John 11:15

And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. AND I AM GLAD FOR YOUR SAKES THAT I WAS NOT THERE. This, as is finely remarked by Luthardt, certainly implies that if He had been present, Lazarus would not have died; not because He could not have resisted the importunities of the sisters, but because, in presence of the personal Life, death could not have reached His friend. And Bengel again makes this exquisite remark, that it is beautifully congruous to the divine decorum that in presence of the Prince of Life no one is ever said to have died. TO THE INTENT YE MAY BELIEVE. This is added to explain His "gladness" at not having been present. His friend's death, as such, could not have been to...

15._And I rejoice, on your account, that I was not there. _He means that his absence was profitable to them, because his power would have been less illustriously displayed, if he had instantly given assistance to Lazarus. For the more nearly the works of God approach to the ordinary course of nature, the less highly are they valued, and the less illustriously is their glory displayed. This is what we experience daily; for if God immediately stretches out his hand, we do not perceive his assistance. That the resurrection of Lazarus, therefore, might be acknowledged by the disciples to be truly a Divine work, it must be delayed, that it might be very widely removed from a human remedy. We ought to remember, however, what I formerly observed, that the fatherly kindness of God towards us is here represented in the person of Christ. When God permits us to be overwhelmed with distresses, and t...

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...

Verse John 11:15. _I AM GLAD FOR YOUR SAKES THAT I WAS NOT THERE_] "I tell you plainly, Lazarus is dead: and I am glad I was not there - if I had been, I should have been prevailed on to have healed him almost as soon as he fell sick, and I should not have had so striking an occasion to manifest the glory of God to you, and to establish you in the faith." It was a miracle to _discover_ that Lazarus was dead, as no person had come to announce it. It was a _greater_ miracle to _raise_ a _dead man_ than to _cure_ a _sick_ _man_. And it was a _still greater_ miracle, to raise one that was _three_ or _four days_ buried, and in whose body _putrefaction_ might have begun to take place, than to raise one that was but _newly_ dead. See John 11:39....

I AM GLAD ... - The meaning of this verse may be thus expressed: “If I had been there during his sickness, the entreaties of his sisters and friends would have prevailed with me to restore him to health. I could not have refused them without appearing to be unkind. Though a restoration to health would have been a miracle, and sufficient to convince you, yet the miracle of raising him after being four days dead will be far more impressive, and on that account I rejoice that an opportunity is thus given so strikingly to confirm your faith.” TO THE INTENT - To furnish you evidence on which you might be established in the belief that I am the Messiah....

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

AND I AM GLAD FOR YOUR SAKES THAT I WAS NOT THERE,.... At Bethany, before he died, or when he died; because he might have been prevailed upon through the solicitations of his dear friends, Mary and Martha, and through tender affection to Lazarus, to have prevented his death, by rebuking the distemper, and restoring him to health, or to have raised him immediately as soon as he was dead; and in either case the miracle would not have been so illustrious, nor have been such a means of confirming the faith of his disciples, as now it would be: TO THE INTENT YE MAY BELIEVE; more strongly, that he was the Son of God, and true Messiah: NEVERTHELESS, LET US GO UNTO HIM; to Lazarus, to the grave where he lies: the Syriac version reads, "let us go there"; to Bethany, where he lived, and died, and now lay interred....

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