But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him. The order given by the chief priests and Pharisees would make anyone who knew the whereabouts of Jesus without reporting Him, an accessory and liable to punishment, thus …
Category Archives: Chapter 11
John 11:56
They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all?” The purifications took place in the Temple and as the people waited their turn, they gathered together in small groups, discussing the news of the day. …
John 11:55
So from that day on they plotted to take his life. This is nothing new (5:18; 7:19; 8:44,59; 10:39; 11:8) but they are now trying all the harder to accomplish it. The words of Caiaphas have made an impact on his hearers and they decide to follow his advice. John 5:18 For this reason the …
John 11:54
Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. We do not know for certain the exact whereabouts of Ephraim, but it was probably near Bethel (2 Chron 13:19), about 15 miles to the …
John 11:53
So from that day on they plotted to take his life. This is nothing new (5:18; 7:19; 8:44,59; 10:39; 11:8) but they are now trying all the harder to accomplish it. The words of Caiaphas have made an impact on his hearers and they decide to follow his advice. John 5:18 For this reason the …
John 11:52
and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. “the scattered children” = Caiaphas’ words are not enough and John amplifies what God was saying through that prophesy. The “scattered children,” if spoken by a Jew, would normally be taken to be …
John 11:51
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, It was thought that the High Priest was God’s spokesman and he would prophesy on His behalf (Num 27:18-21). In actuality, what Caiaphas meant as “a piece of cynical, political realism” …
John 11:50
You do not realise that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” “realize” (NIV) = “consider” (KJV) = dialogizomai = to reason it out, to reckon up your accounts. He is saying that they are incapable of working it out that this certain course …
John 11:49
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! Caiaphas was high priest from about 18 A.D. to 36 A.D. Though the office was originally for life, the Romans were in the habit of changing high priest from time to time as suited their needs. …
John 11:48
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.” “everyone will believe in him” = apparently many are placing their faith in Jesus, even with the threat of excommunication. The raising of Lazarus has forced their …
John 11:47
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. Apparently an informal meeting of the Sanhedrin is meant and not the official Sanhedrin since it is called “a” Sanhedrin and not “the” Sanhedrin and because Caiaphas is …
John 11:46
But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. In contrast to those who had put their faith in Jesus because of the raising of Lazarus, were those who saw the miracle, not as a sign pointing to God, but as a threat to the status quo. They took …
John 11:45
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. The result of the miracle is division. There are many who put their faith in Jesus; but there are many of the eyewitnesses who don’t. How can someone, in the face of overwhelming …
John 11:44
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Jesus had the Jews release Lazarus from his grave clothes so that they would have the hands-on experience to know for certain …
John 11:43
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Why did Jesus use a loud voice to command Lazarus? Was it because Lazarus was in the tomb and volume was needed for him to hear Jesus? No, it was for the benefit of the crowd, so that they would know …
John 11:42
I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” His concern for people is again the motivating factor in the actions of Jesus. Note that it is not His prayer that is said for the people’s sake, …
John 11:41
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Jesus has already asked the Father in prayer to restore Lazarus to life and He now thanks His Father for answering His prayer, . . . without having yet seen the result of it! …
John 11:40
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Jesus is either referring to a part of His conversation with Martha that is not recorded or He is speaking of His challenge for faith in her in verses #25-26 combined with the promised results which …
John 11:39
“Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.” Why did Jesus order the stone to be taken away? He could have miraculously moved it Himself, but really didn’t need to even do …
John 11:38
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Jesus is still in the grip of the deep emotion described in verse #33 as He approaches the tomb of His friend. Calvin sees in this the cost of working a miracle when he notes …
John 11:37
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” The Jews are sincere in their question. The healing of the man blind from birth had made a big impression on them, for they remembered it though it had happened three months ago …
John 11:36
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” The Jews observe that Jesus loved Lazarus but they fail to recognize the greater truth. The basis for their observation is the tears of Jesus; they think that they are tears of grief over the eternal loss of a friend and perhaps the frustration of not …
John 11:35
Jesus wept. “wept” is a different word than that used of the grieving sisters and Jewish sympathizers. Their weeping was a loud, unrestrained wailing and lamentation (klaio); His weeping (dakruo) was a quiet, gentle shedding of tears. Why did Jesus weep? It was not over the death of His friend Lazarus, for Jesus was about …
John 11:34
“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus apparently did not know the location of the gravesite. Their (the sisters?) reply indicates that it was some distance away. Note that though Mary said the same thing to Him as Martha had done, His response to Mary is quite different. …
John 11:33
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “weeping” = klaio = to weep audibly out of pain and grief; a loud expression of pain or sorrow; to wail or lament; to cry as a child; to mourn for …
John 11:32
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Upon greeting Jesus, Mary falls down at His feet. This may be “in grief and dependence” as McGarvey thinks, but is probably also done out …
John 11:31
When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. “followed her” = The crowd of Jews had good intentions and wanted to be with Mary to help her in …
John 11:30
Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. Why did Jesus stop outside of the town? Why didn’t He go to the house of the sisters? Some speculate that He wanted to remain near the cemetery, but He was still some distance from it …
John 11:29
When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Mary’s response to the call of Jesus as given through her sister, is immediate. She does not delay, but “arose quickly” when she heard the call. How quick are we to answer when Jesus asks for us? Do we immediately go into His …
John 11:28
And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” “secretly” (KJV) = “aside” (NIV) = Apparently either Martha wanted to give her sister some time alone with Jesus or she had been instructed by Jesus to secretly approach …
John 11:27
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” “Yes, Lord” = Martha first agrees with what Jesus has said. “She is not choosing her own way but accepting His.” (Morris) “I believe” = is in the perfect tense and should …
John 11:26
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “never die” again refers to spiritual death, not physical. Many believers in Christ have sinced died only to live forever. “Do you believe this?” = Jesus is not making an intellectual statement to be contemplated and discussed; His words are truth …
John 11:25
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; Jesus is speaking of physical death when He says “though he dies”. Physical death is the end for the unbeliever, but not for the one who believes in Jesus. “I am” = Jesus …
John 11:24
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha takes the words of Jesus to be referring to the final resurrection and thus shows that she was not contemplating an immediate raising of her brother. She took Jesus’ words to be words of comfort.
