The gospel account of Jesus' raising of the dead Lazarus to life stands out among the "resurrection miracles" of Jesus because it is performed not on the newly dead but on one who is already four days in the grave. The raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:35-43 and parallels) and that of the son of the widow of Naim (Luke 7:12-15) were all performed on people who just died. (Filipinos would wonder whether this be true with the case narrated in Luke since the dead young man was already being carried out to the grave when Jesus raised him. The fact is, first century Jews buried their dead on the day of death and mourning continued in the house of the deceased after burial for seven days. In 21st century Philippines, mourning precedes the burial.) John was careful to show that Lazarus was already four days buried (v.17) and that the grave already stinks of death (v.39) when Jesus performs the miracle. The movie "The Greatest Story Ever Told" captured the great amazement that the event triggered among those who saw it that led to the "whole world" following Jesus into Jerusalem (see John 12:9.19). John, in fact, narrates the story in a way that it leads immediately into the conclusion of the Gospel's Book of Signs (John 12) and prepares for "The Book of Glory".
John 11 can be outlined as follows:
- 1-16: Jesus' Delay and the Death of Lazarus
- 17-37: Jesus In The Presence of Death
- 17-27: Jesus Revelation to Martha "I Am the Resurrection and the Life"
- 28-37: Mary's Reproach; Jesus Before A Friend's Death
- 38-44: The Raising of Lazarus
- 45-53: Reaction from the Authorities
- 45-50: The "Prophecy" of Caiaphas
- 51-52: John's Comment on Caiaphas' Prophecy
- 53: The Sentence of the Sanhedrin: Death to Jesus
- 54: Conclusion: Jesus Goes To Ephraim
- 55-57: Transition Passage: The Suspense Over Jesus' Going To Jerusalem for The Feast of Passover
Following as it does the discourses on the Good Shepherd in John 10, the account of the raising of Lazarus highlights Jesus' desire to give life even at the risk of his own. The threat to Jesus' life if he goes back to Judah (where the home of Lazarus was) is underlined by the protest of the disciples in v. 8 ("Rabbi, the Jews has just tried to stone you (see 10:31) and you would still go back there?"); it is a threat that becomes a death sentence in v. 53.
There are also allussions to John 9 (the Healing of the Man Born Blind) in Jesus talk about day and night (vv. 9-10), Martha's comment on Jesus' prayer in v. 22 (see John 9:31-33) and in the clear reference in v. 37 ("Was he not able to open the eyes of blind? Could he not have prevented this one from dying?"). This, and the confession of faith that Jesus elicits from Martha in v. 27 which is similar to the one in Matthew 16:16 relates the raising of Lazarus to the life of the baptized. A passage like that of Paul's quotation of a ritual statement -- "Awake O Sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ shall give you light" (Eph. 5:14) -- can be read in the light of John 5: 28-29 ("The hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come out...") which is dramatized in Jesus' shouting "Lazarus, come forth" (v. 43).
Apart from these retro-references, there are also references that anticipate chapter 12. The clearest of these is the description of Mary in v. 2 which anticipates what she will do in 12:3. Thomas' remark in v. 16 ("Let us go that even we may die with him") anticipates the saying on discipleship in John 12:25-26. Lazarus raised from the dead will also become the object of an assassination (see John 12:10) -- those whom Jesus loves share in His hour. These references to the end of the Book of Signs which is characterized by Jesus' discourses on His Hour and the Glory he will receive through it, makes the raising of Lazarus an anticipation of Jesus' own death and Resurrection.
In the whole narrative, John's use of double-meaning is further enhanced by his use of the verb dokein (to think) which in use can sound like the noun for glory (doxa). John uses this in the following episodes:
Jesus Explains The Condition of Lazarus to His Disciples. When Jesus first tells his disciples about Lazarus' death, he refered to it as "sleep." This is similar to the case of Jairus daughter whom he said was just sleeping and not dead (5:39). Christian burial practice still retains this way of referring to the dead in the word "cemetery" which derives from a Greek word (the verb koimaomai) and means "sleeping quarters".
11(Jesus said) "Our friend Lazarus sleeps; let us go to wake him up." 12The disciples said to him, "Lord if he sleeps, he will recover." 13Jesus had spoken about his death. These however thought he referred to the sleep of dream (lit. for "ordinary sleep" NRSV).
What I have translated above as "recover" is the Greek word sothesetai which can also mean "to be saved". Thus, the statement of the disciples can also be read as "Lord if he sleeps, he will be saved" a direct anticipation of what Jesus will do to Lazarus later on. John's commentary in v. 13 puts all into perspective and explains the double-meaning.
