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

Raising of Lazarus, 12th century icon.  St. Katherine's Monastery, Mt. Sinai

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came toward the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha, He found that he 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 as of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha 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."   My study Bible notes that Mary approaches Jesus with the identical words used by Martha (see yesterday's reading, above).  Jesus engaged Martha with words ("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?" ).  But He engages Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother Lazarus from the dead.

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 comments that John emphasizes that Jesus wept and groaned in spirit to show that He had fully taken on human nature, and was subject to grief as any human being would be.  Weeping, it says, is the natural response to the tragedy of death.  On the Saturday commemorating Lazarus, an Orthodox hymn declares:  "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of your heartfelt love."

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?"  Although Martha's faith had increased, my study Bible says, she till understood neither Christ's will nor His power.  The spices and oils used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time.  In many icons of the raising of Lazarus, bystanders are portrayed as covering their noses, which illustrates both the reality of his corrupted flesh, and the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead (see the figures near Lazarus in the 12th century icon, above).

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."   Christ says that He prays aloud for the sake of the people who are standing by.  By doing so, He shows to them that His divine will is one with the Father's, and that His human will is freely subject in every way to the Father's.

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  My study Bible notes that Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of the Father, but by His own authority.  This shows the people that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.  See also John 5:28-29.

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."  Many patristic commentaries see Lazarus bound in graveclothes as an indication that he will need them again -- his resurrection continues an earthly life which will again end in death.  By contrast, Christ's graveclothes will be left in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike this resurrection of Lazarus, Christ's Resurrection is a transfiguration of human nature; He will never die again.  My study Bible further notes that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but, in the words of the hymn commemorating the day, it "confirmed the universal resurrection," proving that Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13).  

In today's reading, Jesus says, "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."  Those people who are standing by are people who have come from Jerusalem to mourn with the sisters.  John has called them the Jews which in this Gospel is most often used as a type of political term, an indication that they are among the ruling parties of the religious establishment in Jerusalem.  (Everyone in today's reading is a Jew, including Jesus, His disciples, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.)   It seems that this family who are beloved by Jesus is prominent; they live close to Jerusalem and so these others have come to mourn with them -- and it will be these mourners who return to Jerusalem and inform other members of the Council and the ruling parties of the temple about what has happened with Lazarus, this seventh and final sign in John's Gospel.  It is this sign, of the raising of Lazarus from death, that will truly seal the fate of Jesus, so that the rulers of the Council will decisively choose to put Him to death.  We must assume that He already know this.  So, why does He make this statement "because of the people standing by"?  Why does He absolutely affirm His identity and authority, that He is sent by the Father.  Certainly He is already in the midst of conflict with the religious authorities and knows what great impact this impossible news will make.  We also know that He does not produce signs on demand, He has refused to "prove" His authority and identity in so many conversations with the religious authorities already.  It is important to understand that Jesus' efforts are directed at salvation, and important for us to note that when He speaks for the sake of those who hear Him and are from Jerusalem, He is doing so in order to save, for this is His true calling, the real goal for which He has been sent by the Father.  In John 3:17, Jesus tells Nicodemus, a Pharisee who comes to Him to be taught by night, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (see John 3:1-21).   Until the very end, Jesus' prime concern will be the salvation of those who will hear and respond, and that includes everyone, even those who have opposed Him.  For, in accordance with His own testimony, that is the true purpose for which He was sent into the world.  That there is conflict is something He accepts.  That there are those who wish to put Him to death and not recognize His identity and authority is also something He accepts.  But He is not done with His mission, and His mission is to save, to come for those who will believe so that He can offer a life abundantly, the kind of life that has power over death, and transcends death.  And this is what He shows to the world in the raising of Lazarus -- that in His identity as Son is the power of life and death.  Or rather, to put it more truly, the power of life over death, the power of immortality, so that, as He said to Martha in yesterday's reading (above), "he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live."  This is the power of the Christ, the power to defeat and trample death, the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26).  In His power of immortality, Christ opens up an abundant life to us in which we may participate in the here and now, in His Kingdom, for this indeed is His saving mission, which He will never give up, for it is this for which He has been sent by the Father (John 10:28-29).  Let us remember these words are not only for those standing by, but for those of us who hear today (John 20:29).