38  The Resurrection and the Life—  Part One: Sickness  for the Glory of God  (John 11:1–16)

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 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. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” (11:1–16)

The most important theme in the universe is the glory of God. It is the underlying reason for all of God’s works, from the creation of the world, to the redemption of fallen sinners, to the judgment of unbelievers, to the manifestation of His greatness for all eternity in heaven.

Because God’s glory is intrinsic to His nature the Bible refers to Him as the God of glory (Ps. 29:3; Acts 7:2), the Glory of Israel (1 Sam. 15:29), the King of glory (Ps. 24:7–10), and the high and exalted One (Isa. 57:15; cf. 33:5). God the Father is called the Father of glory (Eph. 1:17; cf. 2 Peter 1:17); Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8); and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of glory (1 Peter 4:14). God’s intrinsic glory is uniquely His, and He will not share it with anyone else (Isa. 42:8; 48:11).

The Word of God consistently extols the greatness of His glory. In Psalm 57:11 David exclaimed, “Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth” (cf. 108:5). Echoing his father’s thought Solomon wrote, “Blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory” (Ps. 72:19). Psalm 113:4 further describes God’s glory as being “above the heavens”; Psalm 138:5 pro-claims, “Great is the glory of the Lord”; and Psalm 148:13 adds, “His glory is above earth and heaven.”

God’s glory is revealed in an infinite number of ways, one of which is in His creation. In Psalm 19:1 David wrote, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Isaiah 6:3 declares, “The whole earth is full of His glory”; it is the display case in which “His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, [are] clearly seen” (Rom. 1:20). Everything God created gives Him glory—except fallen angels and fallen men. And even they, in a negative sense, bring Him glory, since He displays His holiness by judging them (cf. Ex. 14:4, 17–18).

God’s glory is also seen in redemption. He saved sinners “to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory” (Rom. 9:23). In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul called the message of salvation “the gospel of the glory of Christ,” and noted that the saving “grace which is spreading to more and more people [will] cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God” (v. 15). To the Ephesians Paul wrote, “[God] predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:5–6; cf. vv. 12, 14, 18). Salvation transforms believers, filling them “with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:11; cf. John 15:8).

At various times in redemptive history, God visibly manifested His glory to His people. Moses, overwhelmed with the responsibility of leading Israel, cried out to God,

Throughout their wilderness wanderings, the glory of God appeared repeatedly to the people of Israel, primarily in the form of either a cloud or a fiery pillar (Ex. 13:21–22; 16:10; 24:16–17; Lev. 9:23–24; Num. 14:10; 16:19, 42). A visible manifestation of God’s glory also appeared at the dedication ceremonies of both the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34–35) and Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:10–11).

To prepare him for his prophetic ministry, God also gave Isaiah an overwhelming vision of His majestic, glorious holiness:

But the most gracious and complete manifestation of God’s glory came in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, “the Word [who] became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Explaining the significance of the Lord’s first miracle, John wrote, “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him” (2:11). Although Jesus’ divine glory was veiled in human flesh, on one occasion He did unveil His true majesty to three of His disciples: “Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matt. 17:1–2; cf. 2 Peter 1:16–18).

Chapter 11 records the last and most powerful of the seven miraculous signs in the gospel of John (cf. 2:1–11; 4:46–54; 5:1–17; 6:1–14; 6:15–21; 9:1–41), the resurrection of Lazarus four days after he died. The miracle’s primary purpose, however, was not to restore him to life, or to comfort his grieving sisters. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, first and foremost, so that He and the Father would be glorified (vv. 4, 40).

The glory of Jesus Christ blazes in this passage against a dark backdrop of rejection and hatred on the part of the Jewish leaders. As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, the Lord’s confrontation with the Jewish authorities in Solomon’s portico (10:22–39) marked the end of John’s record of His public ministry; chapters 11 and 12 form a bridge between Christ’s public ministry and His passion, recorded in chapters 13–21. After the confrontation, Jesus withdrew across the Jordan River (10:40) to the region of Perea, where He remained and ministered for a few months before returning to Jerusalem for Passion Week. It was in the midst of that Perean ministry that He returned briefly to the vicinity of Jerusalem to raise Lazarus from the dead. Yet, in spite of the undeniable miracle Jesus would perform, the Jewish authorities’ hatred for Him only intensified (11:46–53). Therefore, after raising Lazarus, the Lord would once again leave the area surrounding Jerusalem (v. 54), not to return until His triumphal entry.

