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Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"
Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."
- John 11:30-44
To properly consider today's reading, we must start with the reading from Saturday, in which Jesus was told that Lazarus was ill, and He delayed His journey to Bethany by two days (see This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it). Yesterday, we read that when Jesus came there, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Marta said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.
Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" My study bible says here, "As true man Jesus shows by example that weeping is the natural human response to death. As true God He shows compassion upon His creation when the soul is torn from the body." We once again observe Mary here, and the real love that is between all of these friends. "The Jews" are the people from Jerusalem, connected with the temple, who are also there to mourn. They act as a sort of chorus, and remind us of events that are to come in Jerusalem.
Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." A note tells us: "Jesus comes to the place of burial. A corpse that has by the fourth day begun to deteriorate is enough reason for Martha's warning. Embalming was prohibited in Judaism. The body was simply anointed with spices and other aromatic substances which would keep the stench of decomposition at bay for a time."
Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Jesus refers to His earlier statement to Martha (in yesterday's reading).
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." My study bible says, "Again we see the Evangelist's insistence on relating Jesus' dependence upon the Father for all His works. Jesus prays for the bystanders, that they may have the insight to see the glory of God in the miracle."
Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" My study bible tells us that this loud cry for everyone to hear is a reminder of Jesus' earlier words in John's Gospel, "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth" (5:28-29). For context, see The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all the things He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." A note here says, "That Lazarus came out bound in his linen graveclothes is interpreted by patristic writers as an indication he will need them once again: he will eventually die. The Savior's grave linens, by contrast, were left in the tomb. He will have no more use for them, for He will never die again."
In yesterday's commentary, we considered Martha and Mary, the two sisters who form such a great part of these recent readings. I'd like to point out in today's reading the faith of Mary, saying to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." To me, it implies an absolute faith in the character of Jesus, in His Person and identity. Leading on from there, we read that "Jesus wept." He also "groaned in the spirit and was troubled." "Jesus wept" is notable for being the shortest verse in the bible, and it's also a great occasion because in all of His healing miracles, there are times when we're told that He's moved with compassion (meaning literally in the Greek a deep feeling in the "guts"). In Luke's Gospel, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem as He beholds it from afar, knowing of their rejection and the consequences to come to the city. But here, Jesus weeps despite the fact of what He is about to do, what is about to occur, an occasion of tremendous glory. To my way of thinking, this makes this particular occasion quite unique in a particular sense -- and it tells us of His great compassion: the return of God's love for our love. The text implies that He's moved by Mary's tears, and the tears of those from Jerusalem who weep with her. But Mary's absolute faith and love come first in the text. It's almost as if this extraordinary occasion is manifest because of relationship, the sense in which both faith and love are already present strengthens Christ's response. We're reminded of the many miracles in which faith plays a part, faith is present first. But here, John's text tells us something deeper: that there is more to faith than belief. The depth of faith is really love. Perhaps that is the reason why, at the beginning of the chapter, when John is introducing the idea that Lazarus is ill and that Jesus has been sent for, he tells us that Mary is the one "who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick" (see John 11:1-2), even though this event will not be described until the following chapter. John's Gospel, through this stupendous miracle (the seventh and final sign of the Gospel), opens up to us a world of faith that is something deeper and more potent than belief that is merely an assent to a set of professed ideas. This faith deepens into love: Creator for creature and creature for Creator. And, perhaps even more powerfully, I think it's important to see that our love itself is a part of this dance, and is an energy that deepens and sparks the response of the Creator. Jesus is moved as a human being, in a bond of love to all of these people, that the mourners from Jerusalem comment on. But I don't think it's an accident that the obvious depth of love here is extraordinary in the Gospel, even as the miracle itself is the final and most awesome occurrence of the sign of God's presence. Jesus here is fully human and fully God, but He's also fully a friend in the deepest sense of love. Let us remember that God responds to our love.
