John 11:1-4 1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, from the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3Then the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard, he said, “This illness does not lead to death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
The Gospel of John makes a major shift beginning chapter 11. The focus becomes Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. The first half of John has shown Jesus to be the Son of God, who was one with the Father and fully identified with the human situation. The second half confirms Jesus’ identity by showing why he came as a demonstration of God’s love and grace to provide the way to eternal life. This chapter recounts one of Jesus’ greatest miracles recorded in the Gospels and the high point of all the signs John’s records in his Gospel. The chapter opens with assuming Jesus was across the Jordan at the ending of chapter 10, but John has not shown significant concern about locations. His Gospel condenses many days, weeks, and months into a short phrase or two and focuses more on the dialogues Jesus had with people.
The three names mentioned were likely well-known in the early church. The two sisters, Mary and Martha, are mentioned also in Luke 10:38-42 when Jesus visited them in their home and had a meal. This family seemed to have become close to Jesus, as the sisters’ statement in verse 3 implies, and may have been a stopping place for him during his many visits to the city, but the text gives only a few brief details. The name Lazarus appears in a parable in Luke 16:19-31, but most likely that story has no relation to the Lazarus of Bethany. Bethany was a small village on the east side of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. It was along the road to Jericho and the area where Jesus was at the close of chapter 10.
John adds two important historical notes in verse 2. The first is that he identifies Mary as the one who anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume and her hair. This story does not happen until later in 12:1-8, but John gives the prelude at this point to show the connection. Second, John repeats the idea from verse 1 that Lazarus was ill. This point is made again in verses 3 and 4. The repetition of this idea four times builds concern and leads to an anticipation of what Jesus might do about the situation.
The sister’s plea in verse 3 adds further evidence that Jesus had developed a relationship with this family since Jesus loved (phileis, a word of close relationship) Lazarus. John switches to a different word for “love” in verse 5 (ēgapa). The sisters evidently knew of Jesus’ healing power and believed he could do something about Lazarus’ illness, so they sent word to him. How the two sisters knew where Jesus was is not stated. It is certainly possible that he had stopped at their home before and had told them he would be in the area of Jordan. It may have taken some time for Jesus to get the word of Lazarus’ illness. John does not record the answers to many of these historical questions, but a simple reconstruction makes sense of the little evidence.
Jesus’ response to the situation in verse 4, at first glance, could be confusing in that Lazarus’ illness would not lead to his death, which did happen. It is better to interpret this to mean that the illness was not something that would lead to Lazarus’ ultimate death because Jesus would intervene. Lazarus would die from the illness, but his death was only temporary and not permanent. The first time reader does not know what all this means at this point but can reflect back later on it. John gives a two-part reason for Lazarus’ illness and what was about to happen to him. The first part is introduced by a preposition that can mean for or because (hyper). God would be glorified through Lazarus’ illness and death. The second part uses the purpose indicator so that (hina). Lazarus’ situation would also glorify Jesus as the Son of God. The connection between God and the Son of God is clear; to glorify one is to glorify the other.
The challenging part of this verse comes if we try to make it a timeless truth for all illness and death. Some deaths are tragic, and it is difficult to see how they can glorify God or Jesus. Does God allow or even cause sickness and death so that he can be glorified? The mystery of that question cannot be answered with certainty. However, God does work through some situations to remind people of his glory. Mary and Martha were stuck in the middle of it all, caring for their dying brother and hoping Jesus could do something about it. When we are in the middle of pain and sorrow, it is difficult to see God at work. The good news is that sickness and death do not have the final word for those who believe in Jesus.
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