The resurrection of Lazarus evidenced Christ’s glory in three ways: it pointed unmistakably to His deity (11:25–27); it strengthened the faith of the disciples (11:15); and it led directly to the cross (11:53). As the account unfolds in chapter 11, it may be divided into four sections: the preparation for the miracle (11:1–16); the arrival of Jesus (11:17–36); the miracle itself (11:37–44); and the aftermath (11:45–57).

The first section provides the background for the miracle by introducing three sets of characters: the critical man, the concerned sisters, and the cautious disciples.

THE CRITICAL MAN

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. (11:1–2)

The unembellished introduction of him only as a certain man who was sick emphasizes that Lazarus is not the primary focus of the story. As noted above, the main emphasis is that Jesus and the Father would be glorified through his resurrection. Lazarus is a shortened form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, which means “God has helped,” or “helped by God”—a fitting name in light of this story. Since the name was a common one, John further identified him by the village where he lived, Bethany. This was not the Bethany beyond the Jordan where John the Baptist had ministered (see the exposition of 1:28 in chapter 4 of this volume) and where Jesus was currently ministering (see the discussion of 10:40 in the previous chapter of this volume). This was the Bethany in Judea (v. 18).

John further identified Bethany as the village of Mary and her sister Martha. The apostle, giving no further details, evidently expected his readers to be familiar with the two sisters (who are referred to in Luke’s gospel [Luke 10:38–42]). Thus, he could write that it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick; even though he would not relate that story of that anointing until chapter 12, his readers already knew of it from the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 26:6–13; Mark 14:3–9).

Through the resurrection of Lazarus Jesus and the Father would receive glory, the disciples’ faith would be strengthened, and the final straw would be dropped that prompted the hostile Jewish leaders to bring about Jesus’ execution.

THE CONCERNED SISTERS

So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (11:3–6)

Understandably, the sisters were deeply concerned about their brother’s condition. They sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” The nature of Lazarus’s illness is not specified, but his death was imminent. Mary and Martha believed that Jesus was willing to heal their brother because of His deep love for Lazarus; and they were equally confident that He had the power to do so (vv. 21, 32).

Since Jesus was across the Jordan (10:40), a messenger from Bethany would have needed at least a day to reach Him. (Of course, the Lord in His omniscience already knew about Lazarus’s serious illness [cf. vv. 11, 13–14]). Due to the severity of his condition, Lazarus may have even died before the messenger reached Jesus, since he had already been dead for four days when Jesus arrived in Bethany (vv. 17, 39). (The messenger’s journey to Jesus would have accounted for one day, the Lord then delayed two days (v. 6) before taking one more day to travel to Lazarus’ home. That brings the total number of days to four.)

The sisters’ message is beautiful in its tender simplicity. They did not spell out the details of Lazarus’s condition, nor did they specifically ask the Lord to do anything. (They realized that it would be extremely dangerous for Him to travel anywhere near Jerusalem at this time; cf. v. 8.) They also did not attempt to manipulate Jesus by reminding Him of Lazarus’s affection for Him. They merely appealed to the Lord’s love (phüeo; the love of friendship and affection) for their brother and humbly and trustingly brought the need to His attention (cf. Pss. 37:5; 46:1; 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7).

When Jesus heard the message, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death.” The Lord obviously did not mean that Lazarus was not going to die, but rather that death would not be the ultimate outcome. Like the blind man (9:3), his illness, death, and resurrection were all for the glory of God. Contrary to the teaching of some, Christ’s response indicates that sickness and even death may sometimes be God’s will for His people (cf. 21:19; Ex. 4:11; Job 1, 2). In this case, Lazarus’s circumstances would bring glory to God because through them the Son of God would be glorified (cf. 12:23, 28).

John’s note that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus makes explicit what is implied throughout the story. The Lord was close to this family, having undoubtedly spent much time in their home during His visits to nearby Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 21:17; Mark 11:11–12; and the discussion of 8:1 in chapter 27 of this volume). John interjected the thought here to show that the Lord’s subsequent action did not reflect a lack of love and compassion on His part.

