John 11 - ESV Study Bible

11:1–12:19 The Final Passover: The Ultimate Sign and the Aftermath. The raising of Lazarus constitutes the final and ultimate messianic “sign” of Jesus in this Gospel (see note on 2:11). This spectacular miracle (recorded only by John) anticipates Jesus’ own resurrection and reveals Jesus as “the resurrection and the life” (11:25). The raising of Lazarus also serves as a final event triggering the Jewish leaders’ resolve to have Jesus arrested and tried for blasphemy (11:45–57).

11:1 Bethany. Identified in v. 18 as being 2 miles (3.2 km) from Jerusalem, this village is the Bethany most commonly mentioned in the Gospels (see Mark 11:1; 14:3 par.; also Luke 24:50), but it is different from the Bethany mentioned in John 1:28. This is almost certainly the modern village of El-Azariyeh (an Arabic place-name which likely recalls the name of Lazarus) on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives. A fourth-century chapel was built over a rock-cut tomb traditionally thought to have been the tomb of Lazarus. Other first-century tombs are found in the hillside around this chapel.

11:4 Jesus could say that Lazarus’s illness does not lead to death in the sense that it did not lead ultimately to death, but it did lead through death to being raised from the dead a few days later. Jesus makes a similar statement in Mark 5:39. Jesus knew what was going to happen, and in John 11:11–14 he tells his disciples clearly that Lazarus has already died.

11:5–6 So (Gk. oun, “so, therefore”) shows the reason why Jesus stayed two days longer: he allowed his friends to go through the sorrow and hardship of the death and mourning of Lazarus because he loved them and wanted them to witness an amazing demonstration of Jesus’ power over death, thus seeing “his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (1:14). The Lord does not always answer prayers as expected.

11:9–10 If Jesus is the “light of the world” (8:12), then to walk in the day means to walk in the light that Jesus gives; that is, to walk in fellowship with him, believing and obeying his words. In contrast, walks in the night means to walk apart from Jesus, not believing him and not obeying him. This is an indication that the person has no spiritual life, for the light is not in him. Most people at this time worked as long as there was daylight; once it was dark, it was time to stop working. Jesus is divinely called to go to Judea; it is part of what constituted walking “in the day” for him, even though he is heading toward the cross (11:7–8).

11:11 Fallen asleep means “died,” as the following conversation (vv. 12–14) makes clear. The OT equivalent is “slept with his fathers” (see, e.g., 1 Kings 2:10 and throughout 1–2 Kings and 1–2 Chronicles). Occasionally, death is compared to a deep sleep from which people will one day be awakened (e.g., Dan. 12:2).

11:15 So that you may believe indicates that Jesus knows raising Lazarus from the dead will lead to deeper faith on the part of the disciples who witness this miracle.

11:16 The Aramaic name Thomas means the Twin (cf. note on 1:38).

11:17 four days. Though burial usually followed soon after death (see Acts 5:6,10), some later Jewish sources indicate a belief that the soul hovered over the body for three days, hoping to reenter it, but then gave up and departed.

11:18 Bethany. See note on v. 1.

11:24 Martha’s affirmation of end-time resurrection was in keeping with the beliefs of the Pharisees (Acts 23:8) and the majority of first-century Jews, as well as the teaching of Jesus (John 5:21, 25–29; 6:39–44,54). Martha misunderstood the full import of Jesus’ promise (11:23), thinking he was merely speaking of the final resurrection, while Jesus meant much more.

11:25 Jesus does not merely say that he will bring about the resurrection or that he will be the cause of the resurrection (both of which are true), but something much stronger: I am the resurrection and the life. Resurrection from the dead and genuine eternal life in fellowship with God are so closely tied to Jesus that they are embodied in him and can be found only in relationship to him. Therefore believes in me implies personal trust in Christ. The preposition translated “in” (Gk. eis) is striking, for eis ordinarily means “into,” giving the sense that genuine faith in Christ in a sense brings people “into” Christ, so that they rest in and become united with Christ. (This same expression is found in 3:16,18,36; 6:35; 7:38; 12:44,46; 14:12; 1 John 5:10.) The “I am” statement here represents a claim to deity.

11:26 Lives refers to those who have spiritual life now (see note on 3:36). Those who believe shall never die, in that they will ultimately triumph over death.

11:27 Martha’s reference to the one who is coming into the world takes up the messianic expression derived from Ps. 118:26 (cf. John 12:13 par.).

11:28 The Teacher was a natural way of referring to Jesus for any disciple prior to his resurrection (1:38,49; 3:2; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8; Cf. 20:16).

11:33 The Greek word underlying deeply moved, embrimaomai (elsewhere in the NT only in v. 38; Matt. 9:30 [“sternly warned”]; Mark 1:43 [“sternly charged”]; and Mark 14:5 [“scolded”]), means to feel something deeply and strongly. Jesus was moved with profound sorrow at the death of his friend and at the grief that his other friends had suffered. In addition, this sorrow was intermixed with anger (see esv footnote) at the evil of death (the final enemy; see 1 Cor. 15:26; Rev. 21:4), and also with a deep sense of awe at the power of God that was about to flow through him to triumph over death (in anticipation of his voice summoning the whole world to the resurrection on the last day). In his spirit does not refer to the Holy Spirit but to Jesus’ own human spirit.

11:35 Jesus wept. Jesus joins his friends’ sadness with heartfelt sorrow, yet underlying it is the knowledge that resurrection and joy will soon follow (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13). Jesus’ example shows that heartfelt mourning in the face of death does not indicate lack of faith but honest sorrow at the reality of suffering and death.

11:38 deeply moved. See note on v. 33.

11:43 come out. The voice of the omnipotent Creator (1:3,10) speaks, and even Lazarus’s dead body obeys (cf. 4:50; 5:8).

11:44 Remarkably, John does not record Lazarus’s reaction or any of the aftermath of his raising (cf. Luke 8:55–56), except for the fact that “many of the Jews … believed in him” (i.e., Jesus) as a result of seeing this miracle (John 11:45; see also 12:9–11). The focus is on Jesus, not Lazarus.

11:45 Here John uses the phrase the Jews in a positive way, to refer to those Jews who believed in him (cf. note on 1:19).

11:47 Council represents the Greek word synedrion (“Sanhedrin”); cf. 7:45–52 and note on 3:1.

11:48 Our place almost certainly refers to the temple (cf. Acts 6:13–14; 21:28). Take away … our nation may refer to the feared removal of the Jews’ semiautonomous status by the Romans (cf. 1 Macc. 5:19). Ironically, what the Sanhedrin sought to prevent by killing Jesus still came to pass when the Romans razed the temple and captured Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (see note on John 2:13–22).

11:49 that year. In fact, Caiaphas (see note on 18:24) was high priest for 18 years (A.D. 18–36), longer than any other high priest in the first century. You know nothing at all displays the rudeness allegedly characteristic of many Sadducees (as confirmed by Josephus).

11:50–51 Die for the people invokes the memory of the Maccabean martyrs (2 Macc. 7:37–38). With a typical Johannine double meaning (see notes on John 3:14; 4:10; 8:24; 19:19; cf. also 3:7–8), Caiaphas’s pronouncement anticipates Jesus’ substitutionary atonement.

11:52 The children of God … scattered, as referred to here, are the Gentiles (cf. 10:16; see also note on 3:3–6). John is not suggesting that they are already God’s children but anticipates their future inclusion into God’s people.

11:55 This is the third and final Passover mentioned by John; see note on 2:13. People went up early to purify themselves from any ceremonial uncleanness that would have prevented them from celebrating the Passover (e.g., Num. 9:4–14; 19:11–12).