Jn. 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Jn. 11:2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair , whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Reference Luke 7:38 for this event.
Jn. 11:3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
Jn. 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
“This sickness is not unto death,” meaning it is not for the purpose of death as an end in itself. Lazarus will die, but this has a deeper purpose to it, because Yeshua has been promising the nation, the multitudes, that they will receive only one more sign, and that is the sign of Jonah, the sign of the resurrection.
Jn. 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Jn. 11:6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
Yeshua purposely stayed where He was for two more days in order to arrive at Lazarus’ home on the fourth day following his death.
Jn. 11:7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
Jn. 11:8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are you going there again?”
Jn. 11:9 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.”
Jn. 11:10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
Jn. 11:11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
Jn. 11:12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well.”
Jn. 11:13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
Jn. 11:14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”
Jn. 11:15 “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
Jn. 11:16 Then Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
Jn. 11:17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
Jn. 11:18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.
Jn. 11:19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
Jn. 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.
Jn. 11;21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jn. 11:22 “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
Jn. 11:23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Jn. 11:24 Martha said to Him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Martha has great faith. She knows that Yeshua can do anything because of His relationship with God. Hearing Yeshua’s reply, she misinterprets His meaning. She thinks He is talking about the resurrection of the dead on the Day of Judgment. But, Yeshua is talking about demonstrating His position and His power immediately.
Jn. 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live .”
Here we have the last of John’s seven “I am’s” – “I am the resurrection and the life.” The Jewish people know that only God can bring about the resurrection and give life to man. Here, in a very Hebraic manner, Yeshua once again is claiming to be Elohim.
Jn. 11:27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is come into the world.”
Martha responds by acknowledging Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. She calls Him the Messiah and He does not dispute what she says.
Jn. 11:28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.”
Jn. 11:29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.
Jn. 11:30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.
Jn. 11:31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
Jn. 11:32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jn. 11:33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
Jn. 11:34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Jn. 11:35 Jesus wept.
Jn. 11:36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
Jn. 11:37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
As Yeshua comes to the tomb, His ability is questioned. These religious leaders knew of His third Messianic Miracle of restoring sight to the congenitally blind man, so they ask the question, “Why did Yeshua let His friend who He loved die?” Now they probably said this in a sarcastic, accusatory way, but it really is a legitimate question. The reason again is so that there can be no question of His Messianic claim and also to show forth the glory of God.
Jn. 11:38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Jn. 11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
This is significant in light of Jewish theology, because it was believed that when death takes place the spirit of the man hovers over the body for three days. During that time there is always a possibility of resuscitation. But, by the fourth day the spirit has departed into Sheol or Hades, and at that point there is no possibility of resuscitation, except by the Messiah. This three-day time is known as the period before corruption begins (Psa. 16:10). Only a Messianic Miracle of resurrection could bring Lazarus back. So Yeshua intentionally waited for four days so that the Jewish leaders could not explain away the resurrection of Lazarus as a resuscitation.
Source: Psalm 16:10
Jn. 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
Jn. 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.”
Jn. 11:42 “And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Jn. 11:43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
Jn. 11:44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”
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