Chapter XI.

Chapter XI.1-3.The illness of Lazarus is made known to Christ.4-10.After the lapse of two days, Christ proposes to return to Judea; the disciples try to dissuade Him.11-16.Before setting out, He declares that Lazarus is dead.17-32.On Christ's approach He is met by the sisters of Lazarus, and many Jews.33-44.Having groaned in the spirit, wept, and returned thanks to His Father, He raises Lazarus from the dead.45-53.Many believed in Him on account of the miracle, but the chief priests and Pharisees forthwith resolved on putting Him to death.54-56.Jesus retired from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and the chief priests and Pharisees gave orders, that anyone knowing where He was, should inform upon Him, in order that He might be arrested.1. Erat autem quidam languens Lazarus a Bethania, de castello Mariae et Marthae sororis eius.1. Now there was a certain man sick named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and of Martha her sister.1.“The narrative of the raising of Lazarus is unique in its completeness. The essential circumstances of the fact in regard to persons, manner, results, are given with perfect distinctness. The history is more complete than that in chapter ix., because the persons stand in closer connection with the Lord than the blind man, and the event itself had in many ways a ruling influence on the end of His ministry. Four scenes are to be distinguished:—(1) the prelude to the miracle (1-16); (2) the scene at Bethany (17-32); (3) the miracle (33-44); (4) the immediate issues of the miracle (45-57)”(Westcott in the Speakers Comm.).Bethania.Thisvillagelay nearly two miles east of Jerusalem; see verse18, and our remarks onvi. 19. To prevent the reader from confounding it with Bethania beyond the Jordan (i. 28), the Evangelist adds that he means the village of Mary and of Martha her sister, who are supposed to be already known to the reader from the Synoptic Gospels.[pg 192]See,e.g., Luke x. 38-42. Bethania is spoken of as their village, not because they owned it, but because they resided there, just as Bethsaida is called the city of Andrew and Peter (i. 44). In this village, then, Lazarus wasseriouslyill (ἀσθενῶν; see James v. 14).2. (Maria autem erat, quae unxit Dominum unguento, et extersit pedes eius capillis suis: cuius frater Lazarus infirmabatur.)2. (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.)2. The Greek aorist (ἡ ἀλέιψασα) shows that the reference is to some unction that had already taken place, and not to that which happened subsequently, and which is narrated by our Evangelist (xii. 3; Matt. xxvi. 7; Mark xiv. 3). The unction here referred to we take to be that recorded by St. Luke (vii. 37, 38); and hence, notwithstanding their apparently different characters, we regard Mary the sister of Lazarus (xi. 2) as identical with“the woman who was a sinner in the city”(Luke vii. 37). For St. John in the words:“Mary was she that anointed the Lord,”&c., certainly seems to speak of an unction already known to his readers, and the only unction of Christ, as far as is known, that had taken place before this illness of Lazarus, is that recorded by St. Luke in the passage referred to. In this view, then, our Lord wastwiceanointed by a woman; on the first occasion in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke vii. 40, 46), probably in Galilee (see Luke vii. 11), as recorded by St. Luke vii. 37, 38; on the second occasion at Bethania, in Judea, in the house of Simon the leper (Matt. xxvi. 6), as recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John (J. xii. 3). As the present verse proves that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, had already anointed our Lord: and as John xii. 3, with its context, proves that the same sister of Lazarus again anointed Him on a subsequent occasion, we hold that the only woman referred to in the Gospels as having anointed the living body of our Lord, is Mary, the sister of Lazarus; and that she did so ontwodifferent occasions. Thus, as already stated, we identify Luke's“sinner in the city”with the sister of Lazarus. If it be objected that the contemplative character of the sister of Lazarus (Luke x. 38-42), and the close friendship of Jesus with her and her family (John xi. 3, 5), forbid us to regard her as identical with the woman who had once been“a sinner in the city,”we reply that Mary, converted in the beginning of our Lord's public life, had now for some years led an edifying life of penance. As a sinner she had lived in some city of Galilee, far away from home, whither she may have gone with some lover whom she met at Jerusalem at one of the great festivals; now she lived with her brother at[pg 193]Bethania, in Judea, where possibly her former sinful life may have been unknown, so that there was no danger of scandal in Christ's friendship with herself and her family. To those who, like Steenkiste (Comm. on Matt. Quaes.678,conclusio), have“a deep-rooted repugnance”to believing that the sister of Lazarus had ever been a public sinner, we would recall the fact that there are many sinners in heaven to-day enjoying the society of God after a far shorter penance than we require to suppose in the case of the sister of Lazarus, before she began to enjoy the friendship of Christ. Our Divine Lord's tenderness and mercy towards sinners are written on every page of the Gospels, and the only real difficulty here is that to which we have already replied, arising from the danger of scandal, through our Lord's associating with such a woman.Thus far we have spoken only of“the sinner,”and the sister of Lazarus; but there is a further question, whether Mary Magdalen (Luke viii. 2; Matt. xxvii. 56, 61; Matt. xxviii. 1; John xx. 1, &c.) and they are all three, one and the same person. We believe it to be more probable that they are. The more common opinion among the fathers identifies the three; from the sixth till the seventeenth century their identity was unquestioned in the Western Church; and our Roman Breviary and Missal still identify them on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the 22nd of July. So, too, Tertull., Gregory the Great, Mald., Natal-Alex., Mauduit, M'Ev., Corluy.We have stated what we consider the most probable view—that Christ was twice anointed during His public life, and on both occasions by the same person, the sister of Lazarus, who is identical with“the sinner”and Magdalen. It is right, however, that we should add, that there is great diversity of opinion, even among Catholic commentators. Some have held that there were three different unctions, others that there was only one. Some have held that the sister of Lazarus,“the sinner,”and Magdalen are all three distinct; others, that at least the sister of Lazarus and the sinner are distinct; and among those who will not admit the identity of all three are found such able commentators as St. Chrys., Estius, Calmet, Beelen. In such a case, where the Scriptures are obscure, where the fathers disagree, where commentators are so divided, and the Greek Church, which celebrates three different feasts[pg 194]for the three women,seems(we sayseems, because the different feasts might possibly be celebrated in honour of the same woman) to differ from the Latin, it is hard to attain to anything more than probability, and we have set forth above what, after a very careful examination of the whole question, seems to us most probable. See Corl.,Dissert., p. 263 and foll.; Mald. on Matt. xxvi. 6, 7, and xxvii. 56; Steenk. on Matt.Quaes.678.3. Miserunt ergo sorores eius ad eum, dicentes: Domine, ecce quem amas infirmatur.3. His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.3. They merely announce their trouble through a messenger, and in hopeful confidence leave the remedy to Jesus.“Sufficit ut noveris: non enim amas et deseris”(St. Aug. on this verse).4. Audiens autem Iesus dixit eis: Infirmitas haec non est ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei, ut glorificetur Filius Dei per eam.4. And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.4.And Jesus hearing it, said to them(“to them”(eis) is not genuine):This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.The words of Christ were obscure until the miracle threw light upon them. They mean that the sickness of Lazarus was not to end inordinarydeath, for ordinary death is the end of mortal life, whereas Lazarus was to live again a mortal life. The sickness and death of Lazarus were intended to show forth the Divine power of Jesus in the miracle to be wrought.5. Diligebat autem Iesus Martham, et sororem eius Mariam, et Lazarum.5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.5. Some connect this verse with what has gone before, as giving the reason why the sisters of Lazarus informed Jesus of the illness of His friend. But it is better to connect with what follows in this way. Jesus loved Lazarus, and therefore when He had remained in the same place two days, then He said: Let us go into Judea again, as if He were unable to remain any longer away from His friend. Thus it is not merely His return to Judea, but His return after two days, that proves His friendship. Had He returned sooner, the miracle of the raising of Lazarus would have been less striking, and would not have afforded to Martha and Mary such a powerful[pg 195]motive of faith. See below on verse15.The passing notice here of a friendship that must have been the result of long and intimate intercourse shows us how incomplete are the Gospel records. It is very interesting to notice how in this verse St. John refers to the love of Jesus for Lazarus and his sisters by a different word from that used by the sisters in verse 3. Instead of φιλεῖς, which expresses the affection of personal attachment, St. John, now that there is question of the love of Jesus not only for Lazarus but also for his sisters, uses Ἠγάπα, which expresses rather esteem than love, rather a reasoning appreciation than a heartfelt attachment. See below onxxi. 15-17, where the contrast between the two words is most marked.6. Ut ergo audivit quia, infirmabatur, tunc quidem mansit in eodem loco duobus diebus.6. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days.7. Deinde post haec dixit discipulis suis: Eamus in Iudaeam iterum.7. Then after that he said to his disciples: Let us go into Judea again.8. Dicunt ei discipuli: Rabbi, nunc quaerebant te Iudaei lapidare, et iterum vadis illuc?8. The disciples say to him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?8. The disciples, fearing for His safety and for their own (see verse16, where Thomas takes it for granted that return to Judea meant death to Him and them), try to dissuade Him from returning.9. Respondit Iesus: Nonne duodecim sunt horae diei? Si quis ambulaverit in die, non offendit, quia lucem huius mundi videt:9. Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.9. The meaning is: just as a man walks safely and without stumbling during the period of daylight, which is a fixed period that cannot be shortened: so, during the time appointed for My mortal life by My Father, I am safe, and so are you.10. Si autem ambulaverit in nocte offendit, quia lux non est in eo.10. But if he walk in the night he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.10. But after the time of My mortal life, then, indeed,youmay expect persecution and[pg 196]suffering; for when I am gone, you shall be as men walking after the sun's light has gone down.11. Haec, ait, et post haec dixit eis: Lazarus amicus noster dormit: sed vado ut a somno excitem eum.11. These things he said: and after that he said to them: Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.12. Dixerunt ergo discipuli eius: Domine, si dormit, salvus erit.12. His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.13. Dixerat autem Iesus de morte ejus: illi autem putaverunt quia de dormitione somni diceret.13. But Jesus spoke of his death; and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep.14. Tunc ergo Iesus dixit eis manifeste: Lazarus mortuus est:14. Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead;11-14. Jesus declares of His own Divine knowledge (there is no hint of a second message) that Lazarus sleeps. The disciples fail to understand, and He explains.15. Et gaudeo propter vos, ut credatis, quoniam non eram ibi; sed eamus ad eum.15. And I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him.15. Jesus rejoices that He was not with Lazarus, in which case His tender mercies would have led Him to prevent the death of Lazarus, and He rejoices for the sake of His disciples, inasmuch as a new and powerful motive tostrengthentheir faith would now be afforded them in the miracle to be wrought.16. Dixit ergo Thomas, qui dicitur Didymus, ad condiscipulos: Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.16. Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow-disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.16. See verse8.Thomas, Aramaic תאמא, means a twin, the Greek equivalent being Didymus. The Greek equivalent is again mentioned after the name inxx. 24,xxi. 2. Possibly Thomas was commonly known in Asia Minor as Didymus.17. Venit itaque Iesus: et invenit eum quatuor dies iam in monumento habentem.17. Jesus therefore came and found that he had been four days already in the grave.17.Four days.The day of the messenger's arrival would[pg 197]probably be the first day: two other days our Lord remained in Peraea after He had received the news, and one more He would be likely to spend in the journey to Bethania. Dying upon the first day, Lazarus, according to the custom of the Jews, that burial should immediately follow on death (see,e.g., Acts v. 6, 10), had been buried on that same day, as a comparison of this verse with 39 clearly proves.18. (Erat autem Bethania iuxta Ierosolyman quasi stadiis quindecim.)18. (Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.)18. See above on verse1, and especially onvi. 19.19. Multi autem ex Iudaeis venerant ad Martham et Mariam, ut consolarentur eas de fratre suo.19. And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.19.The Jews, whom our Evangelist always carefully distinguishes from the“turba,”or lower class, were leading men among the people; so that it appears from this that the family of Lazarus had a good social standing.20. Martha ergo ut audivit quia Iesus venit, occurrit illi: Maria, autem domi sedebat.20. Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus was come, went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.21. Dixit ergo Martha ad Iesum: Domine si fuisses hic, frater meus non fuisset mortuus:21. Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.22. Sed et nunc scio quia quaecumque poposceris a Deo, dabit tibi Deus.22. But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.22. Even still she has hope that He may intercede with God to restore life to her brother.23. Dicit illi Iesus: Resurget frater tuus.23. Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again.23. In words, purposely ambiguous, and meant to try her faith, Jesus assures her that her brother shall rise again.24. Dicit ei Martha: Scio quia resurget in resurrectione in novissimo die.24. Martha saith to him: I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.24. Understanding Him to speak of the final resurrection,[pg 198]or at least wishing to force Him to explain, she says:I know, &c. Note how Martha's words prove the faith of the Jews of that time in the resurrection of the body.25. Dixit ei Iesus: Ego sum resurrectio et vita: qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet:25. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me although he be dead, shall live.26. Et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in aeternum. Credis hoc?26. And every one that liveth, and believeth in me shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?25, 26. Christ avails of this occasion to perfect her faith, and in the beautiful and consoling words which we read in the antiphon of theBenedictusin the Office for the Dead, declares that He Himself by His own power, and not merely by supplication to the Father, as she imagined (verse22), is the author of our resurrection and life. In the following words He explains what He means. He who believes in Me, and dies in the living faith, which worketh by charity, even though he becorporallydead, like Lazarus, shall live again a glorious life, even in his body; and everyone who is livingin the body, and so believeth shall never die, because though he shall indeed pass through the gates of death, I shall quicken him again to a better life so that he may be said rather to have slept than died.76If this interpretation of the words,“shall never die,”seem to anyone strained, he may take them in reference to the death of the soul; but as there is question in the context of the raising of thebodyof Lazarus, we consider the opinion we have adopted more probable. In these verses, then, Jesus declares Himself the resurrection and the life; the resurrection of thedead, the enduring life of theliving. So that verse 25 encourages Martha to hope to have Lazarus restored to her, and verse 26 warns her to look to herself, in order that she may live for ever.