NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 33
John 11:12
1794
12The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleep
ing, he will soon get better!” 13They thought
Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping,
but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14So he told them plainly, “Lazar us is
dead. 15And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t
there, for now you will really believe. Come,
let’s go see him.”
16Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to
his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die
with Jesus.”
17When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was
told that Lazarus had already been in his
grave for four days. 18Bethany was only a
few miles down the road from Jerusalem,
19and many of the people had come to con
sole Martha and Mary in their loss. 20When
Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she
went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the
house. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only
you had been here, my brother would not
have died. 22But even now I know that God
will give you whatever you ask.”
23Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise
again.”
24“Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when
everyone else arises, at the last day.”
25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrect ion
and the life. Anyone who believes in me will
live, even after dying. 26Everyone who lives
in me and believes in me will never ever die.
Do you believe this, Martha?”
27“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always
11:16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin
(literally Thomas, who was called Didymus): See also 14:5; 20:24; 21:2; Mark
3:18. Let’s go, too—and die: Thomas
knew that previous visits to Judea had
been dangerous (5:18; 10:31, 39). Traveling to Jerusalem now would probably
mean death for Jesus (cp. 11:49-50).
11:17 People were buried on the
same day as their death. John noted
that Lazarus had been in his grave for
four days, so the miracle could not be
construed as resuscitation.
11:18 was only a few miles: Greek was
about 15 stadia [about 2.8 kilometers].
11:19 Life in NT times was lived publicly. Lazarus’s large extended family, as
well as the villagers, had arrived for a
seven-day mourning period. To console
the sisters in their loss, there was great
wailing and crying (see 11:33 and note).
11:21 Lord, if only you had been here:
Mary later repeated Martha’s words
(11:32), because both sisters knew Jesus’
reputation as a healer. They concluded
that Jesus would have healed Lazarus,
but they did not imagine that Jesus
would restore him from death.
believed you are the Messiah, the Son of
God, the one who has come into the world
from God.” 28Then she returned to Mary.
She called Mary aside from the mourn
ers and told her, “The Teacher is here and
wants to see you.” 29So Mary immediately
went to him.
30Jesus had stayed outside the village, at
the place where Martha met him. 31When
the people who were at the house consoling
Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed
she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep.
So they followed her there. 32When Mary
arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and
said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my
brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw her weeping and saw
the other people wailing with her, a deep
anger welled up within him, and he was
deeply troubled. 34“Where have you put
him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”
35Then Jesus wept. 36The people who were
standing nearby said, “See how much he
loved him!” 37But some said, “This man
healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept
Lazarus from dying?”
38Jesus was still ang ry as he arrived at the
tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its
entrance. 39“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told
them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, pro
tested, “Lord, he has been dead for four
days. The smell will be terrible.”
11:22 whatever you ask: Martha
thought that Jesus could still intervene
in some way. Despite this, she objected
when Jesus wanted to open the tomb
(11:39); she wasn’t thinking that Jesus
would raise her brother from the dead.
11:24 when everyone else rises, at the
last day: Martha misunderstood (cp.
11:11-13), thinking that Jesus was referring to the general resurrection of the
dead at the end of time.
11:25 Jesus helped Martha to believe in
him not simply as a healer, but as one
who vanquishes death. I am the resurrection and the life (some manuscripts
do not include and the life): Victory over
death is an aspect of living in association with Jesus. Although his followers
are still mortal, they will enjoy eternal
life after death. Regarding Jesus’ I am
statements, see the note on 6:35.
11:26-27 Do you believe this? Jesus was
not asking if Martha believed he could
bring Lazarus from the grave. Rather,
did she believe that life itself is linked
to Jesus? “Yes, Lord”: Even though
the full implications were beyond her
comprehension, she acknowledged that
Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Yet she
11:16
Matt 10:3
John 14:5; 20:24-28;
21:2
Acts 1:13
11:17
John 11:39
11:20
Luke 10:38-42
11:22
John 16:30
11:23-24
Dan 12:2
John 5:28-29
Acts 24:15
Phil 3:21
1 Thes 4:14
11:24
aanastasis (0386)
Acts 1:22
11:25
John 1:4; 3:36; 5:21;
6:39-40; 14:6
Col 1:18; 3:4
1 Jn 1:1-2; 5:10-11
Rev 1:17-18
11:26
John 8:51
11:27
Matt 16:16
John 6:14
11:35
Luke 19:41
11:37
John 9:6-7
11:39
John 11:17
was surprised at the power he held.
11:28-32 Mary now joined the scene on
the edge of the village, repeating her
sister’s plaintive cry. She fell at Jesus’
feet, not in worship but in desperate
grief.
11:33 The loud weeping and wailing
typified public displays of grief in this
culture (Mark 5:38), as did beating
one’s chest (Luke 18:13). a deep
anger welled up within him (or he was
angry in his spirit), and he was deeply
troubled: The Greek word expresses
human outrage, fury, and anger. Jesus
was furious, not at Martha or Mary,
but at the futility of this scene and the
people’s unbelief in light of the reality
of the resurrection.
11:39 Lazarus was buried in a tomb
cut from the rocky hillside; such tombs
were common. The tomb was closed
and opened for further burials with a
rolling stone that covered the entrance.
A central door led to a cave room where
burial benches were carved in stone
along the inner wall. Horizontal burial
chambers were cut along the top edge
of the benches. See the illustration on
p. 1813.
