Discovery BoxJohn 11:11-27
Context11:11 After he said this, he added, 1 “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. 2 But I am going there to awaken him.” 11:12 Then the disciples replied, 3 “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 11:13 (Now Jesus had been talking about 4 his death, but they 5 thought he had been talking about real sleep.) 6
11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 11:15 and I am glad 7 for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. 8 But let us go to him.” 11:16 So Thomas (called Didymus 9 ) 10 said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.” 11
11:17 When 12 Jesus arrived, 13 he found that Lazarus 14 had been in the tomb four days already. 15 11:18 (Now Bethany was less than two miles 16 from Jerusalem, 17 11:19 so many of the Jewish people of the region 18 had come to Martha and Mary to console them 19 over the loss of their brother.) 20 11:20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 11:21 Martha 22 said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 11:22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant 23 you.” 24
11:23 Jesus replied, 25 “Your brother will come back to life again.” 26 11:24 Martha said, 27 “I know that he will come back to life again 28 in the resurrection at the last day.” 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live 29 even if he dies, 11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. 30 Do you believe this?” 11:27 She replied, 31 “Yes, Lord, I believe 32 that you are the Christ, 33 the Son of God who comes into the world.” 34
[11:11] 1 tn Grk “He said these things, and after this he said to them.”
[11:11] 2 tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “asleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term, especially in light of the disciples’ confusion over what Jesus actually meant (see v. 13).
[11:12] 3 tn Grk “Then the disciples said to him.”
[11:13] 5 tn Or “speaking about.”
[11:13] 7 tn Grk “the sleep of slumber”; this is a redundant expression to emphasize physical sleep as opposed to death.
[11:15] 7 tn Grk “and I rejoice.”
[11:15] 8 sn So that you may believe. Why does Jesus make this statement? It seems necessary to understand the disciples’ belief here in a developmental sense, because there are numerous references to the disciples’ faith previous to this in John’s Gospel, notably 2:11. Their concept of who Jesus really was is continually being expanded and challenged; they are undergoing spiritual growth; the climax is reached in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28.
[11:16] 9 sn Didymus means “the twin” in Greek.
[11:16] 10 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[11:16] 11 sn One gets the impression from Thomas’ statement “Let us go too, so that we may die with him” that he was something of a pessimist resigned to his fate. And yet his dedicated loyalty to Jesus and his determination to accompany him at all costs was truly commendable. Nor is the contrast between this statement and the confession of Thomas in 20:28, which forms the climax of the entire Fourth Gospel, to be overlooked; certainly Thomas’ concept of who Jesus is has changed drastically between 11:16 and 20:28.
[11:17] 11 tn Grk “Then when.”
[11:17] 13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:17] 14 tn Grk “he had already had four days in the tomb” (an idiom).
[11:18] 13 tn Or “three kilometers”; Grk “fifteen stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).
[11:18] 14 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:19] 15 tn Or “many of the Judeans” (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e); Grk “many of the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area in general (those who had been friends or relatives of Lazarus or his sisters would mainly be in view) since the Jewish religious authorities (“the chief priests and the Pharisees”) are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8.
[11:19] 16 tn Or “to comfort them” or “to offer them sympathy.”
[11:19] 17 tn Grk “to comfort them concerning their brother”; the words “loss of” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
[11:20] 17 sn Notice the difference in the response of the two sisters: Martha went out to meet Jesus, while Mary remains sitting in the house. It is similar to the incident in Luke 10:38-42. Here again one finds Martha occupied with the responsibilities of hospitality; she is the one who greets Jesus.
[11:21] 19 tn Grk “Then Martha.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[11:22] 22 sn The statement “whatever you ask from God, God will grant you” by Martha presents something of a dilemma, because she seems to be suggesting here (implicitly at least) the possibility of a resurrection for her brother. However, Martha’s statement in 11:39 makes it clear that she had no idea that a resurrection was still possible. How then are her words in 11:22 to be understood? It seems best to take them as a confession of Martha’s continuing faith in Jesus even though he was not there in time to help her brother. She means, in effect, “Even though you weren’t here in time to help, I still believe that God grants your requests.”
[11:23] 23 tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”
[11:23] 24 tn Or “Your brother will rise again.”
[11:24] 25 tn Grk “Martha said to him.”
[11:24] 26 tn Or “will rise again.”
[11:25] 27 tn That is, will come to life.
[11:26] 29 tn Grk “will never die forever.”
[11:27] 31 tn Grk “She said to him.”
[11:27] 32 tn The perfect tense in Greek is often used to emphasize the results or present state of a past action. Such is the case here. To emphasize this nuance the perfect tense verb πεπίστευκα (pepisteuka) has been translated as a present tense. This is in keeping with the present context, where Jesus asks of her present state of belief in v. 26, and the theology of the Gospel as a whole, which emphasizes the continuing effects and present reality of faith. For discussion on this use of the perfect tense, see ExSyn 574-76 and B. M. Fanning, Verbal Aspect, 291-97.
[11:27] 33 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[11:27] 34 tn Or “the Son of God, the one who comes into the world.”
