John 11:36

Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! THEN SAID THE JEWS, BEHOLD HOW HE LOVED HIM! We thank you, O ye visitors from Jerusalem, for this spontaneous testimony to the human softness of the Son of God....

36._Behold, how he loved him! _The Evangelist John here describes to us two different opinions which were formed about Christ. As to the former, who said, _Behold, how he loved him! _though they think less highly of Christ than they ought to have done, since they ascribe to him nothing but what may belong to a man, yet they speak of him with greater candor and modesty than the latter, who maliciously slander him for not having hindered Lazarus from dying. For, though they applaud the power of Christ, of which the former said nothing, yet they do so, not without bringing against him some reproach. It is evident enough from their words, that the miracles which Christ had performed were not unknown to them; but so much the more base is their ingratitude, that they do not scruple to complain, because now, in a single instance, he abstained from working. Men have always been ungrateful to God...

33-46 Christ's tender sympathy with these afflicted friends, appeared by the troubles of his spirit. In all the afflictions of believers he is afflicted. His concern for them was shown by his kind inquiry after the remains of his deceased friend. Being found in fashion as a man, he acts in the way and manner of the sons of men. It was shown by his tears. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Tears of compassion resemble those of Christ. But Christ never approved that sensibility of which many are proud, while they weep at mere tales of distress, but are hardened to real woe. He sets us an example to withdraw from scenes of giddy mirth, that we may comfort the afflicted. And we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. It is a good step toward raising a soul to spiritual life, when the stone is taken away, when prejudices are removed, a...

Verse 36. _BEHOLD HOW HE LOVED HIM!_] And when _we_ see him pouring out his blood and life upon the cross for mankind, we may with exultation and joy cry out, _Behold how he hath loved US_!...

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 THE JEWS, BEHOLD, HOW HE LOVED HIM!] Lazarus; for they supposed that these tears were shed purely on his account; and by all circumstances they could not but judge, that they proceeded from an hearty and sincere affection to him; and it was amazing to them, that his love to him should be so strong, when he was no relation, only, as they imagined, a common friend. Christ's love to all his people, even when they are dead in trespasses and sins, is wonderful, and passes knowledge. And it is amazing indeed, if it be considered who the lover is, the eternal Son of God, who is God over all, blessed for ever, the Creator of all things, the King of kings, and Lord of lords: and also, who they are that are loved by him, not only creatures, but sinful ones, exceeding mean and abject; the base things of this world, bankrupts, beggars, yea, comparable to the beasts that perish; who had not...

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....

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

BEHOLD HOW HE LOVED HIM! Some of the Jews were touched by his evidence of tender affection. Others, remembering the healing of the blind man right there at Jerusalem, asked if he could not have saved Lazarus from death. The latter, however, spoke sneeringly in all probability. The occurrence of the words "groaning in himself" (was indignant) in verse 38, shows that there was something in their words to provoke his displeasure. The Greek particle rendered "And," means rather "but" and is so rendered by the Revision. Their argument is rather: "If he opened the eyes of. blind man, why could he not save. friend from death?...