John 11 - NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
11:2 Mary. The most common woman’s name in Judea in this period; John thus specifies which one he means.
11:3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus. It was the custom for people to visit the sick when informed of their sickness; the sisters have special reason for Jesus to come, however, because he is a healer.
11:6 stayed . . . two more days. Bethany was about a day’s journey, so even had Jesus not delayed, Lazarus may have already been deceased before the messengers could have brought Jesus back there (cf. v. 17).
11:8 the Jews there tried to stone you. Galilee was in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas; once Jesus entered Judea, his enemies among Jerusalem’s elite would have authority to arrest him.
11:9–10 daylight . . . light . . . night. Without lighting, a traveler easily could stumble on paths at night. Yet Jesus uses this analogy to illustrate the wisdom of following the Father’s will and timing; Jewish sources often associate light figuratively with God (see notes on 1:4–5; 3:19–21; 8:12).
11:11 Lazarus has fallen asleep. People in the Mediterranean world widely used “sleep” as a euphemism for death.
11:19 many Jews had come . . . to comfort them. It was the custom for people to visit the bereaved and care for them (including providing meals for them), especially in the week immediately following their loved one’s death.
11:20 Martha . . . went out to meet him. The bereaved were to stay at home and mourn for the first week after their loved one’s death; Martha might slip out unnoticed for a while, but someone must stay at home with the guests who had come to mourn with the family.
11:22 even now God will give you whatever you ask. This is likely a polite but indirect request (see note on 2:3).
11:24 resurrection at the last day. With some exceptions such as the Sadducees, most Judeans and Galileans seem to have believed in the resurrection at the end of the age, especially the resurrection for the righteous.
11:28 Martha speaks with Mary privately, whether to protect Jesus or because members of the family were not supposed to go out during the mourning period (though cf. v. 31).
11:31 supposing she was going to the tomb. Since the immediate family’s first week was to be spent in mourning, the guests assume that she must be going to the tomb.
11:35 Jesus wept. Mourning with the bereaved was considered virtuous; those present would see not only how Jesus loved his friend (v. 36) but would also regard his concern as virtuous (cf. their view of him as a holy man with power in v. 37).
11:38 It was a cave. Caves were often used as tombs; large stones often closed the entrance to a tomb (see note on Mt 27:60).
11:39 by this time there is a bad odor. In this period, Jewish families would allow the body to decompose inside the tomb for one year; at the end of the year, the bones would be placed in a container that could then be stored in a slot in the tomb wall. Sometimes people left spices with the body, but after “four days” one would smell the decomposition. A Jewish tradition later claimed that the soul abandoned the body after three days; if this tradition circulated in the first century, no one expected even a miracle worker to be able to bring Lazarus back from death.
11:41 looked up. Jewish people sometimes looked skyward (toward heaven) when they prayed.
11:42 Cf. 1Ki 18:36.
11:44 Take off the grave clothes and let him go. John’s audience presumably knew that Lazarus would be tightly wrapped in linen cloths to keep his members straight and his mouth closed. If so, they would understand that it would take a miracle for Lazarus not only to be raised but even to emerge from the tomb. Sometimes face cloths were much larger than the head. Lazarus needs to be released by others from these wrappings—unlike Jesus at his resurrection.
11:47 Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was Jerusalem’s ruling senate or council; Josephus repeatedly illustrates their concern for public order and attempts to prevent hostile Roman intervention. Somewhat later than Jesus’ ministry, some Jewish prophetic figures promised (though failed to perform) major signs, drawing large followings; Roman soldiers intervened against them and their followers.
11:48 take away both our temple and our nation. Ancient writers expected their audiences to catch irony. A generation after Jesus’ execution, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem’s temple and enslaved its people.
11:49 Caiaphas. Joseph Caiaphas maintained his office of high priest longer than any other first-century priest (AD 18–36), presumably because he was politically astute. John’s audience might also catch the ironic truth (cf. note on v. 48) in Caiaphas’s “You know nothing at all!” high priest that year. The office of high priesthood was to be for life (in contrast to some annual Greek priesthoods possibly known to John’s audience). In the first century, however, Roman governors withdrew it and bestowed it at will; John may simply be saying that Caiaphas was high priest at that time.
11:50 better for you that one man die. Later rabbis insisted that Israel should not betray any of its members to death even to save everyone else. Many of Jerusalem’s priestly aristocrats, however, engaged in political machinations like Roman and other elites; Josephus records some of their plots to eliminate potential troublemakers. Further, Rome’s governing infrastructure in the provinces was kept deliberately light; governors depended on local elites to locate and bring rabble-rousers to the governors’ attention. Failure to do so until matters got out of hand risked allowing the local leaders to appear sympathetic with the agitators.
11:52 scattered children of God. A central Jewish expectation for the future time when God would restore his people was that he would gather the scattered 12 tribes in the Diaspora all back to the promised land. Because the Greek expression for “nation” would normally include Jews in the Diaspora as well, however, John may include here also Gentile believers who have become God’s children (1:11–13; 3:5). make them one. See note on 10:16.
11:55 ceremonial cleansing. Since Jewish pilgrims from the Diaspora had to travel long distances, they could not be certain of their precise time of arrival. Because they wanted to be ready for the festival, many would arrive early. Those impure from contact with dead bodies would need seven days to become pure. For the many purification pools on the temple mount, see note on Ac 2:41.
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