[pg 199]27. Ait illi: Utique Domine, ego credidi quia tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi, qui in hunc mundum venisti.27. She saith to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world.28. Et cum haec dixisset, abiit, et vocavit Mariam, sororem suam silentio, dicens: Magister ad est, et vocat te.28. And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master is come and calleth for thee.29. Illa ut audivit, surgit cito, et venit ad eum.29. She, as soon as she heardthis, riseth quickly and cometh to him.30. Nondum enim venerat Iesus in castellum: sed erat adhuc in illo loco ubi occurrerat ei Martha.30. For Jesus was not yet come into the town; but he was still in that place where Martha had met him.31. Iudaei ergo qui erant cum ea in domo, et consolabantur eam, cum vidissent Mariam quia cito surrexit et exiit, secuti sunt eam dicentes: Quia vadit ad monumentum ut ploret ibi.31. The Jews therefore who were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth to the grave, to weep there.32. Maria ergo, cum venisset ubi erat Iesus, videns eum, cecidit ad pedes eius, et dicit ei: Domine, si fuisses hic, non esset mortuus frater meus.32. When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.27-32. To Christ's question, if she believed what He had said of Himself as the resurrection and the life, she replies that she believes77Him to be the Messias, the Son of God, and so she implicitly believes in everything He teaches, even though, as was probably the case now, she did not quite understand. Then she goes home, and secretly calls her sister Mary, who hurries out to meet Jesus. The Jews, thinking Mary went out to weep at the tomb of Lazarus, follow her,[pg 200]and she and they come to the place where Jesus still remained outside the village. Mary repeats almost the exact words which Martha had used on meeting Jesus.33. Iesus ergo, ut vidit eam plorantem, et Iudaeos qui venerant cum ea, plorantes, infremuit spiritu, et turbavit seipsum.33. Jesus therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself.33. The word ἐνεβριμήσατο which we translategroaned, is far more expressive of indignation than of grief. So Tolet., Beel., Trench, &c. Christ's indignation on the present occasion was on account of sin which brought death upon Lazarus and the whole human race, or rather perhaps on account of the incredulity of the Jews, which made this miracle and the sorrow consequent upon the death of Lazarus necessary.Troubled himself.These words imply Christ's supreme control over the passions of His human nature.34. Et dixit: Ubi posuistis eum? Dicunt ei: Domine, veni, et vide.34. And said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see.34. He knew well, but probably wished to excite their faith and hope by the question.35. Et lacrymatus est Iesus.35. And Jesus wept.35. Truly this is a touching scene! The Lord of heaven weeps over the grave of His departed friend. In no other part of the Gospels are the human and Divine sides of our Blessed Lord's character more clearly brought out than in this beautiful story of the raising of Lazarus. Christ as man weeps over him, whom He is about as God to raise from the dead.36. Dixerunt ergo Iudaei: Ecce quomodo amabat eum.36. The Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him.37. Quidam autem ex ipsis dixerunt: Non poterat hic, qui aperuit oculos caeci nati, facere ut hic non moreretur?37. But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?38. Iesus ergo rursum fremens in semetipso, venit ad monumentum: erat autem spelunca: et lapis superpositus erat ei.38. Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre: Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it.38. Caves were the usual[pg 201]family vaults of the Jews, sometimes natural, sometimes artificial and hollowed out of a rock. See Gen. xxiii. 9; Judith xvi. 24; Isai. xxii. 26; John xix. 41.39. Ait Iesus: Tollite lapidem: Dicit ei Martha, soror eius qui mortuus fuerat: Domine, iam foetet, quatriduanus est enim.39. Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days.39. Martha evidently imagined that Jesus wished merely to see her brother's corpse, and she shudders at the thought of its being exposed, now decomposing, to the gaze of the crowd. Her words and Christ's reply, both show that she did notnowhope that Jesus could raise her brother who was four days dead.A little before indeed she had hoped for even this (verse 22); but now her faith began to waver.“Habuit ergo alternantes motus gratiae et naturae, fidei et diffidentiae, spei et desperationis de resurrectione Lazari”(A Lap.).From this verse we learn that Lazarus was four days dead; from verse 17 that he was four days in the grave; hence he must have been buried on the day he died.40. Dicit ei Iesus: Nonne dixi tibi quoniam si credideris, videbis gloriam Dei?40. Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?40. Christ's reply shows that Martha's faith was now imperfect.Did I not say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?Where He had said these exact words to her is not recorded, but the reference is probably to what was said to the messenger and reported by him to the sisters of Lazarus (4), or to the discourse with Martha, epitomized above (23-26). By the“glory of God”is meant the glorious power of God.41. Tulerunt ergo lapidem: Iesus autem elevatis sursum oculis, dixit: Pater gratias ago tibi quoniam audisti me:41. They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me.41. The stone that closed the mouth of the cave was removed, and Jesus raising His eyes to heaven returns thanks to His Father. As man He returns thanks for the power which He was about to manifest; and He does so before[pg 202]the event, so confident is He that Lazarus will start at His call. Jesus did not enter the sepulchre; if He had entered, our Evangelist who records all the circumstances so minutely would have mentioned the fact. It is hardly necessary to remark upon the absurd explanation of Paulus and Gabler, to the effect that Jesus alone looked into the sepulchre, or alone entered it, and to His surprise found Lazarus alive; that He then returned thanks to God that Lazarus was not dead, and told Lazarus to come out of the sepulchre. For that Christ did not enter the sepulchre, is clear from what has been already stated, as well as from His words,“Come forth,”which imply that He was outside. That He alone looked into the sepulchre, is incredible; for we may be sure that the natural curiosity of the crowd assembled, led many of them to look into the sepulchre. Is it likely too, that if Jesus on looking into the sepulchre saw His friend alive, He would coolly begin to return thanks to God, and then quietly tell Lazarus to come out? He should have been more than man, which our adversaries will not admit Him to have been, to preserve such coolness in such circumstances.42. Ego autem sciebam quia semper me audis: sed propter populum qui circumstat, dixi, ut credant quia tu me misisti.42. And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people who stand about have I said it; that they may believe that thou hast sent me.42. Christ's thanks to the Father on this occasion must not lead us to suppose that some unexpected favour had been conferred by the Father upon Him. He knew well that on account of the conformity of His will with that of His Father, He could ask nothing that His Father could refuse; but He returns thanks now, as He Himself tells us, in order that the people present might believe that the Father had sent Him. In other words, Jesus wished to make the raising of Lazarus a clear proof of His Divinity, by thus calling God to witness to the miracle before it was wrought. Unquestionably the raising of Lazarus from the dead is a most powerful proof of the Divinity of Christ. It was a manifest and public miracle performed in the presence of a whole crowd of witnesses (see19,31,45), performed to prove that Christ had come from the Father (verse42); that He was the resurrection and the life (verses25, 26); that He was the Son of God (verse4); that, in fact, He was all that which, a short[pg 203]time previously, and in Jerusalem itself, He had claimed to be, namely, the Lord of life, one with the Father (x.28,30). Such a miracle in such circumstances God could never have permitted, had Christ not been in truth all that He claimed to be.Rationalists have tried in various ways to explain away this stupendous miracle. Some say that the story is a pure concoction of St. John, else it would have been narrated by some other Evangelist. Others, that the death of Lazarus was merely feigned, a pious ruse in which Christ and Lazarus, as well as Martha and Mary were accomplices, with the object of inducing the people to accept and follow the teachings of Christ.But we need hardly point out how absurd it is to suppose, that St. John would attempt, fifty years after the Synoptic Evangelists, to invent and put forward such a minute account of an extraordinary event till then unheard-of by the Jews. That the other Evangelists make no mention of this stupendous miracle is remarkable, but may be accounted for by the fact that prior to the history of the Passion, they confine their narratives almost entirely to what Christ said and did in Galilee. Hence they do not mention the healing of the man who had been ill for thirty-eight years (Johnv. 5-9), nor of the man born blind (Johnix.), nor, for the same reason, the raising of Lazarus, all these miracles having occurred in Judea.The second theory mentioned above hardly requires refutation. Even His Jewish enemies never accused Christ of fraud or deception; and in this particular instance the Jews, many of whom were hostile to Jesus (verse 46), and no doubt investigated the miracle, had not the slightest suspicion of fraud. So certain were all, even the Pharisees, that the miracle was genuine, that without attempting to deny it, they merely bethink themselves what they will do with Jesus (verses 47, 48).[pg 204]43. Haec cum dixisset, voce magna clamavit: Lazare veni foras.43. When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth.44. Et statim prodiit qui fuerat mortuus, ligatus pedes et manus institis, et facies illius sudario erat ligata. Dixit eis Iesus: Solvite eum, et sinite abire.44. And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding-bands, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him and let him go.45. Multi ergo ex Iudaeis qui venerant ad Mariam et Martham; et viderant quae fecit Iesus, crediderunt in eum.45. Many therefore of the Jews who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.46. Quidam autem ex ipsis abierunt ad pharisaeos, et dixerunt eis quae fecit Iesus.46. But some of them went to the Pharisees, and told them the things that Jesus had done.47. Collegerunt ergo pontifices et pharisaei concilium et dicebant: Quid facimus, quia hic homo multa signa facit?47. The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said: What do we, for this man doth many miracles?48. Si dimittimus eum sic, omnes credent in eum: et venient Romani, et tollent nostrum locum, et gentem.48. If we let him alone so, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come, and take away our place and nation.48. They dreaded lest the Romans, fearing He should become king, should come and destroy their temple and nation.49. Unus autem ex ipsis Caiphas nomine, cum esset pontifex anni illius, dixit eis: Vos nescitis quidquam.49. But one of them named Caiphas, being the high-priest that year, said to them: You know nothing.50. Nec cogitatis quia expedit vobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo, et non tota gens pereat.50. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.51. Hoc autem a semetipso non dixit: sed cum esset pontifex anni illius, prophetavit quod Iesus moriturus erat pro gente.51. And this he spoke not of himself: but being the high-priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation.52. Et non tantum pro gente, sed ut filios Dei, qui erant dispersi, congregaret in unum.52. And not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God, that were dispersed.49-52. Then Caiphas, the High-priest for that year said:You know nothing, &c. Caiphas meant that Jesus should be got rid of to save the Jewish nation from incurring the anger of the Romans. The Holy Ghost, however, as St. John tells us, signified through Caiphas (as an unconscious instrument) that the death of Jesus was necessary for the eternal salvation of the Jewish people, and of all to be called to the faith who were scattered then or since among the Gentiles. Caiphas was unaware of the solemn sense of the words which he enunciated; so that the Holy Ghost speaking through a prophet may sometimes mean one[pg 205]thing, the Prophet himself something quite different. It is the common opinion, too, that even theinspired writersdid not always understand the meaning of what they wrote, and in such cases the sense of Scripture is, of course, that which was intended by the Holy Ghost.Caiphas, whom on this occasion the Holy Ghost employed to declare the necessity for man of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, was the Jewish High-priest at the time (xi. 49,xviii. 13). His father-in-law, Annas, is called High-priest by St. Luke (Luke iii. 2; Acts iv. 6), from which some, as Beelen, conclude, that each filled the office of High-priest every alternate year. For this view, however, there is no historical evidence, and it seems more probable that Annas is called High-priest by St. Luke, not because he was then discharging the duties of the successor of Aaron, but because, having been High-priest, and unlawfully deposed (a.d.14) by Valerius Gratus, the Roman Governor of Judea, he was still regarded by the Jews as the lawful High-priest.78Or it may be that, asPresident of the Sanhedrim, a position which Annas filled, after he had been deposed from that of High-priest, he is styled ἀρχιερεύς by St. Luke. This latter is the view of Cornely,[pg 206]iii., § 76, n. 18. See Acts vii. 1; ix. 1, 2.53. Ab illo ergo die cogitaverunt ut interficerent eum.53. From that day therefore they devised to put him to death.53. Thus the raising of Lazarus, which was the occasion of Caiphas' suggestion, had an important influence upon the final determination of the Jews to put Christ to death. St. John notes the growth of Jewish hostility step by step:v. 16 ff.; vii.32,45ff.;viii. 45 ff.;viii. 59;ix. 22;x. 39.54. Iesus ergo iam non in palam ambulabat apud Iudaeos, sed abiit in regionem iuxta desertum, in civitatem quae dicitur Ephrem, et ibi morabatur cum discipulis suis.54. Wherefore Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews, but he went into a country near the desert, unto a city that is called Ephrem, and there he abode with his disciples.54. The city of Ephrem (Gr. ἐφαίμ) is probably the same to which Josephus refers (Bell. Jud., iv. 9, 9) as situated in the mountains of Judea. The city probably occupied the site of the modern et-Taiyibeh, about 14 miles N.E. of Jerusalem, in the mountainous district lying between the central towns and the Jordan. See Smith'sB. D.55. Proximum autem erat pascha Iudaeorum: et ascenderunt multi Ierosolymam de regione ante pascha, ut sanctificarent seipsos.55. And the pasch of the Jews was at hand: and many from the country went up to Jerusalem before the pasch, to purify themselves.55. This was the fourth and last Pasch of our Lord's public life, and during it He was put to death.To purify themselves;i.e., from any legal uncleanness, in order that they might be able to keep the Passover. See Numb. ix. 10; 2 Paral. xxx. 17; Acts xxi. 24-56. In any case where sacrifice was required in the process of purification, it was necessary to go to Jerusalem, because there only could sacrifice be offered.56. Quaerebant ergo Iesum: et colloquebantur ad invicem, in templo stantes: Quid putatis, quia non venit ad diem festum? Dederant autem pontifices et pharisaei mandatum, ut si quis cognoverit ubi sit, indicet, ut apprehendant eum.56. They sought therefore for Jesus; and they discoursed one with another, standing in the temple: What think you, that he is not come to the festival day? And the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man knew where he was, he should tell, that they might apprehend him.56. Whether those who sought Jesus were His friends or enemies, is disputed. But from what follows in this verse,[pg 207]we believe they were His enemies, who were looking for Him, in order to deliver Him up to the Sanhedrim.What think you, that he is not come to the festival day?We much prefer to understand here two questions—What think you?Do you thinkthat he will not come to the feast? For our Rhemish translation gives ὅτι οὐ μη ἔλθῃ a past, whereas it ought to have a future sense. Hence the Revised Version translates with two questions.[pg 208]

