John 11:4

11:4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, ¹  but to God’s glory, ²  so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ³ 

John 11:40-44

11:40 Jesus responded, ⁴  “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 11:41 So they took away ⁵  the stone. Jesus looked upward ⁶  and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. ⁷  11:42 I knew that you always listen to me, ⁸  but I said this ⁹  for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 11:43 When ¹⁰  he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, ¹¹  “Lazarus, come out!” 11:44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, ¹²  and a cloth wrapped around his face. ¹³  Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him ¹⁴  and let him go.”

---

¹ tn Grk “This sickness is not to death.”

sn Jesus plainly stated the purpose of Lazarus’ sickness in the plan of God: The end of the matter would not be death, but the glorification of the Son. Johannine double-meanings abound here: Even though death would not be the end of the matter, Lazarus is going to die; and ultimately his death and resurrection would lead to the death and resurrection of the Son of God (11:45-53). Furthermore, the glorification of the Son is not praise that comes to him for the miracle, but his death, resurrection, and return to the Father which the miracle precipitates (note the response of the Jewish authorities in 11:47-53).

² tn Or “to God’s praise.”

³ sn So that the Son of God may be glorified through it. These statements are highly ironic: For Lazarus, the sickness did not end in his death, because he was restored to life. But for Jesus himself, the miraculous sign he performed led to his own death, because it confirmed the authorities in their plan to kill Jesus (11:47-53). In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ death is consistently portrayed as his ‘glorification’ through which he accomplishes his return to the Father.

⁴ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

⁵ tn Or “they removed.”

⁶ tn Grk “lifted up his eyes above.”

⁷ tn Or “that you have heard me.”

⁸ tn Grk “that you always hear me.”

⁹ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

¹⁰ tn Grk “And when.”

¹¹ 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).

¹² 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.

¹³ tn Grk “and his face tied around with cloth.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “Loose him.”