John 11:23
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus gives no indication that He is speaking of a soon-coming resurrection or of any involvement on His part. To all appearances, He is just making a general statement about resurrection, perhaps as some of the comforters (not Sadducees, of course) had been consoling the sisters …
John 11:22
But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” “even now” = is Martha asking Jesus to resurrect Lazarus from the dead? Are these words of hope? Probably not, or she would not have later objected so strongly to the command of Jesus to take away the stone from the tomb …
John 11:21
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Martha’s greeting to Jesus was an expression of her faith and was probably the subject of much discussion between her and her sister over the past 4 days since this is the same thought Mary expresses to Jesus when …
John 11:20
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. Martha went and Mary stayed. Martha was the mistress of the house and was very conscious of hospitality and doing things for others. She went out to see Jesus because she felt that she must. Her grief …
John 11:19
and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. It was a sacred duty for the Jews to comfort the bereaved. The Talmud stipulates that there were to be “Three days for weeping and seven for lamenting and thirty from cutting the hair and pressed clothes.” …
John 11:18
Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, “fifteen furlongs” (KJV) = a furlong was 606.75 feet, so 15 X 606.75 = 9101.25 feet = 1.724 miles. The proximity to Jerusalem explains the large number of Jews in attendance for the period of mourning. It also proclaims that Jesus has almost reached the climax of …
John 11:17
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Burial usually followed death as soon as possible because of the climate and its effects on the body. (Note the example of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:6, 10). Thus allowing for a day journey to Jesus by the messenger, …
John 11:16
Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” We most often remember Thomas as a doubter, but here he is a courageous leader. Barclay defines being courageous as “being perfectly aware of the worst that can happen, being sickeningly afraid of it, …
John 11:15
and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” The statement of Jesus that “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad…” would have produced the same shock in the disciples that it should produce in us. But Jesus goes on to tell …
John 11:14
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, This statement could only come from supernatural knowledge. The messenger had only mentioned sickness.
John 11:13
Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. Remember that John, one of the disciples of Christ is writing this account and admitting that he and the others did not understand what Jesus was saying. Jesus teaches us bit by bit and will never give us more than …
John 11:12
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” One of the signs of recovery from sickness was sleep. Morris points out that the disciples were probably quite ready to come to this conclusion because it would remove the necessity for the dangerous journey to Judea. Interestingly, the words “do well” are the …
John 11:11
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” In the New Testament death for a believer is spoken of as “sleep” (1 Cor 15:6) but at this point in time there was not yet a resurrection of …
John 11:10
It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.” Electricity has softened the power of darkness in our time because even on cloudy nights the sky has a glow from distant cities. In the time of Jesus this was not the case. A light source had to be taken …
John 11:9
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. twelve hours = The Roman and the Jewish days were divided into 12 equal hours from sunrise to sunset. The actual amount of time in an hour would vary directly …
John 11:8
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” The disciples have not forgotten that the Jews tried to stone Jesus the last time they were in Judea and they are quick to point out the danger to Him. This serves to display …
John 11:7
Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” Why does Jesus say, “Let us go back to Judaea” and not “Let us go back to Bethany”? Because he knew what would follow His return there and most of it would happen in Jerusalem.
John 11:6
Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. There seems to be no urgency in what Jesus is doing. Why does He delay? We know that He loved Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary. Just imagine how difficult it must have been for Him to remain when He …
John 11:5
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Jesus loved each one of the members of this family. John puts this verse here to preface the following one. If we were not told of Jesus’ love for them, we might have thought that He remained where He was due to unconcern, but the truth is …
John 11:4
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” The messenger from the sisters is apparently sent back to them by Jesus with this reply. The interesting thing is that Lazarus was probably dead by this …
John 11:3
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” The home in Bethany was apparently one of the few places Jesus could find rest and relaxation. He had no home of His own, but often stayed here when in Jerusalem (Luke 9:58) and found peace, love, and hospitality. Luke 9:58 …
John 11:2
This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. John has not yet related the incident he refers to here and will not until the next chapter, but his audience is undoubtedly aware of Mary and what she had …
John 11:1
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. “Lazarus” means “whom God helps.” “Bethany” means “house of dates” or, “house of misery.” The name “Mary” means “their rebellion.” Martha’s name is probably of Aramaic origin meaning “mistress.” Bethany is about two miles east of …