Chapter XI.1-3.The illness of Lazarus is made known to Christ.4-10.After the lapse of two days, Christ proposes to return to Judea; the disciples try to dissuade Him.11-16.Before setting out, He declares that Lazarus is dead.17-32.On Christ's approach He is met by the sisters of Lazarus, and many Jews.33-44.Having groaned in the spirit, wept, and returned thanks to His Father, He raises Lazarus from the dead.45-53.Many believed in Him on account of the miracle, but the chief priests and Pharisees forthwith resolved on putting Him to death.54-56.Jesus retired from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and the chief priests and Pharisees gave orders, that anyone knowing where He was, should inform upon Him, in order that He might be arrested.1. Erat autem quidam languens Lazarus a Bethania, de castello Mariae et Marthae sororis eius.1. Now there was a certain man sick named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and of Martha her sister.1.“The narrative of the raising of Lazarus is unique in its completeness. The essential circumstances of the fact in regard to persons, manner, results, are given with perfect distinctness. The history is more complete than that in chapter ix., because the persons stand in closer connection with the Lord than the blind man, and the event itself had in many ways a ruling influence on the end of His ministry. Four scenes are to be distinguished:—(1) the prelude to the miracle (1-16); (2) the scene at Bethany (17-32); (3) the miracle (33-44); (4) the immediate issues of the miracle (45-57)”(Westcott in the Speakers Comm.).Bethania.Thisvillagelay nearly two miles east of Jerusalem; see verse18, and our remarks onvi. 19. To prevent the reader from confounding it with Bethania beyond the Jordan (i. 28), the Evangelist adds that he means the village of Mary and of Martha her sister, who are supposed to be already known to the reader from the Synoptic Gospels.[pg 192]See,e.g., Luke x. 38-42. Bethania is spoken of as their village, not because they owned it, but because they resided there, just as Bethsaida is called the city of Andrew and Peter (i. 44). In this village, then, Lazarus wasseriouslyill (ἀσθενῶν; see James v. 14).2. (Maria autem erat, quae unxit Dominum unguento, et extersit pedes eius capillis suis: cuius frater Lazarus infirmabatur.)2. (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.)2. The Greek aorist (ἡ ἀλέιψασα) shows that the reference is to some unction that had already taken place, and not to that which happened subsequently, and which is narrated by our Evangelist (xii. 3; Matt. xxvi. 7; Mark xiv. 3). The unction here referred to we take to be that recorded by St. Luke (vii. 37, 38); and hence, notwithstanding their apparently different characters, we regard Mary the sister of Lazarus (xi. 2) as identical with“the woman who was a sinner in the city”(Luke vii. 37). For St. John in the words:“Mary was she that anointed the Lord,”&c., certainly seems to speak of an unction already known to his readers, and the only unction of Christ, as far as is known, that had taken place before this illness of Lazarus, is that recorded by St. Luke in the passage referred to. In this view, then, our Lord wastwiceanointed by a woman; on the first occasion in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke vii. 40, 46), probably in Galilee (see Luke vii. 11), as recorded by St. Luke vii. 37, 38; on the second occasion at Bethania, in Judea, in the house of Simon the leper (Matt. xxvi. 6), as recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John (J. xii. 3). As the present verse proves that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, had already anointed our Lord: and as John xii. 3, with its context, proves that the same sister of Lazarus again anointed Him on a subsequent occasion, we hold that the only woman referred to in the Gospels as having anointed the living body of our Lord, is Mary, the sister of Lazarus; and that she did so ontwodifferent occasions. Thus, as already stated, we identify Luke's“sinner in the city”with the sister of Lazarus. If it be objected that the contemplative character of the sister of Lazarus (Luke x. 38-42), and the close friendship of Jesus with her and her family (John xi. 3, 5), forbid us to regard her as identical with the woman who had once been“a sinner in the city,”we reply that Mary, converted in the beginning of our Lord's public life, had now for some years led an edifying life of penance. As a sinner she had lived in some city of Galilee, far away from home, whither she may have gone with some lover whom she met at Jerusalem at one of the great festivals; now she lived with her brother at[pg 193]Bethania, in Judea, where possibly her former sinful life may have been unknown, so that there was no danger of scandal in Christ's friendship with herself and her family. To those who, like Steenkiste (Comm. on Matt. Quaes.678,conclusio), have“a deep-rooted repugnance”to believing that the sister of Lazarus had ever been a public sinner, we would recall the fact that there are many sinners in heaven to-day enjoying the society of God after a far shorter penance than we require to suppose in the case of the sister of Lazarus, before she began to enjoy the friendship of Christ. Our Divine Lord's tenderness and mercy towards sinners are written on every page of the Gospels, and the only real difficulty here is that to which we have already replied, arising from the danger of scandal, through our Lord's associating with such a woman.Thus far we have spoken only of“the sinner,”and the sister of Lazarus; but there is a further question, whether Mary Magdalen (Luke viii. 2; Matt. xxvii. 56, 61; Matt. xxviii. 1; John xx. 1, &c.) and they are all three, one and the same person. We believe it to be more probable that they are. The more common opinion among the fathers identifies the three; from the sixth till the seventeenth century their identity was unquestioned in the Western Church; and our Roman Breviary and Missal still identify them on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the 22nd of July. So, too, Tertull., Gregory the Great, Mald., Natal-Alex., Mauduit, M'Ev., Corluy.We have stated what we consider the most probable view—that Christ was twice anointed during His public life, and on both occasions by the same person, the sister of Lazarus, who is identical with“the sinner”and Magdalen. It is right, however, that we should add, that there is great diversity of opinion, even among Catholic commentators. Some have held that there were three different unctions, others that there was only one. Some have held that the sister of Lazarus,“the sinner,”and Magdalen are all three distinct; others, that at least the sister of Lazarus and the sinner are distinct; and among those who will not admit the identity of all three are found such able commentators as St. Chrys., Estius, Calmet, Beelen. In such a case, where the Scriptures are obscure, where the fathers disagree, where commentators are so divided, and the Greek Church, which celebrates three different feasts[pg 194]for the three women,seems(we sayseems, because the different feasts might possibly be celebrated in honour of the same woman) to differ from the Latin, it is hard to attain to anything more than probability, and we have set forth above what, after a very careful examination of the whole question, seems to us most probable. See Corl.,Dissert., p. 263 and foll.; Mald. on Matt. xxvi. 6, 7, and xxvii. 56; Steenk. on Matt.Quaes.678.3. Miserunt ergo sorores eius ad eum, dicentes: Domine, ecce quem amas infirmatur.3. His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.3. They merely announce their trouble through a messenger, and in hopeful confidence leave the remedy to Jesus.“Sufficit ut noveris: non enim amas et deseris”(St. Aug. on this verse).4. Audiens autem Iesus dixit eis: Infirmitas haec non est ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei, ut glorificetur Filius Dei per eam.4. And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.4.And Jesus hearing it, said to them(“to them”(eis) is not genuine):This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.The words of Christ were obscure until the miracle threw light upon them. They mean that the sickness of Lazarus was not to end inordinarydeath, for ordinary death is the end of mortal life, whereas Lazarus was to live again a mortal life. The sickness and death of Lazarus were intended to show forth the Divine power of Jesus in the miracle to be wrought.5. Diligebat autem Iesus Martham, et sororem eius Mariam, et Lazarum.5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.5. Some connect this verse with what has gone before, as giving the reason why the sisters of Lazarus informed Jesus of the illness of His friend. But it is better to connect with what follows in this way. Jesus loved Lazarus, and therefore when He had remained in the same place two days, then He said: Let us go into Judea again, as if He were unable to remain any longer away from His friend. Thus it is not merely His return to Judea, but His return after two days, that proves His friendship. Had He returned sooner, the miracle of the raising of Lazarus would have been less striking, and would not have afforded to Martha and Mary such a powerful[pg 195]motive of faith. See below on verse15.The passing notice here of a friendship that must have been the result of long and intimate intercourse shows us how incomplete are the Gospel records. It is very interesting to notice how in this verse St. John refers to the love of Jesus for Lazarus and his sisters by a different word from that used by the sisters in verse 3. Instead of φιλεῖς, which expresses the affection of personal attachment, St. John, now that there is question of the love of Jesus not only for Lazarus but also for his sisters, uses Ἠγάπα, which expresses rather esteem than love, rather a reasoning appreciation than a heartfelt attachment. See below onxxi. 15-17, where the contrast between the two words is most marked.6. Ut ergo audivit quia, infirmabatur, tunc quidem mansit in eodem loco duobus diebus.6. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days.7. Deinde post haec dixit discipulis suis: Eamus in Iudaeam iterum.7. Then after that he said to his disciples: Let us go into Judea again.8. Dicunt ei discipuli: Rabbi, nunc quaerebant te Iudaei lapidare, et iterum vadis illuc?8. The disciples say to him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?8. The disciples, fearing for His safety and for their own (see verse16, where Thomas takes it for granted that return to Judea meant death to Him and them), try to dissuade Him from returning.9. Respondit Iesus: Nonne duodecim sunt horae diei? Si quis ambulaverit in die, non offendit, quia lucem huius mundi videt:9. Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.9. The meaning is: just as a man walks safely and without stumbling during the period of daylight, which is a fixed period that cannot be shortened: so, during the time appointed for My mortal life by My Father, I am safe, and so are you.10. Si autem ambulaverit in nocte offendit, quia lux non est in eo.10. But if he walk in the night he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.10. But after the time of My mortal life, then, indeed,youmay expect persecution and[pg 196]suffering; for when I am gone, you shall be as men walking after the sun's light has gone down.11. Haec, ait, et post haec dixit eis: Lazarus amicus noster dormit: sed vado ut a somno excitem eum.11. These things he said: and after that he said to them: Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.12. Dixerunt ergo discipuli eius: Domine, si dormit, salvus erit.12. His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.13. Dixerat autem Iesus de morte ejus: illi autem putaverunt quia de dormitione somni diceret.13. But Jesus spoke of his death; and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep.14. Tunc ergo Iesus dixit eis manifeste: Lazarus mortuus est:14. Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead;11-14. Jesus declares of His own Divine knowledge (there is no hint of a second message) that Lazarus sleeps. The disciples fail to understand, and He explains.15. Et gaudeo propter vos, ut credatis, quoniam non eram ibi; sed eamus ad eum.15. And I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him.15. Jesus rejoices that He was not with Lazarus, in which case His tender mercies would have led Him to prevent the death of Lazarus, and He rejoices for the sake of His disciples, inasmuch as a new and powerful motive tostrengthentheir faith would now be afforded them in the miracle to be wrought.16. Dixit ergo Thomas, qui dicitur Didymus, ad condiscipulos: Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.16. Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow-disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.16. See verse8.Thomas, Aramaic תאמא, means a twin, the Greek equivalent being Didymus. The Greek equivalent is again mentioned after the name inxx. 24,xxi. 2. Possibly Thomas was commonly known in Asia Minor as Didymus.17. Venit itaque Iesus: et invenit eum quatuor dies iam in monumento habentem.17. Jesus therefore came and found that he had been four days already in the grave.17.Four days.The day of the messenger's arrival would[pg 197]probably be the first day: two other days our Lord remained in Peraea after He had received the news, and one more He would be likely to spend in the journey to Bethania. Dying upon the first day, Lazarus, according to the custom of the Jews, that burial should immediately follow on death (see,e.g., Acts v. 6, 10), had been buried on that same day, as a comparison of this verse with 39 clearly proves.18. (Erat autem Bethania iuxta Ierosolyman quasi stadiis quindecim.)18. (Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.)18. See above on verse1, and especially onvi. 19.19. Multi autem ex Iudaeis venerant ad Martham et Mariam, ut consolarentur eas de fratre suo.19. And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.19.The Jews, whom our Evangelist always carefully distinguishes from the“turba,”or lower class, were leading men among the people; so that it appears from this that the family of Lazarus had a good social standing.20. Martha ergo ut audivit quia Iesus venit, occurrit illi: Maria, autem domi sedebat.20. Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus was come, went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.21. Dixit ergo Martha ad Iesum: Domine si fuisses hic, frater meus non fuisset mortuus:21. Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.22. Sed et nunc scio quia quaecumque poposceris a Deo, dabit tibi Deus.22. But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.22. Even still she has hope that He may intercede with God to restore life to her brother.23. Dicit illi Iesus: Resurget frater tuus.23. Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again.23. In words, purposely ambiguous, and meant to try her faith, Jesus assures her that her brother shall rise again.24. Dicit ei Martha: Scio quia resurget in resurrectione in novissimo die.24. Martha saith to him: I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.24. Understanding Him to speak of the final resurrection,[pg 198]or at least wishing to force Him to explain, she says:I know, &c. Note how Martha's words prove the faith of the Jews of that time in the resurrection of the body.25. Dixit ei Iesus: Ego sum resurrectio et vita: qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet:25. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me although he be dead, shall live.26. Et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in aeternum. Credis hoc?26. And every one that liveth, and believeth in me shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?25, 26. Christ avails of this occasion to perfect her faith, and in the beautiful and consoling words which we read in the antiphon of theBenedictusin the Office for the Dead, declares that He Himself by His own power, and not merely by supplication to the Father, as she imagined (verse22), is the author of our resurrection and life. In the following words He explains what He means. He who believes in Me, and dies in the living faith, which worketh by charity, even though he becorporallydead, like Lazarus, shall live again a glorious life, even in his body; and everyone who is livingin the body, and so believeth shall never die, because though he shall indeed pass through the gates of death, I shall quicken him again to a better life so that he may be said rather to have slept than died.76If this interpretation of the words,“shall never die,”seem to anyone strained, he may take them in reference to the death of the soul; but as there is question in the context of the raising of thebodyof Lazarus, we consider the opinion we have adopted more probable. In these verses, then, Jesus declares Himself the resurrection and the life; the resurrection of thedead, the enduring life of theliving. So that verse 25 encourages Martha to hope to have Lazarus restored to her, and verse 26 warns her to look to herself, in order that she may live for ever.