John Chapter 11

The Death and Raising of Lazarus

Historic: this period covers three to four months of Jesus’ life, from the Feast of Dedication in December A.D. 29 until the beginning of His journey to Jerusalem at Passover.

This chapter has the last of John’s seven signs, the resurrection of Lazarus. It also contains the fifth of Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements recorded by John: I am the resurrection and the life (Jn. 11:25).

Lazarus was not the first person Jesus raised from the dead. How­ever, all the other resurrection accounts were covered in just a few verses and witnessed by only a few people who were then forbid­den to tell anyone about what they had seen. In sharp contrast to all the other reports, John devoted 44 verses to the resurrection of Lazarus, going into great detail. Instead of being witnessed only by a few, this resurrection was witnessed by multitudes of people.

The Sign of Jonah

Matthew 12: 38-42 (ESV)

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

The resurrection of Lazarus differed from all the others because it was the one last sign Jesus promised to give to Israel: the sign of Jonah, the sign of resurrection. Once Jesus gave this sign, the people would have to respond. If one properly understands the role this res­ur­rection played in Jesus’s relationship to Israel as her Messiah, it becomes clear why things happened the way they did.

Finally, one of the key differences between Pharisaic Judaism and Sadducean Judaism was the doctrine of the resurrection. The Sadducees denied that the resurrection was taught in the Torah.

The sign of Jonah is the sign of resurrection. It came three times

1.       Lazarus (John 11;1-46

2.       Jesus (Matthew 16:1-4)

3.       Two witnesses in the Tribulation (Revelation 11:3-13)

2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."

The event began when Martha and Miriam sent a message to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was ill.

Their intention was to persuade Jesus to come quickly before Lazarus died and heal him of his illness. Since it was only a one-day walk to the town of Bethany from where Jesus was at that point, He could have arrived in plenty of time.

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Jesus initial response was to state that Lazarus’ sickness had a di­vine purpose.

Lazarus would die, but not for the sake—or the honour—of death, but for the glory of God.

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Question: Why do you think He did not go straight away?

Jesus permits this to happen because God will get the glory in it. Nothing will come into our lives without His permission, and if He permits it, it is going to be for His glory.

Day 1 The messenger comes to Jesus (Lazarus dies).

Day 2 The messenger returns to Bethany.

Day 3 Jesus waits a further day, then departs.

Day 4 Jesus arrives in Bethany

Question: Does it seem cruel that Jesus let Lazarus die?

No, there is a message here for us. Jesus was not motivated by sentiment, but He was subject to the Father’s will. Human sentiment would urge Him to go to Bethany immediately. But He deliberately let Lazarus die. Jesus never moves by sentiment. He is motivated by love, and that love is for the good of the individual and for the glory of God. (CS)

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."

8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"

The disciples objected, because they had been there before and they knew that many in that re­gion wanted to kill Him. They cannot understand why Jesus wants to return to a territory which so very recently made an attempt to stone him

9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

The light of this world in the purely physical sense refers to sunlight. However the spiritual thrust is that Jesus the “light of the world” (John 8:12) illuminates this world of darkness with the light of God

10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

There is only a brief time left before the darkness takes over and he faces the cross. There is little time left, and he has to use it carefully to do the work of his Father while he can.

11 After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."

12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died,

The Bible describes physical death for the believer in terms of “sleeping”: Gen. 47:30, “When I (Jacob) sleep with my fathers …”
2 Sam. 7:12. “When thy (David’s) days are fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers …”
Matt. 27:52, “Many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised.” Acts 7:60, “And when he (Stephen) had said this, he fell asleep.”
1 Thess. 4:13, “But we would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those that fall asleep.”

“Sleep,” in the sense of death, is a temporary suspension of physical activity, but not spirit, soul or mind heart activity, because death is not a cessation of consciousness or of existence. So, for the believer, death is no longer a punishment; it is the means of entering into Heaven. For the believer, therefore, it is viewed as “sleep,” a temporary suspension of physical activity until the body awakens in the resurrection. (CS)

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

Jesus had to tell them plainly, saying, Lazarus has died (Jn. 11:14), even though no one had come to inform Him that Lazarus had finally succumbed to his illness.

After waiting two days, Jesus knew that His friend had died, and He was ready to depart for Judea and Bethany.

So we see that not only will God be glorified but the disciples will believe, their faith was growing, and this would be a significant step forward.

16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

This is one of several times the Gospel of John portrays Thomas as having had a negative outlook on life. Thomas along with the other disciples certainly understood their fate was questionable and their lives were in jeopardy, but Thomas’ loyalty is revealed by his readiness to share Jesus’ danger. (CS)

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,

19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

If Jesus had come when they had first called Him, He could have healed Lazarus. Had He come earlier, her brother would still be alive.

22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."

Martha does, however, affirm her faith in Him.

23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

Surely she knew about the resurrection of the widow’s son and Jairus’s daughter, but somehow she never made the connection that the Lord could do the same for her brother.

Martha assumed He spoke of the prophetic future and final resurrection on the last day (Jn. 11:24), a fundamental belief of Judaism. She had no thought of an immediate resuscitation but she did believe in the final resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

Jesus is the cause, source, or fountain of the believers’ resurrection and of their everlasting life. Because he lives, we too shall live.

With him removed, nothing but death is left.

