John 11:1

The Death of Lazarus

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of ^aMary and her sister Martha.

2 ^aIt was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3 Therefore the 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 may be glorified through it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So, when He heard that he was sick, ^aHe stayed two more days in the place where He was.

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to ^astone You, and are You going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^aIf anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the ^blight of this world.

10 But ^aif one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^asleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”

13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about 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, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

16 Then ^aThomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

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

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.

19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

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

22 But even now I know that ^awhatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

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

24 Martha said to Him, ^a“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am ^athe resurrection and the life. ^bHe who believes in Me, though he may ^cdie, he shall live.

26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, ^aI believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Jesus and Death, the Last Enemy

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.”

29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but¹ was in the place where Martha met Him.

31 ^aThen 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,¹ saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she ^afell down at His feet, saying to Him, ^b“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 ^aJesus wept.

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

37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, ^awho opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a ^astone lay against it.

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.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would ^asee the glory of God?”

41 Then they took away the stone¹ 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.

42 And I know that You always hear Me, but ^abecause of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with ^agraveclothes, and ^bhis face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, ^aand had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and ^atold them the things Jesus did.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does John 11:1 Mean?

Jesus shared a deep bond with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, more than a passing friendship. When traveling to Jerusalem, He stayed at their friendly, peaceful home, ate meals, and conversed with them for long hours. This family knew, trusted, and relied on Him in a way few others, apart from the apostles, could. Twice the closeness between Jesus and Lazarus is emphasized, connected to His calm, confident approach to death. Learning of Lazarus' fatal illness, He remained two more days, glad for His disciples' sakes that they might believe. About a month before His own death, Jesus visited Bethany and raised Lazarus, His third resurrection miracle. This extraordinary work foreshadowed His own resurrection, impressed Jerusalem, and stirred the Sanhedrin to plot His murder.

John 11:1-46

About a month before His own death and resurrection, Jesus visited Bethany and performed His third miracle of resurrection, raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46). No one knows how often Jesus visited the home of the sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus, but Scripture records some of His visits to their friendly, peaceful, and loving home (Matthew 21:17; Mark 11:11, 19; Luke 10:41-42).

This resurrection is the most extraordinary of all His great works while in the flesh. It foreshadowed His own resurrection, made a profound impression in Jerusalem, and in contrast, brought the wrath of the Sanhedrin to a head, stirring them to decide to murder Jesus. After performing this miracle, He withdrew to the wilderness of Ephraim for some private time with His disciples before the Passover and His final hours.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: The Resurrection of Lazarus (Part One)

John 11:1-5

Obviously, quite a close bond existed between Lazarus and Jesus. Luke 10:38-42 shows that Jesus had spent time with the family, eating, talking, and perhaps even staying with them occasionally during His travels around Judea. Twice in these five verses, it is mentioned that Jesus loved Lazarus, and this fact is connected with His approach to this man's death. For, when He heard that Lazarus was sick, even knowing it was a fatal illness, He remained where He was for two more days (John 11:6)! John describes Jesus' attitude toward death as calm and confident, an assessment again depicted in verses 11-13.

What He says to His disciples in John 11:14-15 takes it still further: "Then Jesus said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.'" He was glad that Lazarus had succumbed to this illness! It was not a macabre pleasure but a positive outlook, a kind of righteous joy, since He knew that the resurrection He would perform would bring about a great deal of good: Lazarus would live, the disciples' faith would be bolstered, a great witness would be made, and the path to Calvary would be set firmly in motion.

Jesus surely took a different approach to death than we do!

Later, John records that "Jesus wept" (verse 35), and many people blithely assume that He was grieving for Lazarus, but they are mistaken. He had no need to weep for Lazarus because He knew the miracle He would soon perform. Verse 33 says, "He groaned in the spirit and was troubled" when He saw Mary and the Jews with her weeping. A word study of "groaned in the spirit" shows that He was upset, even angry or indignant, rather than grief-stricken, and His emotion came out in tears. The context shows that He wept for their unbelief and their lack of hope. Even Mary, who had hung on His every word, did not understand His power or the true hope of the resurrection. Jesus is Master over death (Hebrews 2:14), and still they disbelieved!

In summary, Jesus views death through the lens of hope and the good that lies beyond it.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Death Is Not the End (Part Two)

John 11:1-16

With Lazarus' death imminent, Christ's friends were to learn that the wisdom of godly love does not always shield its recipients from suffering, sorrow, and death (John 16:20-22; II Corinthians 7:9-10). Even the personal affection that His friends enjoyed with Him did not persuade Jesus to stray from His responsibility to glorify God in all that He did. So the family had to experience illness and grief.

The gospels do not record the nature of Lazarus' illness, but it was serious enough for his sisters to request Christ's intervention, expecting Him to immediately heal the disease. The ease and simplicity of their message, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick” (John 11:3), shows the faith they had in His ability to heal.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: The Resurrection of Lazarus (Part One)

John 11:1

Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus. The text indicates that His love for them was more than a passing friendship but something far closer. The scriptures suggest that when Jesus traveled to Jerusalem, He stayed at their home. He slept in their house, ate meals with them, and undoubtedly conversed with them a great deal.

Consider their being that close to Him, spending long hours talking with Him, sharing their lives with Him. They had a closeness that other people (other than the apostles) did not have. They really knew and trusted Him. They relied on Him in a way that few people could.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Faith and Prayer

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing John 11:1:

John 11:1-46

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