[pg 199]27. Ait illi: Utique Domine, ego credidi quia tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi, qui in hunc mundum venisti.27. She saith to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world.28. Et cum haec dixisset, abiit, et vocavit Mariam, sororem suam silentio, dicens: Magister ad est, et vocat te.28. And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master is come and calleth for thee.29. Illa ut audivit, surgit cito, et venit ad eum.29. She, as soon as she heardthis, riseth quickly and cometh to him.30. Nondum enim venerat Iesus in castellum: sed erat adhuc in illo loco ubi occurrerat ei Martha.30. For Jesus was not yet come into the town; but he was still in that place where Martha had met him.31. Iudaei ergo qui erant cum ea in domo, et consolabantur eam, cum vidissent Mariam quia cito surrexit et exiit, secuti sunt eam dicentes: Quia vadit ad monumentum ut ploret ibi.31. The Jews therefore who were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth to the grave, to weep there.32. Maria ergo, cum venisset ubi erat Iesus, videns eum, cecidit ad pedes eius, et dicit ei: Domine, si fuisses hic, non esset mortuus frater meus.32. When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.27-32. To Christ's question, if she believed what He had said of Himself as the resurrection and the life, she replies that she believes77Him to be the Messias, the Son of God, and so she implicitly believes in everything He teaches, even though, as was probably the case now, she did not quite understand. Then she goes home, and secretly calls her sister Mary, who hurries out to meet Jesus. The Jews, thinking Mary went out to weep at the tomb of Lazarus, follow her,[pg 200]and she and they come to the place where Jesus still remained outside the village. Mary repeats almost the exact words which Martha had used on meeting Jesus.33. Iesus ergo, ut vidit eam plorantem, et Iudaeos qui venerant cum ea, plorantes, infremuit spiritu, et turbavit seipsum.33. Jesus therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself.33. The word ἐνεβριμήσατο which we translategroaned, is far more expressive of indignation than of grief. So Tolet., Beel., Trench, &c. Christ's indignation on the present occasion was on account of sin which brought death upon Lazarus and the whole human race, or rather perhaps on account of the incredulity of the Jews, which made this miracle and the sorrow consequent upon the death of Lazarus necessary.Troubled himself.These words imply Christ's supreme control over the passions of His human nature.34. Et dixit: Ubi posuistis eum? Dicunt ei: Domine, veni, et vide.34. And said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see.34. He knew well, but probably wished to excite their faith and hope by the question.35. Et lacrymatus est Iesus.35. And Jesus wept.35. Truly this is a touching scene! The Lord of heaven weeps over the grave of His departed friend. In no other part of the Gospels are the human and Divine sides of our Blessed Lord's character more clearly brought out than in this beautiful story of the raising of Lazarus. Christ as man weeps over him, whom He is about as God to raise from the dead.36. Dixerunt ergo Iudaei: Ecce quomodo amabat eum.36. The Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him.37. Quidam autem ex ipsis dixerunt: Non poterat hic, qui aperuit oculos caeci nati, facere ut hic non moreretur?37. But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?38. Iesus ergo rursum fremens in semetipso, venit ad monumentum: erat autem spelunca: et lapis superpositus erat ei.38. Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre: Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it.38. Caves were the usual[pg 201]family vaults of the Jews, sometimes natural, sometimes artificial and hollowed out of a rock. See Gen. xxiii. 9; Judith xvi. 24; Isai. xxii. 26; John xix. 41.39. Ait Iesus: Tollite lapidem: Dicit ei Martha, soror eius qui mortuus fuerat: Domine, iam foetet, quatriduanus est enim.39. Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days.39. Martha evidently imagined that Jesus wished merely to see her brother's corpse, and she shudders at the thought of its being exposed, now decomposing, to the gaze of the crowd. Her words and Christ's reply, both show that she did notnowhope that Jesus could raise her brother who was four days dead.A little before indeed she had hoped for even this (verse 22); but now her faith began to waver.“Habuit ergo alternantes motus gratiae et naturae, fidei et diffidentiae, spei et desperationis de resurrectione Lazari”(A Lap.).From this verse we learn that Lazarus was four days dead; from verse 17 that he was four days in the grave; hence he must have been buried on the day he died.40. Dicit ei Iesus: Nonne dixi tibi quoniam si credideris, videbis gloriam Dei?40. Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?40. Christ's reply shows that Martha's faith was now imperfect.Did I not say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?Where He had said these exact words to her is not recorded, but the reference is probably to what was said to the messenger and reported by him to the sisters of Lazarus (4), or to the discourse with Martha, epitomized above (23-26). By the“glory of God”is meant the glorious power of God.41. Tulerunt ergo lapidem: Iesus autem elevatis sursum oculis, dixit: Pater gratias ago tibi quoniam audisti me:41. They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me.41. The stone that closed the mouth of the cave was removed, and Jesus raising His eyes to heaven returns thanks to His Father. As man He returns thanks for the power which He was about to manifest; and He does so before[pg 202]the event, so confident is He that Lazarus will start at His call. Jesus did not enter the sepulchre; if He had entered, our Evangelist who records all the circumstances so minutely would have mentioned the fact. It is hardly necessary to remark upon the absurd explanation of Paulus and Gabler, to the effect that Jesus alone looked into the sepulchre, or alone entered it, and to His surprise found Lazarus alive; that He then returned thanks to God that Lazarus was not dead, and told Lazarus to come out of the sepulchre. For that Christ did not enter the sepulchre, is clear from what has been already stated, as well as from His words,“Come forth,”which imply that He was outside. That He alone looked into the sepulchre, is incredible; for we may be sure that the natural curiosity of the crowd assembled, led many of them to look into the sepulchre. Is it likely too, that if Jesus on looking into the sepulchre saw His friend alive, He would coolly begin to return thanks to God, and then quietly tell Lazarus to come out? He should have been more than man, which our adversaries will not admit Him to have been, to preserve such coolness in such circumstances.42. Ego autem sciebam quia semper me audis: sed propter populum qui circumstat, dixi, ut credant quia tu me misisti.42. And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people who stand about have I said it; that they may believe that thou hast sent me.42. Christ's thanks to the Father on this occasion must not lead us to suppose that some unexpected favour had been conferred by the Father upon Him. He knew well that on account of the conformity of His will with that of His Father, He could ask nothing that His Father could refuse; but He returns thanks now, as He Himself tells us, in order that the people present might believe that the Father had sent Him. In other words, Jesus wished to make the raising of Lazarus a clear proof of His Divinity, by thus calling God to witness to the miracle before it was wrought. Unquestionably the raising of Lazarus from the dead is a most powerful proof of the Divinity of Christ. It was a manifest and public miracle performed in the presence of a whole crowd of witnesses (see19,31,45), performed to prove that Christ had come from the Father (verse42); that He was the resurrection and the life (verses25, 26); that He was the Son of God (verse4); that, in fact, He was all that which, a short[pg 203]time previously, and in Jerusalem itself, He had claimed to be, namely, the Lord of life, one with the Father (x.28,30). Such a miracle in such circumstances God could never have permitted, had Christ not been in truth all that He claimed to be.Rationalists have tried in various ways to explain away this stupendous miracle. Some say that the story is a pure concoction of St. John, else it would have been narrated by some other Evangelist. Others, that the death of Lazarus was merely feigned, a pious ruse in which Christ and Lazarus, as well as Martha and Mary were accomplices, with the object of inducing the people to accept and follow the teachings of Christ.But we need hardly point out how absurd it is to suppose, that St. John would attempt, fifty years after the Synoptic Evangelists, to invent and put forward such a minute account of an extraordinary event till then unheard-of by the Jews. That the other Evangelists make no mention of this stupendous miracle is remarkable, but may be accounted for by the fact that prior to the history of the Passion, they confine their narratives almost entirely to what Christ said and did in Galilee. Hence they do not mention the healing of the man who had been ill for thirty-eight years (Johnv. 5-9), nor of the man born blind (Johnix.), nor, for the same reason, the raising of Lazarus, all these miracles having occurred in Judea.The second theory mentioned above hardly requires refutation. Even His Jewish enemies never accused Christ of fraud or deception; and in this particular instance the Jews, many of whom were hostile to Jesus (verse 46), and no doubt investigated the miracle, had not the slightest suspicion of fraud. So certain were all, even the Pharisees, that the miracle was genuine, that without attempting to deny it, they merely bethink themselves what they will do with Jesus (verses 47, 48).[pg 204]43. Haec cum dixisset, voce magna clamavit: Lazare veni foras.43. When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth.44. Et statim prodiit qui fuerat mortuus, ligatus pedes et manus institis, et facies illius sudario erat ligata. Dixit eis Iesus: Solvite eum, et sinite abire.44. And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding-bands, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him and let him go.45. Multi ergo ex Iudaeis qui venerant ad Mariam et Martham; et viderant quae fecit Iesus, crediderunt in eum.45. Many therefore of the Jews who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.46. Quidam autem ex ipsis abierunt ad pharisaeos, et dixerunt eis quae fecit Iesus.46. But some of them went to the Pharisees, and told them the things that Jesus had done.47. Collegerunt ergo pontifices et pharisaei concilium et dicebant: Quid facimus, quia hic homo multa signa facit?47. The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said: What do we, for this man doth many miracles?48. Si dimittimus eum sic, omnes credent in eum: et venient Romani, et tollent nostrum locum, et gentem.48. If we let him alone so, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come, and take away our place and nation.48. They dreaded lest the Romans, fearing He should become king, should come and destroy their temple and nation.49. Unus autem ex ipsis Caiphas nomine, cum esset pontifex anni illius, dixit eis: Vos nescitis quidquam.49. But one of them named Caiphas, being the high-priest that year, said to them: You know nothing.50. Nec cogitatis quia expedit vobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo, et non tota gens pereat.50. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.51. Hoc autem a semetipso non dixit: sed cum esset pontifex anni illius, prophetavit quod Iesus moriturus erat pro gente.51. And this he spoke not of himself: but being the high-priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation.52. Et non tantum pro gente, sed ut filios Dei, qui erant dispersi, congregaret in unum.52. And not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God, that were dispersed.49-52. Then Caiphas, the High-priest for that year said:You know nothing, &c. Caiphas meant that Jesus should be got rid of to save the Jewish nation from incurring the anger of the Romans. The Holy Ghost, however, as St. John tells us, signified through Caiphas (as an unconscious instrument) that the death of Jesus was necessary for the eternal salvation of the Jewish people, and of all to be called to the faith who were scattered then or since among the Gentiles. Caiphas was unaware of the solemn sense of the words which he enunciated; so that the Holy Ghost speaking through a prophet may sometimes mean one[pg 205]thing, the Prophet himself something quite different. It is the common opinion, too, that even theinspired writersdid not always understand the meaning of what they wrote, and in such cases the sense of Scripture is, of course, that which was intended by the Holy Ghost.Caiphas, whom on this occasion the Holy Ghost employed to declare the necessity for man of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, was the Jewish High-priest at the time (xi. 49,xviii. 13). His father-in-law, Annas, is called High-priest by St. Luke (Luke iii. 2; Acts iv. 6), from which some, as Beelen, conclude, that each filled the office of High-priest every alternate year. For this view, however, there is no historical evidence, and it seems more probable that Annas is called High-priest by St. Luke, not because he was then discharging the duties of the successor of Aaron, but because, having been High-priest, and unlawfully deposed (a.d.14) by Valerius Gratus, the Roman Governor of Judea, he was still regarded by the Jews as the lawful High-priest.78Or it may be that, asPresident of the Sanhedrim, a position which Annas filled, after he had been deposed from that of High-priest, he is styled ἀρχιερεύς by St. Luke. This latter is the view of Cornely,[pg 206]iii., § 76, n. 18. See Acts vii. 1; ix. 1, 2.53. Ab illo ergo die cogitaverunt ut interficerent eum.53. From that day therefore they devised to put him to death.53. Thus the raising of Lazarus, which was the occasion of Caiphas' suggestion, had an important influence upon the final determination of the Jews to put Christ to death. St. John notes the growth of Jewish hostility step by step:v. 16 ff.; vii.32,45ff.;viii. 45 ff.;viii. 59;ix. 22;x. 39.54. Iesus ergo iam non in palam ambulabat apud Iudaeos, sed abiit in regionem iuxta desertum, in civitatem quae dicitur Ephrem, et ibi morabatur cum discipulis suis.54. Wherefore Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews, but he went into a country near the desert, unto a city that is called Ephrem, and there he abode with his disciples.54. The city of Ephrem (Gr. ἐφαίμ) is probably the same to which Josephus refers (Bell. Jud., iv. 9, 9) as situated in the mountains of Judea. The city probably occupied the site of the modern et-Taiyibeh, about 14 miles N.E. of Jerusalem, in the mountainous district lying between the central towns and the Jordan. See Smith'sB. D.55. Proximum autem erat pascha Iudaeorum: et ascenderunt multi Ierosolymam de regione ante pascha, ut sanctificarent seipsos.55. And the pasch of the Jews was at hand: and many from the country went up to Jerusalem before the pasch, to purify themselves.55. This was the fourth and last Pasch of our Lord's public life, and during it He was put to death.To purify themselves;i.e., from any legal uncleanness, in order that they might be able to keep the Passover. See Numb. ix. 10; 2 Paral. xxx. 17; Acts xxi. 24-56. In any case where sacrifice was required in the process of purification, it was necessary to go to Jerusalem, because there only could sacrifice be offered.56. Quaerebant ergo Iesum: et colloquebantur ad invicem, in templo stantes: Quid putatis, quia non venit ad diem festum? Dederant autem pontifices et pharisaei mandatum, ut si quis cognoverit ubi sit, indicet, ut apprehendant eum.56. They sought therefore for Jesus; and they discoursed one with another, standing in the temple: What think you, that he is not come to the festival day? And the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man knew where he was, he should tell, that they might apprehend him.56. Whether those who sought Jesus were His friends or enemies, is disputed. But from what follows in this verse,[pg 207]we believe they were His enemies, who were looking for Him, in order to deliver Him up to the Sanhedrim.What think you, that he is not come to the festival day?We much prefer to understand here two questions—What think you?Do you thinkthat he will not come to the feast? For our Rhemish translation gives ὅτι οὐ μη ἔλθῃ a past, whereas it ought to have a future sense. Hence the Revised Version translates with two questions.[pg 208]

