judeans who had come to visit Miryam, and had seen what Yeshua had done, trusted in him.

But some of them went off to the P’rushim and told them what he had done.

So the head cohanim and the P’rushim called a meeting of the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? — for this man is performing many miracles.

If we let him keep going on this way, everyone will trust in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both the Temple and the nation.”

But one of them, Kayafa, who was cohen gadol that year, said to them, “You people don’t know anything!

You don’t see that it’s better for you if one man dies on behalf of the people, so that the whole nation won’t be destroyed.”

Now he didn’t speak this way on his own initiative; rather, since he was cohen gadol that year, he was prophesying that Yeshua was about to die on behalf of the nation,

and not for the nation alone, but so that he might gather into one the scattered children of God.

From that day on, they made plans to have him put to death.

Jesus Withdraws; Passover Approaches

Therefore Yeshua no longer walked around openly among the Judeans but went away from there into the region near the desert, to a town called Efrayim, and stayed there with his talmidim.

The Judean festival of Pesach was near, and many people went up from the country to Yerushalayim to perform the purification ceremony prior to Pesach.

They were looking for Yeshua, and as they stood in the Temple courts they said to each other, “What do you think? that he simply won’t come to the festival?”

Moreover, the head cohanim and the P’rushim had given orders that anyone knowing Yeshua’s whereabouts should inform them, so that they could have him arrested.

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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