Commentary on the Four Gospel Books
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
G116 The Death of Lazarus,
the Lord Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life
John 11:1-27

Download PDF:
https://od.lk/f/MV8zNTU1MTI2MDdf
https://od.lk/fl/MV8xODI0MzMzNl8

Please share this website with all your friends and family members. Thank you, and God bless.

All New Testament verses quoted in this article are from the English Majority Text Version, and Old Testament verses are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

John 11:1-27

1 Now there was a certain man who was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 Now it was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with myrrh, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

4 And when Jesus heard, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of *God, that the Son of *God may be glorified through it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 Therefore when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed in the place where He was for two days.

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, just now the Jews were seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

11 These things He said, and after this He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awaken him.”

12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep he will get well.”

13 However, Jesus spoke about his death, but they thought that He was speaking about resting in sleep.

14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

15 And I rejoice for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

17 Therefore when He had come, Jesus found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.

19 And many of the Jews had come to the women around Martha and Mary, so that they might console them concerning their brother.

20 Then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that whatever You may ask of *God, *God will give You.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of *God, who is to come into the world.”

Let us return together to the record of the Apostle John about the pastoral and spiritual ministries of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will study the event of Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, who was sick and died. Lazarus’s body had been buried in the tomb for four days, but the Lord Jesus called him back to life. In this lesson, we will study the first part of that event.

John 11:1-2

1 Now there was a certain man who was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 Now it was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with myrrh, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

The Bible records two people named Lazarus. The first was a beggar at the gate of a rich man, who died and went to a place of blessing in Hades. This story is recorded in Luke 16:19-31. The second Lazarus had two sisters named Martha and Mary and lived in the village of Bethany, a place less than 3 kilometers from Jerusalem. It is likely that Lazarus and his two sisters often welcomed the Lord Jesus whenever He returned to Jerusalem. All three siblings were loved by the Lord. The story of Lazarus from Bethany is recorded only by the Apostle John in John chapters 11 and 12.

We have already studied the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42. In the story we are currently studying, the Apostle John intentionally places Mary’s name before Martha’s to recall the event where she anointed the Lord Jesus with fragrant oil six days before His death. Although Mary’s anointing happened after Lazarus was called back to life, John includes it here so the reader clearly understands he is referring to the three siblings of Lazarus.

John 11:3-4

3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

4 And when Jesus heard, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of *God, that the Son of *God may be glorified through it.”

The Bible does not clearly state what illness Lazarus had. However, when he was sick, his two sisters sent someone to meet the Lord Jesus to inform Him. They may have heard the rumor that the Lord Jesus was in Jericho, about 24 kilometers northeast of Bethany, so they sent someone there to find Him. It is possible that when the messenger met the Lord Jesus, He was at Zacchaeus’ house.

The way Martha and Mary delivered the message was very special. They did not ask the messenger to say that their brother, or Lazarus, was sick. Instead, they said, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” This message reflects the special intimacy between the Lord and Lazarus. It also reveals the faith of Martha and Mary in the Lord—that He would act out of love. Therefore, they did not plead for Him to heal Lazarus but simply stated the situation as it was.

When we read verse 5, we understand that the Lord Jesus loved all three siblings. So when the messenger said he was sent by Martha and Mary, Jesus understood that ″he whom You love is sick″ was Lazarus.

We can understand that, at that very moment, God the Spirit inspired the Lord Jesus to know that Lazarus would die and that He would call him back to life to demonstrate His power and prove that He is the Christ.

The Lord Jesus’ statement, ″This sickness is not unto death,″ implies that even if death occurs, Lazarus will be raised to life. The death caused by the sickness cannot hold Lazarus. With just one commanding word from the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, death must release Lazarus. Lazarus’s illness and death serve to reveal the glory of God and to bring honor to the Lord Jesus when He calls Lazarus back to life from death.

The Lord Jesus’ words were likely spoken to the messenger but also meant for His disciples to hear. He wanted them, when they arrived in Bethany, to understand that He knew Lazarus would die but that He would raise him back to life.

John 11:5-6

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 Therefore when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed in the place where He was for two days.

Verse 5 affirms that the Lord Jesus loved all three siblings of Lazarus. Therefore, He certainly cared deeply for them. The name Martha is mentioned first because she is the older sister of Mary. Lazarus’s name is mentioned last because he was the one for whom Martha and Mary sent a message to the Lord. However, upon hearing that Lazarus was sick, the Lord Jesus did not immediately go to visit but stayed where He was for two more days.

It is very likely that the day the messenger left Bethany was also the day Lazarus died. According to Israelite custom, the deceased had to be buried on the same day. Thus, that day would be counted as the first day Lazarus was in the tomb. After receiving the message, the Lord Jesus stayed where He was for two additional days. Those were the second and third days Lazarus was in the tomb. The following day, the Lord Jesus set out for Bethany. That was the fourth day Lazarus had been in the tomb.

The place where the Lord Jesus stayed may have been the house of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector in Jericho. Zacchaeus had believed in the Lord Jesus as soon as He entered Jericho. The Lord Jesus had stayed at his house (Luke 19:1-27).

