John 11:41

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. THEN THEY TOOK AWAY THE STONE FROM THE PLACE WHERE THE DEAD WAS LAID. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, [ eeren (G142) ... anoo (G507)]. The attitude is somewhat emphatically expressed-`lifted His eyes upward,' marking His calm solemnity (compare John 17:1). AND SAID, FATHER, I THANK THEE THOU HAST HEARD ME, [ eekousas (G191)] - rather, 'heardest me;' referring, as we think, to a specific prayer offered by Him, probably on intelligence of the case reach...

41._And Jesus again raised his eyes. _This was the token of a mind truly prepared for prayer; for before any one calls on God aright, he must be brought into communication with him, and this can only be done when, raised above the earth, he ascends even to heaven. True, this is not done by the eyes; for hypocrites, who are plunged in the deep filth of their flesh, appear to draw down heaven to them by their stern aspect; but what they only pretend to do must be sincerely accomplished by the children of God. And yet he who _raises his eyes _to heaven ought not, in his thoughts, to limit God to heaven; for He is present everywhere, and _fills heaven and earth_, (Jeremiah 23:24.) But as men can never free themselves from gross imaginations, so as not to form some low and earthly conception about God, unless when they are raised above the world, Scripture sends them to heaven,

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 41. _WHERE THE DEAD WAS LAID._] These words are wanting in BC*DL, _three_ others; _Syriac, Persic, Arabic, Sahidic, AEthiopic,_ _Armenian, Vulgate, Saxon_, and in all the _Itala_. _Griesbach_ leaves them out of the text. _FATHER, I THANK THEE_] As it was a common opinion that great miracles might be wrought by the power and in the name of the devil, Jesus lifted up his eyes to _heaven_, and invoked the supreme God before these unbelieving Jews, that they might see that it was by his power, and by his only, that this miracle was done; that every hinderance to this people's faith might be completely taken out of the way, and that their faith might stand, not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of the Most High. On this account our Lord says, _he spoke because of the multitude_, that they might see there was no diabolic influence here, and that God in his mercy had visited his peo...

LIFTED UP HIS EYES - In an attitude of prayer. See Luke 18:13; Matthew 14:19. I THANK THEE THAT THOU HAST HEARD ME - It is possible that John has recorded only the sum or substance of the prayer on this occasion. The thanks which Jesus renders here are evidently in view of the fact that power had been committed to him to raise up Lazarus. On account of the people, and the signal proof which would be furnished of the truth of his mission, he expressed his thanks to God. In all his actions, he recognized his union to the Father, and his dependence upon him as Mediator....

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 THEY TOOK AWAY THE STONE,.... "From the door of the sepulchre", as the Arabic version adds; FROM THE PLACE WHERE THE DEAD WAS LAID: this clause is left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions: AND JESUS LIFT UP HIS EYES; to heaven; this is a praying gesture, as in John 17:1, AND SAID, FATHER, I THANK THEE THAT THOU HAST HEARD ME; which cannot refer to the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, or to any assistance given him in performing that miracle, because that as yet was not done; and when it was done, was done by his own power, as all the circumstances of it show; but it relates to everything in which he had before heard him, and was a foundation for him, as man, to believe he still would, in whatever was to come; and particularly to the present opportunity of showing his power in so r

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