John 11:43-45

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.”

The Response of the Jewish Leaders

11:45 Then many of the people, ⁶  who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus ⁷  did, believed in him.

Acts 3:10-11

3:10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations ⁸  at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement ⁹  at what had happened to him.

Peter Addresses the Crowd

3:11 While the man ¹⁰  was hanging on to Peter and John, all the people, completely astounded, ran together to them in the covered walkway ¹¹  called Solomon’s Portico. ¹² 

Acts 4:14

4:14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this. ¹³ 

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.”

⁶ tn Or “the Judeans”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the friends, acquaintances, and relatives of Lazarus or his sisters who had come to mourn, since the Jewish religious authorities are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the notes on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8 and “the Jewish people of the region” in v. 19, as well as the notes on the word “people” in vv. 31, 33 and the phrase “people who had come to mourn” in v. 36.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.

⁹ sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).

¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.” The translation “covered walkway” (a descriptive translation) was used here because the architectural term “portico” or “colonnade” is less familiar. However, the more technical term “portico” was retained in the actual name that follows.

¹² sn Solomon’s Portico was a covered walkway formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the center of the temple complex. It was located on the east side of the temple (Josephus, Ant. 15.11.3-5 [15.391-420], 20.9.7 [20.221]) and was a place of commerce and conversation.

¹³ tn Or “nothing to say in opposition.”