t ch. vi. 87 : xvii. 11, 12: xviii. 9. u ch. xiv. 28. x ch. xvii. 2, 6, &c. 22. z ch. viii. 59. t give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 us My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck [them] out of my y ch. xvii. 11, Father's hand. 30 y I and y 31 z Then Father are one. my the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works a do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, ↳ Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 say ye of him, whom the Father [chath] sanctified, and sent into the ech. v. 17, 18. world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son a ch. v. 18. b PSA. lxxxii. 6. e ch. vị. 27. d ch. iii. 17: v. 36, 37: viii. 42. ver. 30. rrender, and none shall. e Most of our ancient copies read, That which my Father hath given me is greater than all. trender, hath given. Iomit: not in the original. Z render, The Jews therefore. a render, are ye stoning me. comit. tion of these sheep. The form of the u render, none. y render, the. brender, made void. God," ch. v. 18. 34.] The word law here h that g ch. v. 36: Χίν. 10, 11. h ch. xiv. 10, 11 xvi. 21. i ch. vii. 30, 44: vill. 50. of God? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe fch. xv. 24. me not. 38 But if I d do, though ye believe not me, 8 believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, the Father is in me, and I in him. 39 i Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, 40 and went away again beyond Jordan into the place * where John at first baptized; and there he abode. k ch. 1. 28. 41 And many resorted unto him, and said, h John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man 1 ch. iii. 80. were true. 42 m And many believed on him there. k XI. 1k Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, 1of Bethany, the town of a Mary, and her sister Martha. 2 b It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with oint d render, do them. render, and he passed. h render, John indeed. k render, But. • read and render, perceive and i 1 render, whatsoever. m ch. viii. 30: xi. 45. a Luke x. 38, 30. b Matt. xxvi. 7. Mark xiv. 3. ch. xii. 3. know. render, from Bethany, of the town. essentially God, inasmuch as He is the Son above. that ye may perceive and know] 40-42.] Jesus departs to Bethany beyond Jordan, and is there believed on by many. 40.] On Bethany beyond Jordan, see ch. i. 28 and note. 41.] The locality reminds them of John and his tes timony. The remark seems to have a double tendency:-to relate their now confirmed persuasion, that though John did not fulfil their expectations by shewing a sign or working miracles, yet he was a true prophet, and really, as he professed, the forerunner of this Person, who in consequence must be, what John had declared Him to be, the Messiah. And (ver. 42) the result followed;-many believed on Him. "The word John repeated ver. 42, belongs to the simplicity of the speech, which is reproduced literally as spoken, and expresses the honour paid by the people to the holy man whose memory still lived among them." Meyer. XI. CHAP. XI., XII.] JESUS, DELIVERED TO DEATH, THE RESURRECTION, AND THE LIFE, AND THE JUDGMENT. 1-44.] The raising of Lazarus. On the omission of this, the chief of our Lord's miracles, by the three other Evangelists, see the Introduction, ch. i. § v. 1. 1. But] This conjunction here is not merely a word of passage to another subject, but expresses a contrast to the sojourn in Peræa, and thus conveys the reason why our Lord's retirement (see ch. x. 40) was broken in upon. Bethany is designated as the village of Martha and Mary,' to distinguish it from that Bethany beyond Jordan, which has just been alluded to (not named, perhaps to avoid the confusion), ch. x. 40. Mary and Martha are mentioned as already well known from the current apostolic teaching (see Introduction, chap. v. § ii. 11). 2.] Another refer e ch. ix. 8. ver. 40. d ch. 1. 40. e ch. 1. 31. f ch. ix. 4. g ch. xii. 35. с ment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother e r If there is no light in him. n render, may. ence to a fact which, as our Lord prophesied, was known wherever the Gospel was preached. This reference containing, as it does, the expression the Lord or our Lord, implying, as we all well know,'is a striking illustration of that prophecy. St. John himself relates the occurrence, ch. xii. 3, being necessary for the course of his narrative. 3.] The message (see vv. 21, 32) evidently was to request the Lord to come and heal him: and implies that the sickness was of a dangerous kind. 4.] The only right understanding of this answer, and our Lord's whole proceeding here is, that He knew and foresaw all from the first,-as well the termination of Lazarus's sickness and his being raised again, as the part which this miracle would bear in bringing about the close of His own ministry. is not unto death] Its result as regards Lazarus will not be death (see Matt. ix. 24 and parallel places, and notes):-but (see ch. ii. 11; ix. 3) it has a higher purpose,-the glory of God; -the glorification, by its means, of the Son of God. And this glorification-how was it accomplished? By this miracle leading to His death,-which in St. John's diction is so frequently implied in the word glorification. It need hardly be remarked, with Olshausen and Trench, that the glorifying of the Son of God in Lazarus himself is subordinately implied. because, for the glory of God, He would and after that he saith unto Dan. xii. 2. Malt. ix. 21. Acts vii. CO. 11 These things said he them, Our friend Lazarus ht sleepeth: but I go, that I may h So Deut. awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless. let us go unto him. 16 z Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 17 a Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. 