John 11:7-8

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, just now the Jews were seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”

In the Old Testament period up to the time of Herod the Great, the city of Jericho belonged to the region of Judea. After Herod the Great died (in 4 BCE), Jericho was annexed by the Roman authorities into the region of Perea. Because of this, the Lord Jesus told His disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” The journey from the gate of Jericho to the border of Judea was about 6 kilometers.

The event where the people of Israel sought to stone the Lord Jesus happened about three months earlier. This was around mid-December of the year 26, during the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Apostle John recorded this event in John 10:31-39. The death of Lazarus likely occurred around the end of March in the year 27, before the Passover, not more than two weeks prior.

John 11:9-10

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

Since ancient times, the people of Israel divided the daytime into 12 hours, from sunrise to sunset, and the nighttime into 12 hours, from sunset to sunrise. This means the length of each “hour” changed with the seasons. Daytime hours were longer in summer and shorter in winter. Conversely, nighttime hours were longer in winter and shorter in summer. Since the reestablishment of the state on May 14, 1948, Israel has used the 24-hour system with fixed-length hours, like most other nations. However, for Jewish religious rituals, Israel still uses the traditional method of calculating hours.

In the Lord Jesus’ statement, ″daytime″ symbolizes the period God gives humanity to act. For the Lord Jesus, ″daytime″ is the limited period God allotted for Him to complete the work of preaching the Gospel and saving humanity. Though this period is limited, the Lord Jesus still had time to rescue Lazarus.

″Walks in the day″ means living and acting according to the will of God. Anyone who lives and acts according to God’s will receives illumination from God, so that person will not stumble or sin. This illumination from God comes through the Living Word of God in the Bible; through the teachings and lifestyle of the Lord Jesus; through the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit in the spirit of God’s people; and through the preaching and lifestyle of God’s people.

When the Lord Jesus was still in the world, He was ″the light of the world″ (John 9:5).

After the Lord Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit guides God’s people in their spirit, helping them understand every truth of God’s Word. Therefore, God’s people become ″the light of the world.″

″Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.″ (Psalms 119:105).

″For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.″ (Proverbs 6:23).

″However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.″ (John 16:13a).

″For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.″ (Romans 8:14).

″You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.″ (Matthew 5:14).

″Walks in the night″ means living and acting according to one’s own will, without the guidance of God. Those who live and act according to their own will constantly stumble, frequently break God’s commandments, and become sinners.

John 11:11-12

11 These things He said, and after this He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awaken him.”

12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep he will get well.”

The Lord Jesus knew that Lazarus had died, but He said that he was sleeping because He knew He would call him back to life from death. This is similar to how Jesus referred to the death of Jairus’s daughter (Matthew 9:24).

The disciples misunderstood, taking the verb “sleep” literally. Therefore, they thought that the Lord Jesus would come and heal Lazarus, waking him up. The word “get well” that the disciples used implied being saved from illness.

John 11:13-15

13 However, Jesus spoke about his death, but they thought that He was speaking about resting in sleep.

14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

15 And I rejoice for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

The Lord Jesus knew the disciples had misunderstood His words, so He clearly told them that Lazarus had died.

The Lord Jesus rejoiced for the disciples because they were about to witness His authority over death and His power to give life. Previously, the disciples had only seen Jesus call those who had just died back to life. But this time, calling back to life a man who had been dead and in the tomb for four days was a great miracle to prove that He is the Christ.

If the Lord Jesus had been present beside Lazarus while he was sick, He would have healed him. That healing would have been a normal healing, like many others Jesus performed. Or if the Lord Jesus had been there right when Lazarus died, He would have called him back to life, as He did with Jairus’s daughter and the son of the widow in the town of Nain.

However, calling Lazarus back to life after he had been dead for four days was a far more powerful miracle. This miracle strengthened the faith of His disciples, confirming that He truly is the Christ.

John 11:16

16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

Thomas was one of the twelve apostles of the Lord Jesus. He was skeptical because of his careful nature but also showed absolute loyalty. That’s why he called his companions to go with the Lord Jesus, even if it meant dying alongside Him. The name “Thomas” is Greek, transliterated from Aramaic, while “Didymus” is the Greek translation of ″Thomas.″ Both names mean “twin.”

Thomas’s statement meant that if, after arriving in Bethany, the Lord Jesus was killed by the Jewish people, he and his companions would also die with Him. Thomas was thinking about how Jesus and the disciples might be surrounded and stoned by the crowd.

John 11:17-19

17 Therefore when He had come, Jesus found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.

19 And many of the Jews had come to the women around Martha and Mary, so that they might console them concerning their brother.

Bethany village is only about 2.7 km from Jerusalem, so the Lord Jesus’s presence there would quickly become known to the Jewish opponents of Him. Therefore, Thomas’s worry that the Lord would be persecuted was understandable. However, the God is the One who holds all things in His hands—nothing can happen without His permission.

