John 11:1–16
Divine delay magnifies resurrection glory.
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha.
2 It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick.
3 The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”
4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
6 When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was.
7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”
8 The disciples asked him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
10 But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.”
11 He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”
12 The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep.
14 So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead.
15 I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”
16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.”
Divine delay magnifies resurrection glory.
To demonstrate that Jesus sovereignly orchestrates events for God’s glory and prepares for resurrection revelation.
This passage introduces the climactic sign before the Passion narrative. The raising of Lazarus will directly lead to intensified opposition and the decision to kill Jesus (11:53). The narrative establishes delay, purpose, and divine sovereignty over death.
Bethany was a village near Jerusalem. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were known disciples. Jewish mourning customs involved public lament and burial within a short timeframe. Illness and death were commonly understood within covenantal theology but not always clearly tied to divine glory.
The Resurrection and the Life, the Raising of Lazarus, and the Plot to Kill Jesus
Jesus is the resurrection and the life whose glory is revealed in raising Lazarus, yet that life-giving sign becomes the catalyst for his own death on behalf of the people of God.