John 11:18

Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: NOW BETHANY WAS NIGH UNTO JERUSALEM, ABOUT FIFTEEN FURLONGS - rather less than two miles: this is mentioned to explain the visits of sympathy, noticed in the following words, which the proximity of the two places facilitated....

18._Now Bethany was near Jerusalem. _The Evangelist diligently follows out all that contributes to the certainty of the narrative. He relates how _near Jerusalem was to the village of Bethany_, that no one may be astonished that, for the purpose of comforting the sisters, many friends came from Jerusalem, whom God intended to be witnesses of the miracle. For, though the desire of performing an office of kindness was their inducement to go, yet they were assembled there, by a secret decree of God, for another purpose, that the resurrection of Lazarus might not remain unknown, or that the witnesses might not be only those who belonged to the family. Now it is a convincing proof of the base ingratitude of the nation, that this striking demonstration of Divine power at a well-known place, amidst a vast crowd of men, and near the gates of the city, and which might almost be said to be erected...

17-32 Here was a house where the fear of God was, and on which his blessing rested; yet it was made a house of mourning. Grace will keep sorrow from the heart, but not from the house. When God, by his grace and providence, is coming towards us in ways of mercy and comfort, we should, like Martha, go forth by faith, hope, and prayer, to meet him. When Martha went to meet Jesus, Mary sat still in the house; this temper formerly had been an advantage to her, when it put her at Christ's feet to hear his word; but in the day of affliction, the same temper disposed her to melancholy. It is our wisdom to watch against the temptations, and to make use of the advantages of our natural tempers. When we know not what in particular to ask or expect, let us refer ourselves to God; let him do as seemeth him good. To enlarge Martha's expectations, our Lord declared himself to be the Resurrection and t...

Verse John 11:18. _FIFTEEN FURLONGS_] About two miles: for the Jewish miles contained about seven furlongs and a half. So _Lightfoot_, and the _margin_....

NIGH UNTO JERUSALEM - This is added to show that it was easy for many of the Jews to come to the place. The news that Jesus was there, and the account of the miracle, would also be easily carried to the Sanhedrin. FIFTEEN FURLONGS - Nearly two miles. It was directly east from Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. ii. p. 599) says of Bethany: “It took half an hour to walk over Olivet to Bethany this morning, and the distance from the city, therefore, must be about two miles. This agrees with what John says: ‘Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.’ The village is small, and appears never to have been large, but it is pleasantly situated near the southeastern base of the mount, and has many fine trees about and above it. We, of course, looked at the remains of those old edifices which may have been built in the age of Constantine, and repaired or chan...

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

NOW BETHANY WAS NIGH UNTO JERUSALEM,.... Which was a reason why them were so many of the Jews come there to condole the two sisters upon the death of their brother; and by this means the following miracle became more known there: it was ABOUT FIFTEEN FURLONGS OFF; that is, about two miles, for seven furlongs and a half made a Jewish mile, as appears from one of their canons c, which runs thus: "they do not spread nets for doves, except it be distant from an habitable place, שלשים ריס, "thirty furlongs";'' which the commentators say d are "four miles": and still more expressly it is said e, that "between Jerusalem and Zuck, (the place where the scape goat was had,) there were ten tents, and ninety furlongs, שבעה ומחצה לכל מיל "seven and a half to every mile".'' Hence a furlong was called one seventh and a half of a mile f, which was 266 cubits, and two thirds of one. c Misn. Bava Ka...

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