30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village , but was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house , and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there . 32 Therefore , when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet , saying to Him, " Lord , if You had been here , my brother would not have died ."
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping , and the Jews who came with her also weeping , He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled , 34 and said , "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord , come and see ." 35 Jesus wept . 36 So the Jews were saying , "See how He loved him!" 37 But some of them said , "Could not this man , who opened the eyes of the blind man , have kept this man also from dying ?"
38 So Jesus , again being deeply moved within e , came to the tomb . Now it was a cave , and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said , "Remove the stone ." Martha , the sister of the deceased , said to Him, "Lord , by this time there will be a stench , for he has been dead four days ." 40 Jesus said to her, " Did I not say to you that if you believe , you will see the glory of God ?" 41 So they removed the stone . Then Jesus raised His eyes , and said , " Father , I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 "I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me." 43 When He had said these things , He cried out with a loud voice , "Lazarus , come forth ." 44 The man who had died came forth , bound hand and foot with wrappings , and his face was wrapped around with a cloth . Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go ."
45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary , and saw what He had done , believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done . 47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council , and were saying , "What are we doing ? For this man is performing many signs . 48 "If we let Him go on like this , all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation ." 49 But one of them, Caiaphas , who was high priest that year , said to them, "You know nothing at all , 50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people , and that the whole nation not perish ." 51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative , but being high priest that year , he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation , 52 and not for the nation only , but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad . 53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews , but went away from there to the country near the wilderness , into a city called Ephraim ; and there He stayed with the disciples . 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near , and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves . 56 So they were seeking for Jesus , and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple , "What do you think ; that He will not come to the feast at all e ?" 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 11:30-57
Commentary on John 11:17-32
(Read John 11:17-32)
Here was a house where the fear of God was, and on which his blessing rested; yet it was made a house of mourning. Grace will keep sorrow from the heart, but not from the house. When God, by his grace and providence, is coming towards us in ways of mercy and comfort, we should, like Martha, go forth by faith, hope, and prayer, to meet him. When Martha went to meet Jesus, Mary sat still in the house; this temper formerly had been an advantage to her, when it put her at Christ's feet to hear his word; but in the day of affliction, the same temper disposed her to melancholy. It is our wisdom to watch against the temptations, and to make use of the advantages of our natural tempers. When we know not what in particular to ask or expect, let us refer ourselves to God; let him do as seemeth him good. To enlarge Martha's expectations, our Lord declared himself to be the Resurrection and the Life. In every sense he is the Resurrection; the source, the substance, the first-fruits, the cause of it. The redeemed soul lives after death in happiness; and after the resurrection, both body and soul are kept from all evil for ever. When we have read or heard the word of Christ, about the great things of the other world, we should put it to ourselves, Do we believe this truth? The crosses and comforts of this present time would not make such a deep impression upon us as they do, if we believed the things of eternity as we ought. When Christ our Master comes, he calls for us. He comes in his word and ordinances, and calls us to them, calls us by them, calls us to himself. Those who, in a day of peace, set themselves at Christ's feet to be taught by him, may with comfort, in a day of trouble, cast themselves at his feet, to find favour with him.
Commentary on John 11:33-46
(Read John 11:33-46)
Christ's tender sympathy with these afflicted friends, appeared by the troubles of his spirit. In all the afflictions of believers he is afflicted. His concern for them was shown by his kind inquiry after the remains of his deceased friend. Being found in fashion as a man, he acts in the way and manner of the sons of men. It was shown by his tears. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Tears of compassion resemble those of Christ. But Christ never approved that sensibility of which many are proud, while they weep at mere tales of distress, but are hardened to real woe. He sets us an example to withdraw from scenes of giddy mirth, that we may comfort the afflicted. And we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. It is a good step toward raising a soul to spiritual life, when the stone is taken away, when prejudices are removed, and got over, and way is made for the word to enter the heart. If we take Christ's word, and rely on his power and faithfulness, we shall see the glory of God, and be happy in the sight. Our Lord Jesus has taught us, by his own example, to call God Father, in prayer, and to draw nigh to him as children to a father, with humble reverence, yet with holy boldness. He openly made this address to God, with uplifted eyes and loud voice, that they might be convinced the Father had sent him as his beloved Son into the world. He could have raised Lazarus by the silent exertion of his power and will, and the unseen working of the Spirit of life; but he did it by a loud call. This was a figure of the gospel call, by which dead souls are brought out of the grave of sin: and of the sound of the archangel's trumpet at the last day, with which all that sleep in the dust shall be awakened, and summoned before the great tribunal. The grave of sin and this world, is no place for those whom Christ has quickened; they must come forth. Lazarus was thoroughly revived, and returned not only to life, but to health. The sinner cannot quicken his own soul, but he is to use the means of grace; the believer cannot sanctify himself, but he is to lay aside every weight and hinderance. We cannot convert our relatives and friends, but we should instruct, warn, and invite them.
Commentary on John 11:47-53
(Read John 11:47-53)
There can hardly be a more clear discovery of the madness that is in man's heart, and of its desperate enmity against God, than what is here recorded. Words of prophecy in the mouth, are not clear evidence of a principle of grace in the heart. The calamity we seek to escape by sin, we take the most effectual course to bring upon our own heads; as those do who think by opposing Christ's kingdom, to advance their own worldly interest. The fear of the wicked shall come upon them. The conversion of souls is the gathering of them to Christ as their ruler and refuge; and he died to effect this. By dying he purchased them to himself, and the gift of the Holy Ghost for them: his love in dying for believers should unite them closely together.
Commentary on John 11:54-57
(Read John 11:54-57)
Before our gospel passover we must renew our repentance. Thus by a voluntary purification, and by religious exercises, many, more devout than their neighbours, spent some time before the passover at Jerusalem. When we expect to meet God, we must solemnly prepare. No devices of man can alter the purposes of God: and while hypocrites amuse themselves with forms and disputes, and worldly men pursue their own plans, Jesus still orders all things for his own glory and the salvation of his people.