John 11:31

The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. THE JEWS THEN WHICH WERE WITH HER IN THE HOUSE, AND COMFORTED (OR 'WERE COMFORTING') HER, WHEN THEY SAW MARY, THAT SHE ROSE UP HASTILY AND WENT OUT, FOLLOWED HER. Thus casually were provided witnesses of the glorious miracle that followed, witnesses not prejudiced, certainly, in favour of Him who performed it. SAYING, SHE GOETH UNTO THE GRAVE TO WEEP THERE - according to Jewish practice for some days after burial....

31._Then the Jews who were with her. _Though Martha was permitted by Christ to return home for the purpose of withdrawing her sister from the numerous assembly, yet Christ had another design in view, which was, that the Jews might be witnesses of the miracle. True, they have no thought of it, but it was no new thing that men should be led, as it were in darkness, and by the secret providence of God, where they did not intend to go. They think that Mary is _going to the tomb_, according to the custom of those who seek excitements of their grief. For it is a very prevalent disease, that husbands deprived of their wives, parents deprived of their children, and, on the other hand, wives deprived of their husbands, and children deprived of their parents or other relatives and friends, are eager to increase their grief by every possible method. It is also customary to resort to various contriv...

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 31. _SHE GOETH UNTO THE GRAVE TO WEEP THERE._] It appears that it was the custom for the nearest relatives of the deceased to go at times, during the three days of weeping, accompanied by their friends and neighbours, to mourn near the graves of the deceased. They supposed that the spirit hovered about the place where the body was laid for _three_ days, to see whether it might be again permitted to enter, but, when it saw the face change, it knew that all hope was now past. It was on this ground that the _seven_ days of _lamentation_ succeeded the _three_ days of _weeping_, because all hope was now taken away. They had traditions that, in the course of _three_ days, persons who had died were raised again to life. See _Lightfoot_. Mr. Ward says: "I once saw some _Mussulman women_, near Calcutta, lying on the new-made grave of a relation, weeping bitterly. In this manner the Mussul...

SAYING, SHE GOETH UNTO THE GRAVE - Syriac, “They thought that she went to weep.” They had not heard Martha call her. The first days of mourning among the Jews were observed with great solemnity and many ceremonies of grief....

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

THE JEWS THEN WHICH WERE WITH HER IN THE HOUSE,.... Who came from Jerusalem to visit this afflicted family, and continued in the house with them AND COMFORTED HER; which was the end of their coming, John 11:19. This they endeavoured to do, though they did not succeed: WHEN THEY SAW MARY, THAT SHE ROSE UP HASTILY, AND WENT OUT, FOLLOWED HER; they did not know what Martha whispered to her, but observed that she rose off her seat in great haste, and went out of the house at once; and therefore they went after to see where she went, and to persuade her to return; SAYING, within themselves; "thinking", as all the Oriental versions seem to read, SHE GOETH UNTO THE GRAVE TO WEEP THERE: the Jews were wont to go to the graves on different accounts; one was to see whether the persons were dead or not: for so it is said p,...

John 11:1. _Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha._ To many people, it may have seemed an event of no particular importance that «a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany,» but great consequences often depend upon what appear to us to be very minor matters, and we must not despise the least of the Lord's people, nor think slightingly of anything that concerns them. When a king or an emperor is ill, the news is published in all the papers; but when a friend of the Lord Jesus, a man «named Lazarus of Bethany,» was sick, that event was recorded in the Bible because of something very remarkable which was to follow that sickness. Lazarus was a son of God, and grace makes greater distinctions than earthly rank and worldly honours ever can make....

JOHN 11:31 do,xantej {B} The manuscript support for do,xantej is early (the nonsensical reading doxa,zontej of î75 33 is tantamount to testimony supporting do,xantej) and widely diversified (a B C* D L W X ¦1 ¦13 700 syrs,p,hmg copbo arm eth geo). The reading le,gontej may have arisen when it was asked how the evangelist could have known the thoughts of the Jews (as also in John 11:13, where ms. X substitutes e;...

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 .)...