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Texts -- John 11:1-21 (NET)

Context
The Death of Lazarus
11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick . He was from Bethany , the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived . 11:2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair , whose brother Lazarus was sick .) 11:3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus , “Lord , look , the one you love is sick .” 11:4 When Jesus heard this, he said , “This sickness will not lead to death , but to God’s glory , so that the Son of God may be glorified through it .” 11:5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus .) 11:6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick , he remained in the place where he was for two more days . 11:7 Then after this , he said to his disciples , “Let us go to Judea again .” 11:8 The disciples replied , “Rabbi , the Jewish leaders were just now trying to stone you to death! Are you going there again ?” 11:9 Jesus replied , “Are there not twelve hours in a day ? If anyone walks around in the daytime , he does not stumble , because he sees the light of this world . 11:10 But if anyone walks around at night , he stumbles , because the light is not in him .” 11:11 After he said this , he added , “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep . But I am going there to awaken him .” 11:12 Then the disciples replied , “Lord , if he has fallen asleep , he will recover .” 11:13 (Now Jesus had been talking about his death , but they thought he had been talking about real sleep .) 11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly , “Lazarus has died , 11:15 and I am glad for your sake that I was not there , so that you may believe . But let us go to him .” 11:16 So Thomas (called Didymus ) said to his fellow disciples , “Let us go too , so that we may die with him .”
Speaking with Martha and Mary
11:17 When Jesus arrived , he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already . 11:18 (Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem , 11:19 so many of the Jewish people of the region had come to Martha and Mary to console them over the loss of their brother .) 11:20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming , she went out to meet him , but Mary was sitting in the house . 11:21 Martha said to Jesus , “Lord , if you had been here , my brother would not have died .

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  • [Joh 11:11] If Death My Friend And Me Divide

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A Transformed Body; Accounts of People Raised from the Dead; Who Is Jesus Christ?; Four Principles of Prayer:

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 9:18-19 This incident evidently happened shortly after Jesus and His disciples returned from Gadara on the east side of the lake (cf. Mark 5:21-22; Luke 8:40-41). The name of this Capernium synagogue ruler was Jairus (Mark 5:...
  • This is one of the sections of Mark's Gospel that has a chiastic structure (cf. 3:22-30; 6:14-29; 11:15-19).A The appeal of Jairus for his daughter 5:21-24B The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage 5:25-34A' The raising o...
  • Though Mark did not record it, Jesus gave His disciples much additional instruction as they travelled from Capernaum in Galilee toward Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 8:19-22; 18:15-35; Luke 9:51-18:14; John 7:2-11:54). Evidently Jesus ...
  • 8:49-50 Jesus' words of encouragement as well as His recent demonstration of power prepared Jairus for what followed. He had just witnessed Jesus overcome ceremonial defilement and disease. He needed to believe that Jesus cou...
  • This is another incident involving women who became disciples of Jesus (cf. 8:1-3; et al.). Like the parable of the good Samaritan it shows Jesus overcoming prejudice. As the former parable illustrated the meaning of the seco...
  • In this parable the rich man and his brothers who did not listen to Moses and the prophets (vv. 29-31) represent the Pharisees (vv. 16-17). The Pharisees believed in a future life and a coming judgment, but they, as the rich ...
  • John's presentation of Jesus in his Gospel has been a problem to many modern students of the New Testament. Some regard it as the greatest problem in current New Testament studies.15Compared to the Synoptics that present Jesu...
  • In one sense the Gospel of John is more profound than the Synoptics. It is the most difficult Gospel for most expositors to preach and to teach for reasons that will become evident as we study it. In another sense, however, t...
  • I. Prologue 1:1-18A. The preincarnate Word 1:1-5B. The witness of John the Baptist 1:6-8C. The appearance of the Light 1:9-13D. The incarnation of the Word 1:14-18II. Jesus' public ministry 1:19-12:50A. The prelude to Jesus' ...
  • The writer recorded John the Baptist's witness to Jesus' identity as preparation for his narration of Jesus' public ministry. He was the first of the Apostle John's witnesses to the Incarnation.Previously the writer had menti...
  • John now presented evidence that Jesus knew people as no others did and that many believed in His name (2:23). This constitutes further witness that He is the Son of God. John summarized several conversations that Jesus had w...
  • "John 7 has three time divisions: before the feast (vv. 1-10), in the midst of the feast (vv. 11-36), and on the last day of the feast (vv. 37-52). The responses during each of those periods can be characterized by three word...
  • Having announced His departure Jesus proceeded to offer the Holy Spirit for those who believed on Him (cf. chs. 14-16).7:37 The feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days (cf. Deut. 16:13). However the day following the feast was...
  • The major theme of the Gospel, Jesus' identity as the Son of God, continues dominant. It was just as important for Jesus' disciples to grow in their understanding of who He was and to grow in their faith in Him as it was for ...
  • In this pericope John stressed Jesus' deliberate purpose in allowing Lazarus to die and the reality of his death.11:1-2 "Lazarus"probably is a variant of "Eleazar"meaning "God helps."379The Synoptic writers did not mention hi...
  • The scene now shifts from the region near Bethany of Perea (1:28; 10:40) to the Bethany in Judea. Both towns became sites where people believed on Jesus.11:17 There is some evidence that the later Jewish rabbis believed that ...
  • The emphasis in this pericope is on Jesus' compassion in the face of sin's consequences.11:30-32 Mary's physical response to Jesus was more emotional that Martha's had been, perhaps reflecting her temperament. Again we find M...
  • Jesus proceeded to vindicate His claim that He was the One who would raise the dead and provide life (v. 25).11:38 Jesus again felt the same angry emotion as He approached Lazarus' tomb (cf. v. 33). Tombs cut into the limesto...
  • Even this most powerful miracle failed to convince many that Jesus was God's Son. Many who had come to console Mary believed on Him, but the depth of their faith undoubtedly varied. A faith based on miracles is not the highes...
  • In contrast to the hatred that the religious leaders manifested stands the love that Mary demonstrated toward the One she had come to believe in. Her act of sacrificial devotion is a model for all true disciples. This is the ...
  • 16:25 "These things I have spoken unto you"(NASB) indicates another transition in the discourse (cf. 14:25; 16:1, 4, 33; 17:1). Jesus acknowledged that He had not been giving direct answers to His disciples' questions. He had...
  • This is the first of four of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances that John included in his Gospel.Jesus' Post-resurrection Appearances627Easter morningto Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11; John 20:10-18)to other women (Matt. 28:9...
  • John did not mention when this conversation happened. It could have taken place anytime between Easter evening and the following Sunday. None of the evangelists recorded post-resurrection appearances between these two Sundays...
  • John followed the climactic proof that Jesus is God's Son with an explanation of his purpose for writing this narrative of Jesus' ministry. This explanation constitutes a preliminary conclusion to the book.20:30 "Therefore"ti...
  • Stephen's speech caused a revolution in the Jews' attitude toward the disciples of Jesus, and his martyrdom began the first persecution of the Christians.Luke recorded the Sanhedrin's response to Stephen's message to document...
  • Paul next turned to another subject on which his readers needed instruction in view of their newness in Christ (cf. 3:10). He outlined the immediate hope of his readers. He did this to explain that those of their number who h...
  • This pericope furnishes the plot for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter.12:1 John saw a "sign,"something that signified or represented something else (cf. v. 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was.'--John 11:5-6.WE learn from a later verse of this chapter that Lazarus...
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