Chapter XI.1-3.The illness of Lazarus is made known to Christ.4-10.After the lapse of two days, Christ proposes to return to Judea; the disciples try to dissuade Him.11-16.Before setting out, He declares that Lazarus is dead.17-32.On Christ's approach He is met by the sisters of Lazarus, and many Jews.33-44.Having groaned in the spirit, wept, and returned thanks to His Father, He raises Lazarus from the dead.45-53.Many believed in Him on account of the miracle, but the chief priests and Pharisees forthwith resolved on putting Him to death.54-56.Jesus retired from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and the chief priests and Pharisees gave orders, that anyone knowing where He was, should inform upon Him, in order that He might be arrested.1. Erat autem quidam languens Lazarus a Bethania, de castello Mariae et Marthae sororis eius.1. Now there was a certain man sick named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and of Martha her sister.1.“The narrative of the raising of Lazarus is unique in its completeness. The essential circumstances of the fact in regard to persons, manner, results, are given with perfect distinctness. The history is more complete than that in chapter ix., because the persons stand in closer connection with the Lord than the blind man, and the event itself had in many ways a ruling influence on the end of His ministry. Four scenes are to be distinguished:—(1) the prelude to the miracle (1-16); (2) the scene at Bethany (17-32); (3) the miracle (33-44); (4) the immediate issues of the miracle (45-57)”(Westcott in the Speakers Comm.).Bethania.Thisvillagelay nearly two miles east of Jerusalem; see verse18, and our remarks onvi. 19. To prevent the reader from confounding it with Bethania beyond the Jordan (i. 28), the Evangelist adds that he means the village of Mary and of Martha her sister, who are supposed to be already known to the reader from the Synoptic Gospels.[pg 192]See,e.g., Luke x. 38-42. Bethania is spoken of as their village, not because they owned it, but because they resided there, just as Bethsaida is called the city of Andrew and Peter (i. 44). In this village, then, Lazarus wasseriouslyill (ἀσθενῶν; see James v. 14).2. (Maria autem erat, quae unxit Dominum unguento, et extersit pedes eius capillis suis: cuius frater Lazarus infirmabatur.)2. (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.)2. The Greek aorist (ἡ ἀλέιψασα) shows that the reference is to some unction that had already taken place, and not to that which happened subsequently, and which is narrated by our Evangelist (xii. 3; Matt. xxvi. 7; Mark xiv. 3). The unction here referred to we take to be that recorded by St. Luke (vii. 37, 38); and hence, notwithstanding their apparently different characters, we regard Mary the sister of Lazarus (xi. 2) as identical with“the woman who was a sinner in the city”(Luke vii. 37). For St. John in the words:“Mary was she that anointed the Lord,”&c., certainly seems to speak of an unction already known to his readers, and the only unction of Christ, as far as is known, that had taken place before this illness of Lazarus, is that recorded by St. Luke in the passage referred to. In this view, then, our Lord wastwiceanointed by a woman; on the first occasion in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke vii. 40, 46), probably in Galilee (see Luke vii. 11), as recorded by St. Luke vii. 37, 38; on the second occasion at Bethania, in Judea, in the house of Simon the leper (Matt. xxvi. 6), as recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John (J. xii. 3). As the present verse proves that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, had already anointed our Lord: and as John xii. 3, with its context, proves that the same sister of Lazarus again anointed Him on a subsequent occasion, we hold that the only woman referred to in the Gospels as having anointed the living body of our Lord, is Mary, the sister of Lazarus; and that she did so ontwodifferent occasions. Thus, as already stated, we identify Luke's“sinner in the city”with the sister of Lazarus. If it be objected that the contemplative character of the sister of Lazarus (Luke x. 38-42), and the close friendship of Jesus with her and her family (John xi. 3, 5), forbid us to regard her as identical with the woman who had once been“a sinner in the city,”we reply that Mary, converted in the beginning of our Lord's public life, had now for some years led an edifying life of penance. As a sinner she had lived in some city of Galilee, far away from home, whither she may have gone with some lover whom she met at Jerusalem at one of the great festivals; now she lived with her brother at[pg 193]Bethania, in Judea, where possibly her former sinful life may have been unknown, so that there was no danger of scandal in Christ's friendship with herself and her family. To those who, like Steenkiste (Comm. on Matt. Quaes.678,conclusio), have“a deep-rooted repugnance”to believing that the sister of Lazarus had ever been a public sinner, we would recall the fact that there are many sinners in heaven to-day enjoying the society of God after a far shorter penance than we require to suppose in the case of the sister of Lazarus, before she began to enjoy the friendship of Christ. Our Divine Lord's tenderness and mercy towards sinners are written on every page of the Gospels, and the only real difficulty here is that to which we have already replied, arising from the danger of scandal, through our Lord's associating with such a woman.Thus far we have spoken only of“the sinner,”and the sister of Lazarus; but there is a further question, whether Mary Magdalen (Luke viii. 2; Matt. xxvii. 56, 61; Matt. xxviii. 1; John xx. 1, &c.) and they are all three, one and the same person. We believe it to be more probable that they are. The more common opinion among the fathers identifies the three; from the sixth till the seventeenth century their identity was unquestioned in the Western Church; and our Roman Breviary and Missal still identify them on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the 22nd of July. So, too, Tertull., Gregory the Great, Mald., Natal-Alex., Mauduit, M'Ev., Corluy.We have stated what we consider the most probable view—that Christ was twice anointed during His public life, and on both occasions by the same person, the sister of Lazarus, who is identical with“the sinner”and Magdalen. It is right, however, that we should add, that there is great diversity of opinion, even among Catholic commentators. Some have held that there were three different unctions, others that there was only one. Some have held that the sister of Lazarus,“the sinner,”and Magdalen are all three distinct; others, that at least the sister of Lazarus and the sinner are distinct; and among those who will not admit the identity of all three are found such able commentators as St. Chrys., Estius, Calmet, Beelen. In such a case, where the Scriptures are obscure, where the fathers disagree, where commentators are so divided, and the Greek Church, which celebrates three different feasts[pg 194]for the three women,seems(we sayseems, because the different feasts might possibly be celebrated in honour of the same woman) to differ from the Latin, it is hard to attain to anything more than probability, and we have set forth above what, after a very careful examination of the whole question, seems to us most probable. See Corl.,Dissert., p. 263 and foll.; Mald. on Matt. xxvi. 6, 7, and xxvii. 56; Steenk. on Matt.Quaes.678.3. Miserunt ergo sorores eius ad eum, dicentes: Domine, ecce quem amas infirmatur.3. His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.3. They merely announce their trouble through a messenger, and in hopeful confidence leave the remedy to Jesus.“Sufficit ut noveris: non enim amas et deseris”(St. Aug. on this verse).4. Audiens autem Iesus dixit eis: Infirmitas haec non est ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei, ut glorificetur Filius Dei per eam.4. And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.4.And Jesus hearing it, said to them(“to them”(eis) is not genuine):This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.The words of Christ were obscure until the miracle threw light upon them. They mean that the sickness of Lazarus was not to end inordinarydeath, for ordinary death is the end of mortal life, whereas Lazarus was to live again a mortal life. The sickness and death of Lazarus were intended to show forth the Divine power of Jesus in the miracle to be wrought.5. Diligebat autem Iesus Martham, et sororem eius Mariam, et Lazarum.5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.5. Some connect this verse with what has gone before, as giving the reason why the sisters of Lazarus informed Jesus of the illness of His friend. But it is better to connect with what follows in this way. Jesus loved Lazarus, and therefore when He had remained in the same place two days, then He said: Let us go into Judea again, as if He were unable to remain any longer away from His friend. Thus it is not merely His return to Judea, but His return after two days, that proves His friendship. Had He returned sooner, the miracle of the raising of Lazarus would have been less striking, and would not have afforded to Martha and Mary such a powerful[pg 195]motive of faith. See below on verse15.The passing notice here of a friendship that must have been the result of long and intimate intercourse shows us how incomplete are the Gospel records. It is very interesting to notice how in this verse St. John refers to the love of Jesus for Lazarus and his sisters by a different word from that used by the sisters in verse 3. Instead of φιλεῖς, which expresses the affection of personal attachment, St. John, now that there is question of the love of Jesus not only for Lazarus but also for his sisters, uses Ἠγάπα, which expresses rather esteem than love, rather a reasoning appreciation than a heartfelt attachment. See below onxxi. 15-17, where the contrast between the two words is most marked.6. Ut ergo audivit quia, infirmabatur, tunc quidem mansit in eodem loco duobus diebus.6. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days.7. Deinde post haec dixit discipulis suis: Eamus in Iudaeam iterum.7. Then after that he said to his disciples: Let us go into Judea again.8. Dicunt ei discipuli: Rabbi, nunc quaerebant te Iudaei lapidare, et iterum vadis illuc?8. The disciples say to him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?8. The disciples, fearing for His safety and for their own (see verse16, where Thomas takes it for granted that return to Judea meant death to Him and them), try to dissuade Him from returning.9. Respondit Iesus: Nonne duodecim sunt horae diei? Si quis ambulaverit in die, non offendit, quia lucem huius mundi videt:9. Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.9. The meaning is: just as a man walks safely and without stumbling during the period of daylight, which is a fixed period that cannot be shortened: so, during the time appointed for My mortal life by My Father, I am safe, and so are you.10. Si autem ambulaverit in nocte offendit, quia lux non est in eo.10. But if he walk in the night he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.10. But after the time of My mortal life, then, indeed,youmay expect persecution and[pg 196]suffering; for when I am gone, you shall be as men walking after the sun's light has gone down.11. Haec, ait, et post haec dixit eis: Lazarus amicus noster dormit: sed vado ut a somno excitem eum.11. These things he said: and after that he said to them: Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.12. Dixerunt ergo discipuli eius: Domine, si dormit, salvus erit.12. His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.13. Dixerat autem Iesus de morte ejus: illi autem putaverunt quia de dormitione somni diceret.13. But Jesus spoke of his death; and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep.14. Tunc ergo Iesus dixit eis manifeste: Lazarus mortuus est:14. Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead;11-14. Jesus declares of His own Divine knowledge (there is no hint of a second message) that Lazarus sleeps. The disciples fail to understand, and He explains.15. Et gaudeo propter vos, ut credatis, quoniam non eram ibi; sed eamus ad eum.15. And I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him.15. Jesus rejoices that He was not with Lazarus, in which case His tender mercies would have led Him to prevent the death of Lazarus, and He rejoices for the sake of His disciples, inasmuch as a new and powerful motive tostrengthentheir faith would now be afforded them in the miracle to be wrought.16. Dixit ergo Thomas, qui dicitur Didymus, ad condiscipulos: Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.16. Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow-disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.16. See verse8.Thomas, Aramaic תאמא, means a twin, the Greek equivalent being Didymus. The Greek equivalent is again mentioned after the name inxx. 24,xxi. 2. Possibly Thomas was commonly known in Asia Minor as Didymus.17. Venit itaque Iesus: et invenit eum quatuor dies iam in monumento habentem.17. Jesus therefore came and found that he had been four days already in the grave.17.Four days.The day of the messenger's arrival would[pg 197]probably be the first day: two other days our Lord remained in Peraea after He had received the news, and one more He would be likely to spend in the journey to Bethania. Dying upon the first day, Lazarus, according to the custom of the Jews, that burial should immediately follow on death (see,e.g., Acts v. 6, 10), had been buried on that same day, as a comparison of this verse with 39 clearly proves.18. (Erat autem Bethania iuxta Ierosolyman quasi stadiis quindecim.)18. (Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.)18. See above on verse1, and especially onvi. 19.19. Multi autem ex Iudaeis venerant ad Martham et Mariam, ut consolarentur eas de fratre suo.19. And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.19.The Jews, whom our Evangelist always carefully distinguishes from the“turba,”or lower class, were leading men among the people; so that it appears from this that the family of Lazarus had a good social standing.20. Martha ergo ut audivit quia Iesus venit, occurrit illi: Maria, autem domi sedebat.20. Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus was come, went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.21. Dixit ergo Martha ad Iesum: Domine si fuisses hic, frater meus non fuisset mortuus:21. Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.22. Sed et nunc scio quia quaecumque poposceris a Deo, dabit tibi Deus.22. But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.22. Even still she has hope that He may intercede with God to restore life to her brother.23. Dicit illi Iesus: Resurget frater tuus.23. Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again.23. In words, purposely ambiguous, and meant to try her faith, Jesus assures her that her brother shall rise again.24. Dicit ei Martha: Scio quia resurget in resurrectione in novissimo die.24. Martha saith to him: I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.24. Understanding Him to speak of the final resurrection,[pg 198]or at least wishing to force Him to explain, she says:I know, &c. Note how Martha's words prove the faith of the Jews of that time in the resurrection of the body.25. Dixit ei Iesus: Ego sum resurrectio et vita: qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet:25. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me although he be dead, shall live.26. Et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in aeternum. Credis hoc?26. And every one that liveth, and believeth in me shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?25, 26. Christ avails of this occasion to perfect her faith, and in the beautiful and consoling words which we read in the antiphon of theBenedictusin the Office for the Dead, declares that He Himself by His own power, and not merely by supplication to the Father, as she imagined (verse22), is the author of our resurrection and life. In the following words He explains what He means. He who believes in Me, and dies in the living faith, which worketh by charity, even though he becorporallydead, like Lazarus, shall live again a glorious life, even in his body; and everyone who is livingin the body, and so believeth shall never die, because though he shall indeed pass through the gates of death, I shall quicken him again to a better life so that he may be said rather to have slept than died.76If this interpretation of the words,“shall never die,”seem to anyone strained, he may take them in reference to the death of the soul; but as there is question in the context of the raising of thebodyof Lazarus, we consider the opinion we have adopted more probable. In these verses, then, Jesus declares Himself the resurrection and the life; the resurrection of thedead, the enduring life of theliving. So that verse 25 encourages Martha to hope to have Lazarus restored to her, and verse 26 warns her to look to herself, in order that she may live for ever.