John 11 - CSB Tony Evans Study Bible

11:1-2 Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, appear several times in the Gospels (see 12:1-8; Luke 10:38-42).

11:4 If someone says that a Christian walking with the Lord can’t become ill or contract a disease, that person is simply wrong. Lazarus’s sickness was not a means of punishment, not a sign of rebellion. Rather, it had a spiritual purpose.

11:5-6 Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus (11:5), and they knew of his love for them (see 11:3). They shared an intimate relationship with him. But, in spite of this, Jesus stayed two more days in the place where he was (11:6). His delay appeared to contradict his promise of healing. However, it was because he loved them that he delayed his arrival.

11:9-10 The day—the time of his public, earthly ministry—was the opportunity for action. While Jesus, the light of this world, was with them, they could walk and not stumble (11:9). Later, they would have the light of the Holy Spirit’s presence. But to function apart from Jesus is like walking around at night (11:10). Operating without his illumination will cause you to trip and wind up on your face.

11:11 For those who trust in the Lord, the Bible describes death as sleep (i.e., a new level of spiritual consciousness), from which we will one day be physically raised (see 1 Thess 4:13).

11:15 Jesus was not glad concerning Lazarus’s death but glad concerning what he was about to do.

11:16 Later, Thomas would express doubt over Jesus’s resurrection (see 20:24-29). But for now, he was ready to die with [Jesus]. Those who are spiritually confident today may find themselves in the depths of uncertainty tomorrow.

11:21-22 Translation: “This is all your fault, Jesus! I called you, but you didn’t come. If you had listened to me, none of this would have happened.” Though Martha was filled with frustration that Jesus hadn’t done things her way, she hadn’t lost all hope. Even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you (11:22). Thus, Martha was filled with both faith and doubt. So here she is like the man who cried out to Jesus in desperation, “I do believe; help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24).

11:24-26 Resurrection isn’t just an event; the resurrection is a person (11:24-25). The Son of God has “life in himself” (5:26) and can give life so that a person may “live forever” (6:51). Jesus himself is the basis of eternal life. That’s how he can say that the one who believes in [him] will never die—that is, he will pass from physical life immediately into eternal life (11:26; see Phil 1:23). The present tense (lives and believes in me) also shows that Jesus is a right-now deliverer, not just a future one (John 11:26).

11:27 Though she still didn’t comprehend everything or know what exactly was going to happen, Martha trusted Jesus and confessed him as the Messiah, the Son of God. Choose to hang on to that conviction when your own world is rocked by grief.

11:35 Even though Jesus knew he was about to call Lazarus back to life, he grieved with personal pain and sorrow over the death-dealing effects of sin on those he loves. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize” (Heb 4:15).

11:37 If they thought keeping a man from dying would be spectacular, they were in for the shock of their lives.

11:39-40 Jesus called Martha to demonstrate her faith in him by her action—allowing the stone to be remov[ed] (11:39). Faith must precede sight if we want to see God’s supernatural intervention in our circumstances. We’ll never know what God plans to do until we obey what he has clearly revealed.

11:41-42 He could’ve showed up on time and conducted a private miracle to heal Lazarus. Instead, he arrived late to put on a public, supernatural display, validating his messianic identity and sparking faith in a mass gathering of people. The latter, though it resulted in temporary grief, would produce tremendous spiritual impact and bring God greater glory.

11:43-44 This scene is a foretaste of what is to come. And though Lazarus would physically die again, those who believe in Jesus will take part in the everlasting resurrection and live forever.

11:47-48 Notice that they didn’t deny Jesus’s miraculous signs (11:47). Rather, they lamented them. Instead of cheering his raising of the dead, they worried that Jesus’s winning of followers would cause the Romans to think there was an insurrection, thus bringing the Roman hammer down on their nation (11:48).

11:49-53 This wicked high priest was merely thinking on the physical level, but his words providentially foretold a spiritual reality. Indeed, the one man would die for the sins of the many. Jesus was going to die for the nation (11:49-51). And not only for Israel, but also for Gentiles (11:52). Even as the religious leaders plotted evil, though, God planned to use it for good (11:53; see Gen 50:20).

11:55 Jerusalem began filling with people because it was time for the Passover, celebrating God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery (see Exod 12:1-28). Soon God would provide a new and ultimate means of deliverance from slavery to sin.