When the Lord Jesus and His disciples arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. News of Lazarus’s death had spread, and many Jews who knew Lazarus’s family had come to comfort Mary and Martha.

The word “found” in verse 17 does not mean that Jesus physically saw Lazarus lying in the tomb, but rather that He knew Lazarus had been buried there. This knowledge likely came from hearing the people’s conversations or someone informing Him as He entered Bethany.

John 11:20-22

20 Then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that whatever You may ask of *God, *God will give You.”

When the Lord Jesus first arrived in the village, someone quickly went to tell Martha. Martha hurried out to meet Him, while Mary stayed at home. The Bible does not explicitly explain why Mary did not go out, but we can understand that Martha was more active and action-oriented, so she quickly went to meet the Lord to express her feelings. Mary, being quieter and more caring, stayed at home to receive guests and wait for the Lord’s arrival inside the house.

Martha’s words, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died,″ are not a reproach but an expression of her faith in Him. She believed that the Lord Jesus had the power to heal sickness and prevent death if He were present.

Her following statement also reveals her faith based on her limited understanding of Jesus: she believed the Lord Jesus had a special relationship with God the Father, so the God would grant Jesus whatever He asked. In other words, if Jesus asked the God to raise Lazarus, He would be raised.

However, Martha did not yet realize that Jesus Himself is God, possessing the authority to give life on His own, without needing to ask the Father.

John 11:23-24

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day.”

The Lord Jesus understood Martha’s words and affirmed to her: “Your brother will rise again.” However, Martha misunderstood this to mean the resurrection on the last day. Martha was knowledgeable in God’s Word and believed it. She trusted the promises recorded in the Scriptures:

″Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.″ (Isaiah 26:19).

″And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.″ (Daniel 12:2).

At that time, the Pharisees of the Jewish religion rightly taught the Word of God about resurrection after death. Many Israelites believed in that teaching.

The Israelites understood that the “last day” of resurrection was immediately before Christ would establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Today, we understand that for God’s people, that day includes the entire period from when Christ comes to take the Church out of the world until before He establishes the Millennium Kingdom. God’s people in the Church will be resurrected on the day Christ comes to take the Church out of the world. The two witnesses of God will be resurrected in the middle of the Great Tribulation. God’s people before the Church age and during the Great Tribulation will be resurrected after Christ destroys the Antichrist and all who oppose Him.

For those who are not in salvation, that day will be the final judgment, as prophesied in Revelation 20:11-15.

John 11:25

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

The Lord Jesus’ words to Martha helped her understand Him more clearly. He does not need to ask God to grant resurrection to anyone because He is the resurrection and the life. He is the embodiment of life itself.

Physically, the Lord Jesus is the resurrection because His physical body rose again after death. And He has the authority to give those who have died a resurrection of their physical bodies.

Spiritually, the Lord Jesus is the resurrection because after bearing the punishment for humanity’s sins—which separated them from God—He was reconciled with God. And He has the authority to grant those who are spiritually dead—separated from God—a reconciliation with God through their faith in His atoning death.

Physically, the Lord Jesus is life because death cannot have dominion over His physical body. Moreover, on the day when the Lord Jesus returns to take the Church out of the world, He will grant the physical bodies of those believers who are still alive at that time the gift of not experiencing death.

Spiritually, the Lord Jesus is life because life is the knowledge of God and unity with God (John 17:3; 1 John 5:12). He grants those who believe in Him the understanding of God and the gift of living with God forever (John 1:18; 1 John 5:20; John 10:28).

Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus, even if they die, will be raised and live eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven, both physically and spiritually.

John 11:26

26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

The death spoken of here is spiritual death—the eternal separation from God and the suffering in hell (2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:15).

Physically: Anyone who is still living in the flesh and believes in the Lord Jesus will never experience spiritual death.

Spiritually: Anyone who has accepted salvation and has been born again and continues steadfast in faith in the Lord Jesus will never experience spiritual death.

The question, ″Do you believe this?″ implies: Do you understand and truly trust the words I have spoken?

John 11:27

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of *God, who is to come into the world.”

Martha’s response is a powerful confession of faith, much like Peter’s declaration recorded in Matthew 16:16.

She acknowledges the Lord Jesus as ″the Christ,″ meaning the promised Messiah awaited by Israel.

She does not see Jesus merely as a prophet or teacher of the law but recognizes Him as the Messiah.

By confessing Jesus as the ″Son of *God,″ she affirms His divine nature.

By calling Him ″who is to come into the world,″ she acknowledges all His teachings and works, especially His supreme mission of redeeming humanity.

Her confession also implies her faith that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, that He has the authority to grant resurrection and life, and that whoever believes in Him will never truly die.

We conclude this lesson here.

May the Holy Spirit guide us into all the truths of God’s Word (John 16:13). May the Word of God sanctify us (John 17:17). May the Faithful *God of Peace Himself sanctify our spirit, soul, and body entirely, without blame (1 Thessalonians 5:23), at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved Savior. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
07/26/2025

Note:

About Using “*God”, “the God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible use a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as *God or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.