[pg 199]27. Ait illi: Utique Domine, ego credidi quia tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi, qui in hunc mundum venisti.27. She saith to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world.28. Et cum haec dixisset, abiit, et vocavit Mariam, sororem suam silentio, dicens: Magister ad est, et vocat te.28. And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master is come and calleth for thee.29. Illa ut audivit, surgit cito, et venit ad eum.29. She, as soon as she heardthis, riseth quickly and cometh to him.30. Nondum enim venerat Iesus in castellum: sed erat adhuc in illo loco ubi occurrerat ei Martha.30. For Jesus was not yet come into the town; but he was still in that place where Martha had met him.31. Iudaei ergo qui erant cum ea in domo, et consolabantur eam, cum vidissent Mariam quia cito surrexit et exiit, secuti sunt eam dicentes: Quia vadit ad monumentum ut ploret ibi.31. The Jews therefore who were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth to the grave, to weep there.32. Maria ergo, cum venisset ubi erat Iesus, videns eum, cecidit ad pedes eius, et dicit ei: Domine, si fuisses hic, non esset mortuus frater meus.32. When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.27-32. To Christ's question, if she believed what He had said of Himself as the resurrection and the life, she replies that she believes77Him to be the Messias, the Son of God, and so she implicitly believes in everything He teaches, even though, as was probably the case now, she did not quite understand. Then she goes home, and secretly calls her sister Mary, who hurries out to meet Jesus. The Jews, thinking Mary went out to weep at the tomb of Lazarus, follow her,[pg 200]and she and they come to the place where Jesus still remained outside the village. Mary repeats almost the exact words which Martha had used on meeting Jesus.33. Iesus ergo, ut vidit eam plorantem, et Iudaeos qui venerant cum ea, plorantes, infremuit spiritu, et turbavit seipsum.33. Jesus therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself.33. The word ἐνεβριμήσατο which we translategroaned, is far more expressive of indignation than of grief. So Tolet., Beel., Trench, &c. Christ's indignation on the present occasion was on account of sin which brought death upon Lazarus and the whole human race, or rather perhaps on account of the incredulity of the Jews, which made this miracle and the sorrow consequent upon the death of Lazarus necessary.Troubled himself.These words imply Christ's supreme control over the passions of His human nature.34. Et dixit: Ubi posuistis eum? Dicunt ei: Domine, veni, et vide.34. And said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see.34. He knew well, but probably wished to excite their faith and hope by the question.35. Et lacrymatus est Iesus.35. And Jesus wept.35. Truly this is a touching scene! The Lord of heaven weeps over the grave of His departed friend. In no other part of the Gospels are the human and Divine sides of our Blessed Lord's character more clearly brought out than in this beautiful story of the raising of Lazarus. Christ as man weeps over him, whom He is about as God to raise from the dead.36. Dixerunt ergo Iudaei: Ecce quomodo amabat eum.36. The Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him.37. Quidam autem ex ipsis dixerunt: Non poterat hic, qui aperuit oculos caeci nati, facere ut hic non moreretur?37. But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?38. Iesus ergo rursum fremens in semetipso, venit ad monumentum: erat autem spelunca: et lapis superpositus erat ei.38. Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre: Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it.38. Caves were the usual[pg 201]family vaults of the Jews, sometimes natural, sometimes artificial and hollowed out of a rock. See Gen. xxiii. 9; Judith xvi. 24; Isai. xxii. 26; John xix. 41.39. Ait Iesus: Tollite lapidem: Dicit ei Martha, soror eius qui mortuus fuerat: Domine, iam foetet, quatriduanus est enim.39. Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days.39. Martha evidently imagined that Jesus wished merely to see her brother's corpse, and she shudders at the thought of its being exposed, now decomposing, to the gaze of the crowd. Her words and Christ's reply, both show that she did notnowhope that Jesus could raise her brother who was four days dead.A little before indeed she had hoped for even this (verse 22); but now her faith began to waver.“Habuit ergo alternantes motus gratiae et naturae, fidei et diffidentiae, spei et desperationis de resurrectione Lazari”(A Lap.).From this verse we learn that Lazarus was four days dead; from verse 17 that he was four days in the grave; hence he must have been buried on the day he died.40. Dicit ei Iesus: Nonne dixi tibi quoniam si credideris, videbis gloriam Dei?40. Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?40. Christ's reply shows that Martha's faith was now imperfect.Did I not say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?Where He had said these exact words to her is not recorded, but the reference is probably to what was said to the messenger and reported by him to the sisters of Lazarus (4), or to the discourse with Martha, epitomized above (23-26). By the“glory of God”is meant the glorious power of God.41. Tulerunt ergo lapidem: Iesus autem elevatis sursum oculis, dixit: Pater gratias ago tibi quoniam audisti me:41. They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me.41. The stone that closed the mouth of the cave was removed, and Jesus raising His eyes to heaven returns thanks to His Father. As man He returns thanks for the power which He was about to manifest; and He does so before[pg 202]the event, so confident is He that Lazarus will start at His call. Jesus did not enter the sepulchre; if He had entered, our Evangelist who records all the circumstances so minutely would have mentioned the fact. It is hardly necessary to remark upon the absurd explanation of Paulus and Gabler, to the effect that Jesus alone looked into the sepulchre, or alone entered it, and to His surprise found Lazarus alive; that He then returned thanks to God that Lazarus was not dead, and told Lazarus to come out of the sepulchre. For that Christ did not enter the sepulchre, is clear from what has been already stated, as well as from His words,“Come forth,”which imply that He was outside. That He alone looked into the sepulchre, is incredible; for we may be sure that the natural curiosity of the crowd assembled, led many of them to look into the sepulchre. Is it likely too, that if Jesus on looking into the sepulchre saw His friend alive, He would coolly begin to return thanks to God, and then quietly tell Lazarus to come out? He should have been more than man, which our adversaries will not admit Him to have been, to preserve such coolness in such circumstances.42. Ego autem sciebam quia semper me audis: sed propter populum qui circumstat, dixi, ut credant quia tu me misisti.42. And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people who stand about have I said it; that they may believe that thou hast sent me.42. Christ's thanks to the Father on this occasion must not lead us to suppose that some unexpected favour had been conferred by the Father upon Him. He knew well that on account of the conformity of His will with that of His Father, He could ask nothing that His Father could refuse; but He returns thanks now, as He Himself tells us, in order that the people present might believe that the Father had sent Him. In other words, Jesus wished to make the raising of Lazarus a clear proof of His Divinity, by thus calling God to witness to the miracle before it was wrought. Unquestionably the raising of Lazarus from the dead is a most powerful proof of the Divinity of Christ. It was a manifest and public miracle performed in the presence of a whole crowd of witnesses (see19,31,45), performed to prove that Christ had come from the Father (verse42); that He was the resurrection and the life (verses25, 26); that He was the Son of God (verse4); that, in fact, He was all that which, a short[pg 203]time previously, and in Jerusalem itself, He had claimed to be, namely, the Lord of life, one with the Father (x.28,30). Such a miracle in such circumstances God could never have permitted, had Christ not been in truth all that He claimed to be.Rationalists have tried in various ways to explain away this stupendous miracle. Some say that the story is a pure concoction of St. John, else it would have been narrated by some other Evangelist. Others, that the death of Lazarus was merely feigned, a pious ruse in which Christ and Lazarus, as well as Martha and Mary were accomplices, with the object of inducing the people to accept and follow the teachings of Christ.But we need hardly point out how absurd it is to suppose, that St. John would attempt, fifty years after the Synoptic Evangelists, to invent and put forward such a minute account of an extraordinary event till then unheard-of by the Jews. That the other Evangelists make no mention of this stupendous miracle is remarkable, but may be accounted for by the fact that prior to the history of the Passion, they confine their narratives almost entirely to what Christ said and did in Galilee. Hence they do not mention the healing of the man who had been ill for thirty-eight years (Johnv. 5-9), nor of the man born blind (Johnix.), nor, for the same reason, the raising of Lazarus, all these miracles having occurred in Judea.The second theory mentioned above hardly requires refutation. Even His Jewish enemies never accused Christ of fraud or deception; and in this particular instance the Jews, many of whom were hostile to Jesus (verse 46), and no doubt investigated the miracle, had not the slightest suspicion of fraud. So certain were all, even the Pharisees, that the miracle was genuine, that without attempting to deny it, they merely bethink themselves what they will do with Jesus (verses 47, 48).[pg 204]43. Haec cum dixisset, voce magna clamavit: Lazare veni foras.43. When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth.44. Et statim prodiit qui fuerat mortuus, ligatus pedes et manus institis, et facies illius sudario erat ligata. Dixit eis Iesus: Solvite eum, et sinite abire.44. And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding-bands, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him and let him go.45. Multi ergo ex Iudaeis qui venerant ad Mariam et Martham; et viderant quae fecit Iesus, crediderunt in eum.45. Many therefore of the Jews who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.46. Quidam autem ex ipsis abierunt ad pharisaeos, et dixerunt eis quae fecit Iesus.46. But some of them went to the Pharisees, and told them the things that Jesus had done.47. Collegerunt ergo pontifices et pharisaei concilium et dicebant: Quid facimus, quia hic homo multa signa facit?47. The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said: What do we, for this man doth many miracles?48. Si dimittimus eum sic, omnes credent in eum: et venient Romani, et tollent nostrum locum, et gentem.48. If we let him alone so, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come, and take away our place and nation.48. They dreaded lest the Romans, fearing He should become king, should come and destroy their temple and nation.49. Unus autem ex ipsis Caiphas nomine, cum esset pontifex anni illius, dixit eis: Vos nescitis quidquam.49. But one of them named Caiphas, being the high-priest that year, said to them: You know nothing.50. Nec cogitatis quia expedit vobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo, et non tota gens pereat.50. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.51. Hoc autem a semetipso non dixit: sed cum esset pontifex anni illius, prophetavit quod Iesus moriturus erat pro gente.51. And this he spoke not of himself: but being the high-priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation.52. Et non tantum pro gente, sed ut filios Dei, qui erant dispersi, congregaret in unum.52. And not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God, that were dispersed.49-52. Then Caiphas, the High-priest for that year said:You know nothing, &c. Caiphas meant that Jesus should be got rid of to save the Jewish nation from incurring the anger of the Romans. The Holy Ghost, however, as St. John tells us, signified through Caiphas (as an unconscious instrument) that the death of Jesus was necessary for the eternal salvation of the Jewish people, and of all to be called to the faith who were scattered then or since among the Gentiles. Caiphas was unaware of the solemn sense of the words which he enunciated; so that the Holy Ghost speaking through a prophet may sometimes mean one[pg 205]thing, the Prophet himself something quite different. It is the common opinion, too, that even theinspired writersdid not always understand the meaning of what they wrote, and in such cases the sense of Scripture is, of course, that which was intended by the Holy Ghost.Caiphas, whom on this occasion the Holy Ghost employed to declare the necessity for man of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, was the Jewish High-priest at the time (xi. 49,xviii. 13). His father-in-law, Annas, is called High-priest by St. Luke (Luke iii. 2; Acts iv. 6), from which some, as Beelen, conclude, that each filled the office of High-priest every alternate year. For this view, however, there is no historical evidence, and it seems more probable that Annas is called High-priest by St. Luke, not because he was then discharging the duties of the successor of Aaron, but because, having been High-priest, and unlawfully deposed (a.d.14) by Valerius Gratus, the Roman Governor of Judea, he was still regarded by the Jews as the lawful High-priest.78Or it may be that, asPresident of the Sanhedrim, a position which Annas filled, after he had been deposed from that of High-priest, he is styled ἀρχιερεύς by St. Luke. This latter is the view of Cornely,[pg 206]iii., § 76, n. 18. See Acts vii. 1; ix. 1, 2.53. Ab illo ergo die cogitaverunt ut interficerent eum.53. From that day therefore they devised to put him to death.53. Thus the raising of Lazarus, which was the occasion of Caiphas' suggestion, had an important influence upon the final determination of the Jews to put Christ to death. St. John notes the growth of Jewish hostility step by step:v. 16 ff.; vii.32,45ff.;viii. 45 ff.;viii. 59;ix. 22;x. 39.54. Iesus ergo iam non in palam ambulabat apud Iudaeos, sed abiit in regionem iuxta desertum, in civitatem quae dicitur Ephrem, et ibi morabatur cum discipulis suis.54. Wherefore Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews, but he went into a country near the desert, unto a city that is called Ephrem, and there he abode with his disciples.54. The city of Ephrem (Gr. ἐφαίμ) is probably the same to which Josephus refers (Bell. Jud., iv. 9, 9) as situated in the mountains of Judea. The city probably occupied the site of the modern et-Taiyibeh, about 14 miles N.E. of Jerusalem, in the mountainous district lying between the central towns and the Jordan. See Smith'sB. D.55. Proximum autem erat pascha Iudaeorum: et ascenderunt multi Ierosolymam de regione ante pascha, ut sanctificarent seipsos.55. And the pasch of the Jews was at hand: and many from the country went up to Jerusalem before the pasch, to purify themselves.55. This was the fourth and last Pasch of our Lord's public life, and during it He was put to death.To purify themselves;i.e., from any legal uncleanness, in order that they might be able to keep the Passover. See Numb. ix. 10; 2 Paral. xxx. 17; Acts xxi. 24-56. In any case where sacrifice was required in the process of purification, it was necessary to go to Jerusalem, because there only could sacrifice be offered.56. Quaerebant ergo Iesum: et colloquebantur ad invicem, in templo stantes: Quid putatis, quia non venit ad diem festum? Dederant autem pontifices et pharisaei mandatum, ut si quis cognoverit ubi sit, indicet, ut apprehendant eum.56. They sought therefore for Jesus; and they discoursed one with another, standing in the temple: What think you, that he is not come to the festival day? And the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man knew where he was, he should tell, that they might apprehend him.56. Whether those who sought Jesus were His friends or enemies, is disputed. But from what follows in this verse,[pg 207]we believe they were His enemies, who were looking for Him, in order to deliver Him up to the Sanhedrim.What think you, that he is not come to the festival day?We much prefer to understand here two questions—What think you?Do you thinkthat he will not come to the feast? For our Rhemish translation gives ὅτι οὐ μη ἔλθῃ a past, whereas it ought to have a future sense. Hence the Revised Version translates with two questions.