18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs inference) ye too are safe, walking in this division of the day was common among the I may 11.] The special reason for going, which the disciples appear not to have borne in mind, having probably supposed from ver. 4 that Lazarus would recover. Our friend] Bengel notices, with what condescension our Lord shares the friendship with His disciples. And the word our gives a reason why they should go too. This term, is fallen asleep, might have recalled to three at least of the disciples that other saying, Matt. ix. 24. But the former expression, "is not unto death," had not been understood,-and that error ruled in their minds. 12. if he is fallen asleep] They evidently understand the sleep announced to them by Jesus as a physical fact, and a token of a favourable u render, will recover. 51. y render, Jesus therefore. a render, When therefore. crisis, and think that his recovery will probably be the result. 15.] "Notice that Jesus rejoices not over the sad event itself, but that He was not there, which might prove salutary to the disciples' faith." Meyer. The intent, [that] ye may believe, is not to be taken as the great end of the miracle (expressed in ver. 4), but the end as regarded them. nevertheless breaks off the discourse, implying that enough had been said. 16.] The meaning of Thomas, in the Aramaic, which was the dialect of the country, is the same as that of the Latin Didymus, viz. a twin. The remark means, Let us also go (with our Master), that we may die with him (not, with Lazarus, as Grot.). This is in exact accord with the character of Thomas, as shewn in ch. xiv. 5; xx. 25;— ever ready to take the dark view, but deeply attached to his Lord. 17.] Jesus re mained two days after the receipt of the Meyer remarks, that the use of the past tense, was nigh, does not necessarily imply that the places no longer existed when the Apostle wrote, but may arise from the word occurring in context with a history which is past. But seeing that St. John alone uses this form of designation (compare ch. xviii. 1; xix. 41), and i ch. ix. 31. off: b 19 and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him but Mary sat still in the house. 21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 d But I know, that even now, с i whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. k Luke xiv. 14. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again ch. v. 29. 1 ch. v. 21: vi. 39, 40, 44. in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto m ch. i. 4: Col. iii. 4. 1 John i. 1, 2: v. 11. vi.35; xiv. 6. her, I am the resurrection, and the life: "he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall n ch. iii. 36. 1 John v. 10, 11. d render, had come. render, was sitting. render, Nevertheless even now I know that. render, that he probably wrote after the destruction of Jerusalem, it is more natural (as Meyer himself confesses) to explain the past tense by his regarding Jerusalem and its neigh bourhood as laid waste at the time when he published his Gospel. 19.] Lightfoot gives an account of the ceremonies practised during the thirty days of mourning. 20.] The behaviour of the two sisters is quite in accordance with their character, Luke x. 38-42: and thus we have a most interesting point of connexion between two gospels so widely various in their contents and character. Stier thinks, as also Trench, that Mary did not hear of the approach of Jesus, and that we must not bring the characters to bear on this case. But this is at least questionable. 21.] This saying has evidently been the leading thought of the four days since their brother's death. Mary repeats it, ver. 32. 22.] She seems to express some expectation of the raising of her brother; but it is too great a thing for her to venture to mention:-possibly she had not dared to form the thought fully, but had some vague feeling after help, such as she knew He would give. I can hardly see, as some have done, an unworthy spirit in the form of her expression, in ver. 22. It was said in the simplicity of her faith, which, it is true, was not yet a fully ripened faith but it differs little from our Lord's own words, ver. 41. The repetition of the word God is to be noticed, as expressive of her faith in the unity of purpose and action between Jesus and God. 23.] I believe these words of our f render, Every one that. Lord to contain no allusion to the immediate restoration of Lazarus; but to be designedly used to lead on to the requisite faith in her mind. 24.] She understands the words rightly, but gently repels the insufficient comfort of his ultimate resurrection. 25, 26.] These words, as Stier observes, are the central point of the history; the great testimony to Himself, of which the subsequent miracle is the proof. The intention of the saying seems to have been, to awaken in Martha the faith that He could raise her brother from the dead, in its highest and proper form. This He does by announcing Himself (it is the expressed emphatic personal pronoun,-I, and no other...) as 'THE RESURRECTION' (meaning,-that resurrection in the last day shall be only by my Power, and therefore I can raise now as well), and more than that, THE LIFE ITSELF: So that he that believeth in me (i. e. Lazarus, in her mind), even though he have died, shall live; and he that liveth (physically;-'is not yet dead') and believeth in me, shall not die for evermore: i. e. faith in Me is the source of life, both here and hereafter; and those who have it, have Life, so that they shall NEVER DIE;' physical death being overlooked and disregarded, in comparison with that which is really and only death. The word liveth must be (against Lampe, Olshausen, and Stier) taken of physical life, for it stands opposed to though he have died. he that believeth in me is the subject of both clauses; in the former it is said that he "though he have |