John 11:14

Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. THEN SAID JESUS UNTO THEM PLAINLY, LAZARUS IS DEAD. 'In the language of heaven,' says Bengel beautifully, 'sleep is the death of the saints; but this language the disciples here understood not. Incomparable is the generosity of the divine manner of discoursing; but such is the slowness of men's apprehension that Scripture often has to descend to the more miserable style of human discourse. (See , etc.)...

14._Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. _The goodness of Christ was astonishing, in being able to bear with such gross ignorance in the disciples. And indeed the reason why he delayed, for a time, to bestow upon them the grace of the Spirit in larger measure, was, that the miracle of renewing them in a moment might be the greater....

11-16 Since we are sure to rise again at the last, why should not the believing hope of that resurrection to eternal life, make it as easy for us to put off the body and die, as it is to put off our clothes and go to sleep? A true Christian, when he dies, does but sleep; he rests from the labours of the past day. Nay, herein death is better than sleep, that sleep is only a short rest, but death is the end of earthly cares and toils. The disciples thought that it was now needless for Christ to go to Lazarus, and expose himself and them. Thus we often hope that the good work we are called to do, will be done by some other hand, if there be peril in the doing of it. But when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, many were brought to believe on him; and there was much done to make perfect the faith of those that believed. Let us go to him; death cannot separate from the love of Christ, nor p...

EXPOSITION JOHN 11:1 7. _Christ the Antagonist of death—a victory of love and power_._ _The narrative of this chapter is a further advance in the proof that the unbelief of the Jews was aggravated by the greatness of the revelation. The issue of his sublime and culminating act of power, of his supreme and self-revealing work of transcendent tenderness and beauty, was a deeper and wilder passion of hatred. The evangelist completes his series of seven great miracles with one that in true and believing minds, evokes a new sense of the glory of God. This great last sign corresponds with the first (John it.) by being enacted amid the domestic and family life of a small and insignificant town, and also by express reference to the veritable manifestation involved in it of the δόξα Θεοῦ, on which we have frequently commented. Baur

THEN SAID JESUS UNTO THEM PLAINLY,.... Without a figure, when he perceived they did not understand him, and yet it was a very easy and usual metaphor which he had made use of; but such was the present stupidity of their minds, that they did not take in his meaning: wherefore, without reproaching them with it, he said to them in so many words, LAZARUS IS DEAD. The Persic version reads, "Lazarus is dead indeed", as he really was....

John 11:1. _Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town or Mary and her sister Martha._ In God's book, towns are most remarkable for saints that dwell in them. «The town of Mary and her sister Martha.» A day will come when a city shall be more illustrious for a saint than for a Caesar be more renowned for deeds of faith than for deeds of battle. It was «the town of Mary and her sister Martha.» John 11:2. _(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick). Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick._ They did not say anymore. They felt that it was quite enough to tell him that Lazarus was sick, and they left it to the tender heart of Jesus to d

CHAPTER 11 _ 1. The Sickness of Lazarus Announced. (John 11:1 .)_ 2. The Delayed Departure and the Death of Lazarus. (John 11:5 .) 3. The Arrival at Bethany. (John 11:17 .) 4. Weeping with Them That Weep. (John 11:28 .) 5. The Resurrection of Lazarus. (John 11:39 .) 6. The Prophecy of Caiaphas. (John 11:47 .) 7. Seeking to Kill Him. (John 11:53 .)...

JOHN 11. THE RAISING OF LAZARAS. John 11:1. The Miracle. The withdrawal to Peræ a is brought to a sudden end by the illness of Jesus-' friend Lazarus. Bethany, to distinguish it from the Bethany beyond Jordan (John 1:28), is described as the home of Mary and Martha, the younger sister being the better known in Christian tradition as the woman who anointed the Lord. The author assumes knowledge of the story, which he does not relate till a subsequent chapter. The sisters send to tell Jesus that His friend is ill. He announces that the illness is not fatal, but will prove (how, is not said) the occasion of the showing forth of God's glory. The delay in John 11:6 is usually now interpreted as deliberate, that He may not arrive till after

IF HE SLEEP, HE WILL DO WELL. The disciples took the Lord's words literally. They were all interested in the case of Lazarus and regarded him as. friend, but did not wish Jesus to return to the vicinity of Jerusalem; hence, they intimate that if he was sleeping the case was hopeful and there was little need for the Lord's presence. Often. quiet sleep is the turning point of the disease and. presage of recovery. An ancient sage said: "Sleep is. remedy for every disease." Hence, it was needful for the Master to tell them that he referred to the sleep of death. Some skeptical writers have thought that the disciples were very stupid, not to understand him at first. Their mistake was. very natural one....

ON THE ROAD TO GLORY (John 11:1-5)...