1-3.The illness of Lazarus is made known to Christ.4-10.After the lapse of two days, Christ proposes to return to Judea; the disciples try to dissuade Him.11-16.Before setting out, He declares that Lazarus is dead.17-32.On Christ's approach He is met by the sisters of Lazarus, and many Jews.33-44.Having groaned in the spirit, wept, and returned thanks to His Father, He raises Lazarus from the dead.45-53.Many believed in Him on account of the miracle, but the chief priests and Pharisees forthwith resolved on putting Him to death.54-56.Jesus retired from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and the chief priests and Pharisees gave orders, that anyone knowing where He was, should inform upon Him, in order that He might be arrested.

1-3.The illness of Lazarus is made known to Christ.

4-10.After the lapse of two days, Christ proposes to return to Judea; the disciples try to dissuade Him.

11-16.Before setting out, He declares that Lazarus is dead.

17-32.On Christ's approach He is met by the sisters of Lazarus, and many Jews.

33-44.Having groaned in the spirit, wept, and returned thanks to His Father, He raises Lazarus from the dead.

45-53.Many believed in Him on account of the miracle, but the chief priests and Pharisees forthwith resolved on putting Him to death.

54-56.Jesus retired from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and the chief priests and Pharisees gave orders, that anyone knowing where He was, should inform upon Him, in order that He might be arrested.

1.“The narrative of the raising of Lazarus is unique in its completeness. The essential circumstances of the fact in regard to persons, manner, results, are given with perfect distinctness. The history is more complete than that in chapter ix., because the persons stand in closer connection with the Lord than the blind man, and the event itself had in many ways a ruling influence on the end of His ministry. Four scenes are to be distinguished:—(1) the prelude to the miracle (1-16); (2) the scene at Bethany (17-32); (3) the miracle (33-44); (4) the immediate issues of the miracle (45-57)”(Westcott in the Speakers Comm.).

Bethania.Thisvillagelay nearly two miles east of Jerusalem; see verse18, and our remarks onvi. 19. To prevent the reader from confounding it with Bethania beyond the Jordan (i. 28), the Evangelist adds that he means the village of Mary and of Martha her sister, who are supposed to be already known to the reader from the Synoptic Gospels.[pg 192]See,e.g., Luke x. 38-42. Bethania is spoken of as their village, not because they owned it, but because they resided there, just as Bethsaida is called the city of Andrew and Peter (i. 44). In this village, then, Lazarus wasseriouslyill (ἀσθενῶν; see James v. 14).

2. The Greek aorist (ἡ ἀλέιψασα) shows that the reference is to some unction that had already taken place, and not to that which happened subsequently, and which is narrated by our Evangelist (xii. 3; Matt. xxvi. 7; Mark xiv. 3). The unction here referred to we take to be that recorded by St. Luke (vii. 37, 38); and hence, notwithstanding their apparently different characters, we regard Mary the sister of Lazarus (xi. 2) as identical with“the woman who was a sinner in the city”(Luke vii. 37). For St. John in the words:“Mary was she that anointed the Lord,”&c., certainly seems to speak of an unction already known to his readers, and the only unction of Christ, as far as is known, that had taken place before this illness of Lazarus, is that recorded by St. Luke in the passage referred to. In this view, then, our Lord wastwiceanointed by a woman; on the first occasion in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke vii. 40, 46), probably in Galilee (see Luke vii. 11), as recorded by St. Luke vii. 37, 38; on the second occasion at Bethania, in Judea, in the house of Simon the leper (Matt. xxvi. 6), as recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John (J. xii. 3). As the present verse proves that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, had already anointed our Lord: and as John xii. 3, with its context, proves that the same sister of Lazarus again anointed Him on a subsequent occasion, we hold that the only woman referred to in the Gospels as having anointed the living body of our Lord, is Mary, the sister of Lazarus; and that she did so ontwodifferent occasions. Thus, as already stated, we identify Luke's“sinner in the city”with the sister of Lazarus. If it be objected that the contemplative character of the sister of Lazarus (Luke x. 38-42), and the close friendship of Jesus with her and her family (John xi. 3, 5), forbid us to regard her as identical with the woman who had once been“a sinner in the city,”we reply that Mary, converted in the beginning of our Lord's public life, had now for some years led an edifying life of penance. As a sinner she had lived in some city of Galilee, far away from home, whither she may have gone with some lover whom she met at Jerusalem at one of the great festivals; now she lived with her brother at[pg 193]Bethania, in Judea, where possibly her former sinful life may have been unknown, so that there was no danger of scandal in Christ's friendship with herself and her family. To those who, like Steenkiste (Comm. on Matt. Quaes.678,conclusio), have“a deep-rooted repugnance”to believing that the sister of Lazarus had ever been a public sinner, we would recall the fact that there are many sinners in heaven to-day enjoying the society of God after a far shorter penance than we require to suppose in the case of the sister of Lazarus, before she began to enjoy the friendship of Christ. Our Divine Lord's tenderness and mercy towards sinners are written on every page of the Gospels, and the only real difficulty here is that to which we have already replied, arising from the danger of scandal, through our Lord's associating with such a woman.

Thus far we have spoken only of“the sinner,”and the sister of Lazarus; but there is a further question, whether Mary Magdalen (Luke viii. 2; Matt. xxvii. 56, 61; Matt. xxviii. 1; John xx. 1, &c.) and they are all three, one and the same person. We believe it to be more probable that they are. The more common opinion among the fathers identifies the three; from the sixth till the seventeenth century their identity was unquestioned in the Western Church; and our Roman Breviary and Missal still identify them on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the 22nd of July. So, too, Tertull., Gregory the Great, Mald., Natal-Alex., Mauduit, M'Ev., Corluy.

We have stated what we consider the most probable view—that Christ was twice anointed during His public life, and on both occasions by the same person, the sister of Lazarus, who is identical with“the sinner”and Magdalen. It is right, however, that we should add, that there is great diversity of opinion, even among Catholic commentators. Some have held that there were three different unctions, others that there was only one. Some have held that the sister of Lazarus,“the sinner,”and Magdalen are all three distinct; others, that at least the sister of Lazarus and the sinner are distinct; and among those who will not admit the identity of all three are found such able commentators as St. Chrys., Estius, Calmet, Beelen. In such a case, where the Scriptures are obscure, where the fathers disagree, where commentators are so divided, and the Greek Church, which celebrates three different feasts[pg 194]for the three women,seems(we sayseems, because the different feasts might possibly be celebrated in honour of the same woman) to differ from the Latin, it is hard to attain to anything more than probability, and we have set forth above what, after a very careful examination of the whole question, seems to us most probable. See Corl.,Dissert., p. 263 and foll.; Mald. on Matt. xxvi. 6, 7, and xxvii. 56; Steenk. on Matt.Quaes.678.

3. They merely announce their trouble through a messenger, and in hopeful confidence leave the remedy to Jesus.“Sufficit ut noveris: non enim amas et deseris”(St. Aug. on this verse).

4.And Jesus hearing it, said to them(“to them”(eis) is not genuine):This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.The words of Christ were obscure until the miracle threw light upon them. They mean that the sickness of Lazarus was not to end inordinarydeath, for ordinary death is the end of mortal life, whereas Lazarus was to live again a mortal life. The sickness and death of Lazarus were intended to show forth the Divine power of Jesus in the miracle to be wrought.

