39  The Resurrection and the Life—  Part Two: The  Arrival of the Savior  (John 11:17–36)

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” (11:17–36)

One of the most unsettling aspects of death is that man has no control over it. Just as “no man has authority to restrain the wind,” so also no man has “authority over the day of death” (Eccl. 8:8). When that day comes man “is torn from the security of his tent, and they march him before the king of terrors”—a poetic reference to death (Job 18:14).

The sobering reality that this life could end at any moment only underscores its brevity. As Job lamented, “Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain” (Job 14:1–2).”As for the days of our life,” wrote Moses, “they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away” (Ps. 90:10).

The truth expressed in the flippant statement, “You can’t take it with you!” indicates that everything done in this life (apart from serving God) is ultimately meaningless. For Solomon, that realization reduced all he had accomplished to vanity:

Job exclaimed, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there” (Job 1:21). Paul wrote, “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” (1 Tim. 6:7). To a greedy man consumed with his earthly possessions, God declared, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” (Luke 12:20). As has been wryly noted, there are no pockets in shrouds, and no one ever saw a hearse pulling a trailer. Tragically, people spend their entire lives accumulating possessions, which death snatches from them in an instant.

But the wonderful truth is that death does not have to be the end of all man’s hopes and dreams. For believers, it can be faced with joyous anticipation instead of anxious fear, because Jesus Christ has conquered death. As He promised His followers, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (11:25–26) and, “Because I live, you will live also” (14:19; cf. 1 Cor. 15:20–23). Death marks the beginning of true life in glorified perfection and perfect fellowship with Christ for those who put their faith in the Lord. He will raise them up on the last day (6:39–40, 44), and they will live forever in His presence.

Christ’s raising of Lazarus vividly demonstrated His power over death (cf. Luke 7:11–15; 8:52–56). The miracle formed a bridge between His public ministry to the nation and His private ministry to the disciples, preparing them for His departure. Thus it both strengthened the disciples’ faith (cf. v. 15) and also provided indisputable evidence to Israel that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Furthermore, the miracle gave credence to Jesus’ repeated claims that He would one day rise from the dead Himself (cf. 2:19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; Luke 24:7).

As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, the eleventh chapter of John’s gospel divides into four scenes. Verses 1–16 record Lazarus’s illness and his sisters’ message to Jesus, verses 17–36 describe Jesus’ arrival in Bethany, verses 37–44 recount the miracle itself, and verses 45–57 relate its aftermath.

In this second scene in the drama Jesus, the central figure in the story, arrives at Bethany. As verses 17–36 further set the stage for the miracle, they reveal three visible demonstrations of Jesus’ genuine care: His coming, His claim, and His compassion.

HIS COMING

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. (11:17–19)

After His journey from Perea, the region across the Jordan River (10:40), Jesus arrived at the outskirts of Bethany. Rabbinic writings suggest a possible reason for John’s note that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days (see the discussion of 11:6 in the previous chapter of this volume). The Jews believed that the soul hovered around the body for three days after death, hoping to reenter it. But on the fourth day, after noticing that the body was beginning to decompose (cf. v. 39), the soul departed. Only then would a death be considered completely irreversible. Lazarus had been dead for four days, and his body had already started to decompose (v. 39). The Jews therefore would have recognized that only a divine miracle could restore him to life.

John’s explanation that Bethany was near Jerusalem (about two miles east of the city on the road to Jericho) serves a twofold purpose. It highlights the risk Jesus took by coming so near to Jerusalem, which was a hotbed of murderous opposition to Him. And it also implies that many of the Jews who had come to Martha and Mary came from Jerusalem. That so many Jews from the capital came to console them concerning their brother suggests that the family was prominent, and probably wealthy (cf. 12:1–3). From the human perspective, the mourners were there to comfort the sisters in their loss. But from God’s perspective, they were there to witness Jesus’ stunning miracle. The raising of Lazarus would be done in public before numerous onlookers, many of whom were hostile to the Lord. As a result, not even Jesus’ enemies would be able to deny what He had done (v. 47).