The Lord’s close relationship with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha makes what happened next seem all the more puzzling. Instead of rushing back to Bethany in response to the sisters’ message, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. The Lord did not delay to allow Lazarus to die since, as noted above, he had probably died before the messenger reached Jesus. The delay did serve several purposes: it strengthened the sisters’ faith in the Lord by forcing them to trust Him; it made it clear that Lazarus was truly dead (cf. the discussion of v. 17 in chapter 39 of this volume) and hence that Jesus’ raising of him was indeed a miracle; and, as always, Jesus operated according to God’s timetable, not man’s.

THE CAUTIOUS DISCIPLES

Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 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. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” (11:7–16)

After the two-day delay was over, Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” Astonished and appalled, the disciples protested, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You(8:59; cf. 10:31), and are You going there again?” Why, they reasoned, leave a fruitful ministry (10:41–42) for a life-threatening journey to the vicinity of Jerusalem? The situation did not seem to require the Lord’s immediate attention or presence; He Himself had said that Lazarus was not going to die (v. 4). And if Jesus did need to heal Lazarus, why not do it from a distance like He had done before (cf. 4:46–53)?

The Lord replied with a proverbial saying meant to allay the disciples’ fears: “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. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” The Jews divided the daylight period into twelve hours, which unlike modern hours varied in length at different seasons of the year. The twelve hours in the day symbolize the duration of the Lord’s earthly ministry as allotted by the Father. Just as no one can lengthen or shorten a day, so the disciples’ concern could not extend the time allotted to Jesus, nor could the Jews’ hostility shorten it. The one who walks in the day need not fear that he might stumble; thus Jesus was perfectly safe for the prescribed time of His life (7:30; 8:20). The night, signifying the end of His earthly ministry (cf. 12:35), would come at the precise time set by God’s eternal plan, and only then would the Lord stumble in death (cf. the discussion of 9:4 in chapter 33 of this volume).

The phrase this He said, and after that He said to them suggests that Jesus paused to allow the truth of what He had said in verses 9 and 10 to sink in. Then He explained to the disciples why He needed to return to Judea: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” Sleep is used throughout the Bible as a euphemism for death, particularly that of believers (cf. the repeated use of the phrase “slept with his fathers” in 1 and 2 Kings and 2 Chron.; 1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; Ps. 13:3; Dan.12:2; Matt. 9:24; 27:52; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Cor. 11:30; 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thess. 4:13–15; 5:10; 2 Peter 3:4); for Jesus, therefore, to say that He would awaken him out of sleep was to speak metaphorically of raising Lazarus from the dead.

Relieved to hear that Lazarus was on the road to recovery (or so they thought), the disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” “Why not just let him rest?” they reasoned. They saw no need for their Master to risk His life by returning to Judea. But their reasoning was based on a misunderstanding of Jesus’ words; He had spoken of Lazarus’s death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. The disciples’ mistake flowed from their misunderstanding of Jesus’ words in verse 4; they still believed that Lazarus’ condition was improving, and would continue to do so with adequate rest.

At that point Jesus ended their confusion, and said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Here is an unmistakable indication of the Lord’s omniscience, since the messenger had merely said that Lazarus was sick (v. 3), and there was no way for Jesus to have heard that Lazarus had already died.

Jesus’ next statement, “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe,” does not mean that He rejoiced in the death of His dear friend (cf. vv. 33, 35, 38). The Lord’s point was that Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead would do far more to strengthen the disciples’ faith than a healing alone would have done. Jesus’ time on earth was rapidly nearing its end, and with the cross looming ever nearer, the disciples needed a powerful support for their faith.

Seeing that Jesus was determined to return to Judea, Thomas, who is called Didymus (Thomas [Hebrew] and Didymus [Greek] both mean “twin”), said resignedly to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” Thomas is known to history as “Doubting Thomas” (cf. John 20:24–28), but there was much more to him, as his words here reflect love, devotion, and courage, in spite of his pessimism. His negativity led him to believe he would die if they went to Jerusalem. On the other hand, his love for Jesus was so strong that he was willing to die with Him.

Thomas was sincere in his intentions. Yet at the crucial moment in Gethsemane (just a short time away) his faith, like that of the rest of the disciples, would be found wanting. When Jesus was arrested in the garden, “all the disciples left Him and fled” (Matt. 26:56). Here, however, Thomas was an example of courage and strength to the wavering disciples. Following his bold lead, despite their doubts (vv. 8, 12), they all went to Bethany with Jesus.