5. Some connect this verse with what has gone before, as giving the reason why the sisters of Lazarus informed Jesus of the illness of His friend. But it is better to connect with what follows in this way. Jesus loved Lazarus, and therefore when He had remained in the same place two days, then He said: Let us go into Judea again, as if He were unable to remain any longer away from His friend. Thus it is not merely His return to Judea, but His return after two days, that proves His friendship. Had He returned sooner, the miracle of the raising of Lazarus would have been less striking, and would not have afforded to Martha and Mary such a powerful[pg 195]motive of faith. See below on verse15.

The passing notice here of a friendship that must have been the result of long and intimate intercourse shows us how incomplete are the Gospel records. It is very interesting to notice how in this verse St. John refers to the love of Jesus for Lazarus and his sisters by a different word from that used by the sisters in verse 3. Instead of φιλεῖς, which expresses the affection of personal attachment, St. John, now that there is question of the love of Jesus not only for Lazarus but also for his sisters, uses Ἠγάπα, which expresses rather esteem than love, rather a reasoning appreciation than a heartfelt attachment. See below onxxi. 15-17, where the contrast between the two words is most marked.

8. The disciples, fearing for His safety and for their own (see verse16, where Thomas takes it for granted that return to Judea meant death to Him and them), try to dissuade Him from returning.

9. The meaning is: just as a man walks safely and without stumbling during the period of daylight, which is a fixed period that cannot be shortened: so, during the time appointed for My mortal life by My Father, I am safe, and so are you.

10. But after the time of My mortal life, then, indeed,youmay expect persecution and[pg 196]suffering; for when I am gone, you shall be as men walking after the sun's light has gone down.

11-14. Jesus declares of His own Divine knowledge (there is no hint of a second message) that Lazarus sleeps. The disciples fail to understand, and He explains.

15. Jesus rejoices that He was not with Lazarus, in which case His tender mercies would have led Him to prevent the death of Lazarus, and He rejoices for the sake of His disciples, inasmuch as a new and powerful motive tostrengthentheir faith would now be afforded them in the miracle to be wrought.

16. See verse8.Thomas, Aramaic תאמא, means a twin, the Greek equivalent being Didymus. The Greek equivalent is again mentioned after the name inxx. 24,xxi. 2. Possibly Thomas was commonly known in Asia Minor as Didymus.

17.Four days.The day of the messenger's arrival would[pg 197]probably be the first day: two other days our Lord remained in Peraea after He had received the news, and one more He would be likely to spend in the journey to Bethania. Dying upon the first day, Lazarus, according to the custom of the Jews, that burial should immediately follow on death (see,e.g., Acts v. 6, 10), had been buried on that same day, as a comparison of this verse with 39 clearly proves.

18. See above on verse1, and especially onvi. 19.

19.The Jews, whom our Evangelist always carefully distinguishes from the“turba,”or lower class, were leading men among the people; so that it appears from this that the family of Lazarus had a good social standing.

22. Even still she has hope that He may intercede with God to restore life to her brother.

23. In words, purposely ambiguous, and meant to try her faith, Jesus assures her that her brother shall rise again.

24. Understanding Him to speak of the final resurrection,[pg 198]or at least wishing to force Him to explain, she says:I know, &c. Note how Martha's words prove the faith of the Jews of that time in the resurrection of the body.

25, 26. Christ avails of this occasion to perfect her faith, and in the beautiful and consoling words which we read in the antiphon of theBenedictusin the Office for the Dead, declares that He Himself by His own power, and not merely by supplication to the Father, as she imagined (verse22), is the author of our resurrection and life. In the following words He explains what He means. He who believes in Me, and dies in the living faith, which worketh by charity, even though he becorporallydead, like Lazarus, shall live again a glorious life, even in his body; and everyone who is livingin the body, and so believeth shall never die, because though he shall indeed pass through the gates of death, I shall quicken him again to a better life so that he may be said rather to have slept than died.76If this interpretation of the words,“shall never die,”seem to anyone strained, he may take them in reference to the death of the soul; but as there is question in the context of the raising of thebodyof Lazarus, we consider the opinion we have adopted more probable. In these verses, then, Jesus declares Himself the resurrection and the life; the resurrection of thedead, the enduring life of theliving. So that verse 25 encourages Martha to hope to have Lazarus restored to her, and verse 26 warns her to look to herself, in order that she may live for ever.

27-32. To Christ's question, if she believed what He had said of Himself as the resurrection and the life, she replies that she believes77Him to be the Messias, the Son of God, and so she implicitly believes in everything He teaches, even though, as was probably the case now, she did not quite understand. Then she goes home, and secretly calls her sister Mary, who hurries out to meet Jesus. The Jews, thinking Mary went out to weep at the tomb of Lazarus, follow her,[pg 200]and she and they come to the place where Jesus still remained outside the village. Mary repeats almost the exact words which Martha had used on meeting Jesus.

33. The word ἐνεβριμήσατο which we translategroaned, is far more expressive of indignation than of grief. So Tolet., Beel., Trench, &c. Christ's indignation on the present occasion was on account of sin which brought death upon Lazarus and the whole human race, or rather perhaps on account of the incredulity of the Jews, which made this miracle and the sorrow consequent upon the death of Lazarus necessary.

Troubled himself.These words imply Christ's supreme control over the passions of His human nature.

34. He knew well, but probably wished to excite their faith and hope by the question.

35. Truly this is a touching scene! The Lord of heaven weeps over the grave of His departed friend. In no other part of the Gospels are the human and Divine sides of our Blessed Lord's character more clearly brought out than in this beautiful story of the raising of Lazarus. Christ as man weeps over him, whom He is about as God to raise from the dead.

38. Caves were the usual[pg 201]family vaults of the Jews, sometimes natural, sometimes artificial and hollowed out of a rock. See Gen. xxiii. 9; Judith xvi. 24; Isai. xxii. 26; John xix. 41.

39. Martha evidently imagined that Jesus wished merely to see her brother's corpse, and she shudders at the thought of its being exposed, now decomposing, to the gaze of the crowd. Her words and Christ's reply, both show that she did notnowhope that Jesus could raise her brother who was four days dead.

A little before indeed she had hoped for even this (verse 22); but now her faith began to waver.“Habuit ergo alternantes motus gratiae et naturae, fidei et diffidentiae, spei et desperationis de resurrectione Lazari”(A Lap.).

From this verse we learn that Lazarus was four days dead; from verse 17 that he was four days in the grave; hence he must have been buried on the day he died.

40. Christ's reply shows that Martha's faith was now imperfect.Did I not say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?Where He had said these exact words to her is not recorded, but the reference is probably to what was said to the messenger and reported by him to the sisters of Lazarus (4), or to the discourse with Martha, epitomized above (23-26). By the“glory of God”is meant the glorious power of God.

41. The stone that closed the mouth of the cave was removed, and Jesus raising His eyes to heaven returns thanks to His Father. As man He returns thanks for the power which He was about to manifest; and He does so before[pg 202]the event, so confident is He that Lazarus will start at His call. Jesus did not enter the sepulchre; if He had entered, our Evangelist who records all the circumstances so minutely would have mentioned the fact. It is hardly necessary to remark upon the absurd explanation of Paulus and Gabler, to the effect that Jesus alone looked into the sepulchre, or alone entered it, and to His surprise found Lazarus alive; that He then returned thanks to God that Lazarus was not dead, and told Lazarus to come out of the sepulchre. For that Christ did not enter the sepulchre, is clear from what has been already stated, as well as from His words,“Come forth,”which imply that He was outside. That He alone looked into the sepulchre, is incredible; for we may be sure that the natural curiosity of the crowd assembled, led many of them to look into the sepulchre. Is it likely too, that if Jesus on looking into the sepulchre saw His friend alive, He would coolly begin to return thanks to God, and then quietly tell Lazarus to come out? He should have been more than man, which our adversaries will not admit Him to have been, to preserve such coolness in such circumstances.

42. Christ's thanks to the Father on this occasion must not lead us to suppose that some unexpected favour had been conferred by the Father upon Him. He knew well that on account of the conformity of His will with that of His Father, He could ask nothing that His Father could refuse; but He returns thanks now, as He Himself tells us, in order that the people present might believe that the Father had sent Him. In other words, Jesus wished to make the raising of Lazarus a clear proof of His Divinity, by thus calling God to witness to the miracle before it was wrought. Unquestionably the raising of Lazarus from the dead is a most powerful proof of the Divinity of Christ. It was a manifest and public miracle performed in the presence of a whole crowd of witnesses (see19,31,45), performed to prove that Christ had come from the Father (verse42); that He was the resurrection and the life (verses25, 26); that He was the Son of God (verse4); that, in fact, He was all that which, a short[pg 203]time previously, and in Jerusalem itself, He had claimed to be, namely, the Lord of life, one with the Father (x.28,30). Such a miracle in such circumstances God could never have permitted, had Christ not been in truth all that He claimed to be.

Rationalists have tried in various ways to explain away this stupendous miracle. Some say that the story is a pure concoction of St. John, else it would have been narrated by some other Evangelist. Others, that the death of Lazarus was merely feigned, a pious ruse in which Christ and Lazarus, as well as Martha and Mary were accomplices, with the object of inducing the people to accept and follow the teachings of Christ.

But we need hardly point out how absurd it is to suppose, that St. John would attempt, fifty years after the Synoptic Evangelists, to invent and put forward such a minute account of an extraordinary event till then unheard-of by the Jews. That the other Evangelists make no mention of this stupendous miracle is remarkable, but may be accounted for by the fact that prior to the history of the Passion, they confine their narratives almost entirely to what Christ said and did in Galilee. Hence they do not mention the healing of the man who had been ill for thirty-eight years (Johnv. 5-9), nor of the man born blind (Johnix.), nor, for the same reason, the raising of Lazarus, all these miracles having occurred in Judea.

The second theory mentioned above hardly requires refutation. Even His Jewish enemies never accused Christ of fraud or deception; and in this particular instance the Jews, many of whom were hostile to Jesus (verse 46), and no doubt investigated the miracle, had not the slightest suspicion of fraud. So certain were all, even the Pharisees, that the miracle was genuine, that without attempting to deny it, they merely bethink themselves what they will do with Jesus (verses 47, 48).

48. They dreaded lest the Romans, fearing He should become king, should come and destroy their temple and nation.

49-52. Then Caiphas, the High-priest for that year said:You know nothing, &c. Caiphas meant that Jesus should be got rid of to save the Jewish nation from incurring the anger of the Romans. The Holy Ghost, however, as St. John tells us, signified through Caiphas (as an unconscious instrument) that the death of Jesus was necessary for the eternal salvation of the Jewish people, and of all to be called to the faith who were scattered then or since among the Gentiles. Caiphas was unaware of the solemn sense of the words which he enunciated; so that the Holy Ghost speaking through a prophet may sometimes mean one[pg 205]thing, the Prophet himself something quite different. It is the common opinion, too, that even theinspired writersdid not always understand the meaning of what they wrote, and in such cases the sense of Scripture is, of course, that which was intended by the Holy Ghost.

Caiphas, whom on this occasion the Holy Ghost employed to declare the necessity for man of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, was the Jewish High-priest at the time (xi. 49,xviii. 13). His father-in-law, Annas, is called High-priest by St. Luke (Luke iii. 2; Acts iv. 6), from which some, as Beelen, conclude, that each filled the office of High-priest every alternate year. For this view, however, there is no historical evidence, and it seems more probable that Annas is called High-priest by St. Luke, not because he was then discharging the duties of the successor of Aaron, but because, having been High-priest, and unlawfully deposed (a.d.14) by Valerius Gratus, the Roman Governor of Judea, he was still regarded by the Jews as the lawful High-priest.78

Or it may be that, asPresident of the Sanhedrim, a position which Annas filled, after he had been deposed from that of High-priest, he is styled ἀρχιερεύς by St. Luke. This latter is the view of Cornely,[pg 206]iii., § 76, n. 18. See Acts vii. 1; ix. 1, 2.

53. Thus the raising of Lazarus, which was the occasion of Caiphas' suggestion, had an important influence upon the final determination of the Jews to put Christ to death. St. John notes the growth of Jewish hostility step by step:v. 16 ff.; vii.32,45ff.;viii. 45 ff.;viii. 59;ix. 22;x. 39.

54. The city of Ephrem (Gr. ἐφαίμ) is probably the same to which Josephus refers (Bell. Jud., iv. 9, 9) as situated in the mountains of Judea. The city probably occupied the site of the modern et-Taiyibeh, about 14 miles N.E. of Jerusalem, in the mountainous district lying between the central towns and the Jordan. See Smith'sB. D.

55. This was the fourth and last Pasch of our Lord's public life, and during it He was put to death.To purify themselves;i.e., from any legal uncleanness, in order that they might be able to keep the Passover. See Numb. ix. 10; 2 Paral. xxx. 17; Acts xxi. 24-56. In any case where sacrifice was required in the process of purification, it was necessary to go to Jerusalem, because there only could sacrifice be offered.

56. Whether those who sought Jesus were His friends or enemies, is disputed. But from what follows in this verse,[pg 207]we believe they were His enemies, who were looking for Him, in order to deliver Him up to the Sanhedrim.

What think you, that he is not come to the festival day?We much prefer to understand here two questions—What think you?Do you thinkthat he will not come to the feast? For our Rhemish translation gives ὅτι οὐ μη ἔλθῃ a past, whereas it ought to have a future sense. Hence the Revised Version translates with two questions.

Back to IndexNext