It was customary to bury the deceased on the day of their death (cf. Acts 5:5–6, 10), since the climate was warm and the Jews did not practice embalming. Men and women would walk separately in the funeral procession, after which the women alone would return from the burial site to begin the thirty-day mourning period. The first seven days of mourning were the most intense, and many of the mourners would remain with the family for that entire week. That explains why the Jews who came to console Martha and Mary were still with them four days after the burial.

HIS CLAIM

Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” (11:20–27)

When word reached Martha that Jesus was coming into the village she went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. The actions of the two sisters are in keeping with the picture of them in Luke 10:38–42. Martha was the bustling, active one (“distracted with all her preparations”; Luke 10:40), Mary was the quiet, contemplative one (“seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word”; v. 39). According to Jewish custom, those who suffered the loss of a loved one remained seated while the other mourners consoled them. But Martha, in keeping with her forceful personality, left her house and went to meet Jesus as He approached.

When Martha reached Him, the disturbing thought that had been uppermost in her mind (and her sister’s; v. 32) for the last few days came pouring out: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Although obviously heartbroken, she was not rebuking the Lord for failing to prevent Lazarus’s death. As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, the sisters’ message had arrived too late, humanly speaking, for Jesus to have returned to Bethany in time to heal him. Martha’s words were simply a poignant expression of grief mingled with the faith she expressed in her next statement: “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” That confidence, however, evidently did not extend to Jesus’ ability to resurrect her brother, as her later hesitation when the tomb was opened makes clear (v. 39). She seems to have had faith in the Lord’s power to heal, but not in His power to raise the dead (perhaps the possibility had not even crossed her mind). Nonetheless Martha recognized that Jesus had a special relationship with God. She was therefore confident that through His prayers some good could still come out of the tragedy.

Jesus responded by assuring her, “Your brother will rise again.” He meant that Lazarus was going to be resurrected immediately, but Martha missed the point. She assumed that Jesus, like the other mourners, was comforting her by pointing out that Lazarus would rise again at the end of the age. Martha, however, was already familiar with that truth, and so she replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” The resurrection of the body was taught in the Old Testament (e.g., Job 19:25–27; Ps. 16:10; Dan. 12:2), and affirmed by the Pharisees (though not by the Sadducees; Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:6–8). It was also, as Martha knew, the teaching of Jesus (cf. 5:21, 25–29; 6:39–40, 44, 54). Ironically, while she believed Jesus had the power to raise her brother in the distant future, she did not think that He could also do so immediately.

Challenging Martha to move beyond an abstract belief in the final resurrection to complete faith in Him, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This is the fifth of the seven “I AM” deity claims in John’s gospel (6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 14:6; 15:1, 5). Martha’s focus was on the end of the age, but time is no obstacle for the One who has the power of resurrection and life (cf. 5:21, 26). Jesus will raise the dead in the future resurrection of which Martha spoke. But He was also going to raise her brother immediately. The Lord called her to a personal trust in Him as the One who alone has power over death.

Jesus’ next two statements, “he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die,” are not redundant. They teach separate, though related, truths. The one who believes in Jesus will live even if he dies physically because He will raise him on the last day (5:21, 25–29; 6:39–40, 44, 54). And since everyone who lives and believes in Him has eternal life (3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 54), they will never die spiritually (see the discussion of 8:51 in chapter 32 of this volume), since eternal life cannot be extinguished by physical death. As a result, all who trust in Christ can exult, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55).

When Jesus challenged Martha, “Do you believe this?” He was not asking her if she believed that He was about to raise her brother. The Lord was calling her to personally believe that He alone was the source of resurrection power and eternal life. R. C. H. Lenski writes,

Because of His infinite love for Martha’s soul, Jesus pointed her to the only source of spiritual life and well-being—Himself.

Martha’s affirmation of faith in Jesus stands with the other great confessions of His identity in the gospels (1:49; 6:69; Matt. 14:33; 16:16). It anticipates John’s purpose statement for writing his gospel: “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (20:31). Martha emphatically (the Greek text has the personal pronoun in addition to the verb) declared three vital truths about Jesus: Like Andrew (1:41), she confessed that He was the Christ, or Messiah; like John the Baptist (1:34), Nathanael (1:49), and the disciples (Matt. 14:33) she affirmed that He was the Son of God; and finally, like the Old Testament had predicted (cf. Is. 9:6; Mic. 5:2), she referred to Him as He who comes into the world—the deliverer sent by God (Luke 7:19–20; cf. John 1:9; 3:31; 6:14).