With him present, resurrection and life are assured. Future resurrection was impossible without him.

26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Martha (as well as Lazarus) had no hope without Jesus in the picture. He also said that real life (life that extends beyond death) is possible only through him. A person attains it no other way. This life is both spiritual (though he die, yet shall he live) and eternal (shall never die), and it comes only to those who believe in Jesus. (CS)

27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

Martha used three different titles for Jesus: Lord, Christ (Messiah), and Son of God.

The words “I believe” are in the perfect tense, indicating a fixed and settled faith. “I have believed and I will continue to believe!”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."

29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.

31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

Miriam also scolded Him for not taking action when He was first called. Like her sister, she recognized His power before death, but not over death.

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

The Greek word for weeping, klaiousan, means “wailing.” Miriam and the other Jewish people were wailing.

Greek literally reads, “He was moved with indignation in the spirit.”

Jesus was angry at their unbelief, but in context He was also angry at what sin has cost humanity—physical death—and death’s impact on the hu­man race and His friend Lazarus in particular.

34 And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."

35 Jesus wept.

The Greek verb used here differs from the one used for the sisters’ wailing. It is edakrysen and comes from the root dakruó, meaning “to shed tears.” It refers to a silent weeping, unlike the wailing of the others.

36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?"

From their perspective, healing a man born blind was unique; it was a messianic miracle. Using the kal v’chomer argument[1], they reasoned that Jesus could also do a lesser miracle and heal Lazarus. This led Jesus to once again “deeply moved” (Jn. 11:38); He was angry that they failed to understand the purpose of His mission.

Jesus Raises Lazarus

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days."

Within a Jewish frame of reference, the fact that Lazarus had been dead for four days is significant. Jesus deliberately waited for him to die and spe­cifically waited to arrive on the fourth day.

The reason for this relates to the common rabbinic teaching of that day that when a person died, their spirit hovered over the body for three days, and during those three days, there was always a small possibility of resuscitation. At the end of the third day, the spirit descended into Sheol, so resuscitation was im­possible. Only by miracle of resurrection would the man live again, and resurrection, as we pointed out earlier, was believed to happen in the last days when Messiah comes. (CS)

Jesus was demonstrating to the point they would have to come to an understanding that the miracle supported Jesus’s assertions of being the Messiah. Lazarus had been dead for one day too many.

40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"

41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."

Many commentators claim that Jesus’s love for these particular siblings motivated Him to raise Lazarus, and this was true in part (v. 5). However, discovering the textual reason for why things happen in Scripture is always wise. Clearly, this miracle was intended for the people. As He promised, this was the one time Jesus publicly presented a miracle to which they needed to respond

43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out."

44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

A miracle within the miracle took place. Lazarus was bound hand, foot, and face; he was blinded, yet came out of the tomb into the open. With the resurrection of Lazarus, the first sign of Jonah was given.

The Plot to Kill Jesus (Matthew 26:1–5; Mark 14:1, 2; Luke 22:1, 2 )

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

The sign of Jonah evoked two reactions.

The first response was the cor­rect one: ” believed in him”. Many individual Jews believed and accepted His Messiahship (Jn. 11:45).

The second response was that others, still driven by their leadership error, they reported the occurrence to the Pharisees (Jn. 11:46).

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

This resurrection differed from all the others because it was the one last sign Jesus promised to give to Israel: the sign of Jonah, the sign of resurrection.

Once Jesus gave this sign, the people would have to respond. If one properly understands the role this res­ur­rection played in Jesus’s relationship to Israel as her Messiah, it becomes clear why things happened the way they did.

Finally, one of the key differences between Pharisaic Judaism and Sadducean Judaism was the doctrine of the resurrection. The Sadducees denied that the resurrection was taught in the Torah.

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.

The Pharisees, in particular, knew that this was the sign Jesus promised to give to the nation, so they had to respond.

48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

There were too many witnesses to deny it. However, they feared losing their position of privilege and their prominence. They were afraid that Jesus would be declared the Messiah and that the Romans would view this as an act of rebellion, invade the country, and destroy it.

49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all.

50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish."

51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

Caiaphas meant one thing—that they had to get rid of this man to save the nation from Roman destruction. However, Yochanan pointed out that, ironically, the high priest spoke the truth: Jesus would die on behalf of the nation. Because of His death, the nation would not be utterly destroyed, but will someday be regathered and experience their final restoration. Caiaphas meant it one way, but God fulfilled it in another, which allows us to draw a parallel to what Joseph said to his brothers: Ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good (Genesis. 50:20).

53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

This resurrection differed from all the others because it was the one last sign Jesus promised to give to Israel: the sign of Jonah, the sign of resurrection.

Once Jesus gave this sign, the people would have to respond. If one properly understands the role this res­ur­rection played in Jesus’s relationship to Israel as her Messiah, it becomes clear why things happened the way they did.

Finally, one of the key differences between Pharisaic Judaism and Sadducean Judaism was the doctrine of the resurrection. The Sadducees denied that the resurrection was taught in the Torah.

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

The next time He re­turned to Judea would be for the purpose of dying.

Jesus arrives at Bethany

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?"

57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

From that day forth, the Sanhedrin made plans to put him to death (v 53). They officially rejected the first sign of Jonah, the resurrection of Lazarus. As a result of their decision to kill Him.