John 11:43-44

11:43 When ¹  he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, ²  “Lazarus, come out!” 11:44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, ³  and a cloth wrapped around his face. ⁴  Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him ⁵  and let him go.”

¹ tn Grk “And when.”

² sn The purpose of the loud voice was probably to ensure that all in the crowd could hear (compare the purpose of the prayer of thanksgiving in vv. 41-42).

³ sn Many have wondered how Lazarus got out of the tomb if his hands and feet were still tied up with strips of cloth. The author does not tell, and with a miracle of this magnitude, this is not an important fact to know. If Lazarus’ decomposing body was brought back to life by the power of God, then it could certainly have been moved out of the tomb by that same power. Others have suggested that the legs were bound separately, which would remove the difficulty, but the account gives no indication of this. What may be of more significance for the author is the comparison which this picture naturally evokes with the resurrection of Jesus, where the graveclothes stayed in the tomb neatly folded (20:6-7). Jesus, unlike Lazarus, would never need graveclothes again.

⁴ tn Grk “and his face tied around with cloth.”

⁵ tn Grk “Loose him.”