HIS COMPASSION

When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” (11:28–36)

Having affirmed her faith in Jesus, Martha went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” Mary was still in the house (v. 20) being comforted by the mourners. Although the text does not record it, Jesus evidently sent Martha to get her. She probably gave the message to Mary secretly, hoping that she also could have a private meeting with Jesus before the crowd of mourners spotted Him. Since Martha still did not realize that the Lord intended to raise her brother, she may also have been trying to keep Him away from the hostile Jews (especially the leaders) who were in attendance.

Whatever Martha’s motive, her attempt at privacy failed. When Mary heard her sister’s message, she got up quickly and went to meet Jesus. He had not yet come into the village, but was still on the outskirts, in the place where Martha met Him. But Mary’s hasty departure did not escape the attention of the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her (v. 19). When they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her. Assuming she was going to weep at the tomb, as was customary (cf. 2 Sam. 3:32), they felt it was their duty as her comforters to go with her. Once again, God sovereignly orchestrated the circumstances to perfectly fit His purposes, ensuring that Jesus’ miracle would be witnessed by the whole group.

Mary appears to have been the more emotional of the sisters, and when she came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet. She said to Him what they had surely discussed, since Martha had said it earlier: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not

have died.” As was the case with her sister, Mary meant no reproach to Jesus (cf. the discussion of v. 21 above); her statement was simply a reflection of their grief.

The scene was understandably one of intense sorrow and pain. Not only was Mary weeping (a form of the verb klaio; “to wail,” or “to lament loudly”), but the Jews who came with her were also weeping and wailing loudly. According to Jewish custom, even the poorest family was expected to hire at least two flute players and a professional wailing woman. Since Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were a prominent family, they would likely have had even more professional mourners, in addition to the others who came to pay their respects (v. 19).

Observing the chaotic scene, Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. Deeply moved is a misleading translation of the verb embrimaomai, which literally means to snort like a horse. Apart from its use in v. 38, it appears only three other times in the New Testament (Matt. 9:30; Mark 1:43; 14:5), where it is translated “sternly warned” or “scolding.” It thus includes the connotation of anger, outrage, or indignation. Jesus appears to have been angry not only over the painful reality of sin and death, of which Lazarus was a beloved example, but perhaps also with the mourners, who were acting like the pagans who have no hope (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13). Tarasso (troubled) further emphasizes the intensity of the Lord’s reaction. The term is similarly used elsewhere to describe strong emotions, such as Herod’s reaction to the magi’s arrival (Matt. 2:3), the disciples’ terror when they saw Jesus walking on the water (14:26); Zacharias’s fear when he saw the angel in the temple (Luke 1:12); the disciples’ amazement at seeing Jesus after His resurrection (24:38); Jesus’ reaction to His impending death (John 12:27); and His response to Judas’s imminent betrayal (13:21).

Jesus then asked, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Whom the term they refers to is not defined, but it evidently refers to some in the crowd who were favorably disposed to Jesus, since they addressed Him respectfully as Lord.

Like the others, Jesus wept. But the Greek verb is not klaio as in verse 33, but dakruo, a rare word used only here in the New Testament. In contrast to the loud wailing implied by klaio, dakruo has the connotation of silently bursting into tears, unlike the typical funeral mourners. Jesus’ tears were generated both by His love for Lazarus, and by His grief over the deadly and incessant effects of sin in a fallen world. Verse 35, though it is the shortest verse in the Bible, is rich with meaning. It emphasizes Jesus’ humanity; He was truly “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). But while the Jews were correct in seeing Jesus’ sorrow as evidence that He loved Lazarus, they were wrong to think that His tears reflected the same hopeless despair that they felt.

The stage was now set for the compassionate Savior to visibly substantiate His claim to be the resurrection and the life. In the next section He would convincingly demonstrate His power over death by restoring Lazarus to life.