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On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39).
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Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (John 12:20–50).
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Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” (John 12:1-19)
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John 11
Remember that the Gospel of John can be divided into two halves. The first half is taken up by the seven signs:
First – Changing water into wine, ch. 2
Second – Healing the official’s son, ch. 4
Third – Healing the paralytic, ch. 5
Fourth – Feeding the five thousand, ch. 6
Fifth – Walking on water, ch. 6
Sixth – Healing the man born blind, ch. 9
Seventh – Raising Lazarus from the dead, ch 11
With the raising of Lazarus we complete the book of signs and enter the final days of Jesus’s ministry. It is after this seventh sign, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, that the Jews determine that Jesus must die (v. 50), setting the stage for the remainder of the gospel of John.
Lazarus (“Eleazar” in the Hebrew) is the brother of Mary and Martha. We met these two sisters previously, when Martha was busy with the serving, but Mary sat at the Lord’s feet (Luke 10:38-42). This is the same Mary that, in the next chapter, will anoint Jesus with costly oil (12:1-8).
With regard to Lazarus’ death, remember that when Jesus encounters these kinds of hardships he tells us instead of looking for the cause, we should look for the purpose (cf. 9:3).
Jesus had only just barely escaped alive from Judea (7:1, 10:31, 39). To return to Judea now invites his own murder “. . . for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33). The irony that is building is that Jesus’ determination to go to Judea to raise Lazarus from the dead is the presenting cause of the Jews’ determination murder him.
Jesus takes Martha from an understanding of a general theological truth to a confidence in Jesus himself. Martha joins Peter in confessing the Jesus is the Christ (6:69), the Son of God, come into this world (an important confession throughout 1 John).
Jesus gives Martha an important lesson in the faith that she has already professed. The order is faith and then sight (v. 40). The order is God speaks and then we respond (v. 43-44). The healing work accomplished by the Word of God is fully and completely accomplished before Lazarus has anything to contribute. Like the bones of Ezekiel’s vision (Ez. 37), the Word of God, applied by the Spirit, supplies the entirety of life. Corpses contribute nothing but odor.
And while we are quick to see this in our understanding of how salvation works. Still, we are slow to apply this in our everyday lives. To be clear, your spiritual life is not something to be earned, negotiated, or bargained for. We simply receive what God has done. Understanding the sufficiency of Christ is crucial for your own spiritual health.
The glory of Jesus revealed in the resurrection of Lazarus (v. 40) offended the Jews who feared that this disruption could cost them their Temple (v. 48). And so they thought it better to murder the Messiah to save their Temple.
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““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them…” (John 10).
Christ Church