Mary Rises To Meet Jesus. The Jews bury their dead on the same day and the period for mourning is completed in the house. No one leaves the house during this period except to go to the grave in case one wishes to mourn there. Thus the mourners at the house of Mary thought (doxantes) that she was going to the grave to weep there. So the mourners follow her. Instead of seeing her weep, however, they see Jesus shed tears for his friend. Those who followed Mary and saw Jesus would later on believe in Jesus and raise concerns in the minds of the Pharisees (see John 12:9-11).
These two uses of dokew which morphologically resembles the word for "glory" is notable since John also uses another verb for "to think" (logizein)(v.50). The disciples who thought (edoxan) Lazarus slept and the mourners who thought (doxantes) Mary would go to the grave will later on participate -- each according to their place -- in an anticipation of Jesus' glory in the raising of Lazarus. Once more, John uses double-meaning to bring disciples and mourners to the Lazarus event and to the beginning of John 12.
The Narrative
After an account of Jesus' delay (1-16), John tells of Jesus meeting with Martha and Mary who were familiar to John's original readers. The encounter is written in the manner of the account of David's reception of the news about Absalom's death. In 2 Samuel 18:19-19:1 David is told of his rebel son's death. It is a dramatic moment that shows two messengers going to the ousted King of Judah one after the other to tell him of the news of his army's victory over the rebels and of its leader's death, fair Absalom, son of David. The coming of the messenger and the discovery that there is not one but two heightens anticipation of how David will receive the news. The story concludes with David going to his room and weeping for his son. Here, Martha and Mary come to Jesus reproaching him for their brother's death: "If you had been here, our brother would not have died." The drama is further extended when after the conversation with Martha, Jesus reveals himself as "The Resurrection and the Life". Martha's belief in the resurrection of the last day is now modified: Jesus brings to the present the resurrection itself, for he is the light "that comes into the world" and brings life. And Martha makes her confession of belief in Jesus. In Mary's case, Jesus could no longer say anything. Instead, he wept and was visible shaken (anticipating his trembling in 12:27) (vv. 33-35). What modern translaters render as "he was deeply moved" literally means "and he snorted in himself" (v.33). It is Jesus' anger at the face of Death, the last enemy to be defeated (cf. 1 Cor. 15:26).
Angry at Death and sad because of Lazarus, Jesus goes to the tomb. It is a cave with a stone slab covering the entrance, an anticipation of the scene at his own tomb later on. In describing Jesus calling out for Lazarus, John uses a verb that is also used in the Passion narrative as the shout of those who called for the death of Jesus (John 18:40;19:6.12.15). In an irony of sorts, the shout for Lazarus' life becomes a shout for Jesus' death. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, that they may have life to the full.
Those who witness the event of Lazarus called out from the dead are divided. Some believe, others do not. These latter go to the Temple authorities who immediately call for an assembly. The Sanhedrin decide that Jesus should die but only after hearing the high priest's statement: it is better for one man to perish than a whole nation. In this statement, there is a double meaning for the preposition "hyper". Caiaphas meant "instead of (the people)"; John means "for the sake of (the people)". What the Sanhedrin was worried about was the popularity of a Jesus who would raise up a tumult that would make the Romans intervene violently. Ironically, despite Jesus' death, the Romans will realize their worst fears in AD 66-70. Early Christians will take this Roman intervention under General Titus as punishment for the Jews' refusal to believe in Jesus.
John's commentary on Caiaphas' statement is a "theological reading" of Caiaphas' statement
51 Now he didn’t say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
Thus, unknowingly, Caiaphas was expressing an idea that was already in the dephths of God's heart ("he prophesied"), that Jesus should die for the sake of nation. John adds however, that this was to fulfill what had been prophesied about the Messiah by Ezekiel (Ezek 37, cf. John 10:16)
21Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all; 23 neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
The narrative ends in verse 54 which continues the theme of Jesus' hiding which started in John 8:59. Verses 55-57 is a summary that functions as a transition to the events that will transpire in John 12.
A Note on the Shorter Reading
The gospel selection for the 5th Sunday of Lent (Year A) emphasizes four points: (a) the delay of Jesus (b) Martha's Confession of Belief (c) Jesus' Emotions Before Death and the Raising of Lazarus (d) the belief of those who were with Mary. From the liturgical text for the shorter reading then, Martha's confession of belief and the summary statement about the belief of Mary's companions (v. 45) frame Jesus' actions before the death of Lazarus. Jesus, "the Resurrection and the Life" calls Lazarus, a type of the Christian, from the dead. This Lenten reading concludes the series on Baptism that began with Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan Woman (Living Waters, Sunday III) and includes the episode on the Man Born Blind (Baptism as Illumination, Sunday IV).
