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 1. Now there was a certain man
Lazarus a Bethania, de sick named Lazarus, of
castello Mariae et Marthae Bethania, of the town of Mary
sororis eius. 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.* This _village_ lay nearly two miles east of Jerusalem; see
verse 18, and our remarks on vi. 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. 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 was
_seriously_ ill (ἀσθενῶν; see James v. 14).
2. (Maria autem erat, quae 2. (And Mary was she that
unxit Dominum unguento, et anointed the Lord with
extersit pedes eius capillis ointment and wiped his feet
suis: cuius frater Lazarus with her hair: whose brother
infirmabatur.) 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 was _twice_ anointed 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 on _two_ different 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 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 for the three women, _seems_ (we
say _seems_, 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 3. His sisters therefore sent
ad eum, dicentes: Domine, ecce to him, saying: Lord, behold,
quem amas infirmatur. 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 4. And Jesus hearing it, said
eis: Infirmitas haec non est to them: This sickness is not
ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei, unto death, but for the glory
ut glorificetur Filius Dei per of God: that the Son of God
eam. 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 in _ordinary_ death, 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 5. Now Jesus loved Martha and
Martham, et sororem eius her sister Mary, and Lazarus.
Mariam, et Lazarum.
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 motive of faith. See below on verse 15.
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 on xxi.
15‐17, where the contrast between the two words is most marked.
6. Ut ergo audivit quia, 6. When he had heard therefore
infirmabatur, tunc quidem that he was sick, he still
mansit in eodem loco duobus remained in the same place two
diebus. days.
7. Deinde post haec dixit 7. Then after that he said to
discipulis suis: Eamus in his disciples: Let us go into
Iudaeam iterum. Judea again.
8. Dicunt ei discipuli: Rabbi, 8. The disciples say to him:
nunc quaerebant te Iudaei Rabbi, the Jews but now sought
lapidare, et iterum vadis to stone thee: and goest thou
illuc? thither again?
8. The disciples, fearing for His safety and for their own (see verse 16,
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 9. Jesus answered: Are there
duodecim sunt horae diei? Si not twelve hours of the day?
quis ambulaverit in die, non If a man walk in the day, he
offendit, quia lucem huius stumbleth not, because he
mundi videt: 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 10. But if he walk in the
nocte offendit, quia lux non night he stumbleth, because
est in eo. the light is not in him.
10. But after the time of My mortal life, then, indeed, _you_ may expect
persecution and 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 11. These things he said: and
dixit eis: Lazarus amicus after that he said to them:
noster dormit: sed vado ut a Lazarus our friend sleepeth;
somno excitem eum. but I go that I may awake him
out of sleep.
12. Dixerunt ergo discipuli 12. His disciples therefore
eius: Domine, si dormit, said: Lord, if he sleep, he
salvus erit. shall do well.
13. Dixerat autem Iesus de 13. But Jesus spoke of his
morte ejus: illi autem death; and they thought that
putaverunt quia de dormitione he spoke of the repose of
somni diceret. sleep.
14. Tunc ergo Iesus dixit eis 14. Then therefore Jesus said
manifeste: Lazarus mortuus to them plainly: Lazarus is
est: 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 15. And I am glad for your
credatis, quoniam non eram sakes, that I was not there,
ibi; sed eamus ad eum. 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 to _strengthen_ their faith would now be afforded them in the
miracle to be wrought.
16. Dixit ergo Thomas, qui 16. Thomas therefore, who is
dicitur Didymus, ad called Didymus, said to his
condiscipulos: Eamus et nos, fellow‐disciples: Let us also
ut moriamur cum eo. go, that we may die with him.
16. See verse 8. *Thomas*, Aramaic תאמא, means a twin, the Greek
equivalent being Didymus. The Greek equivalent is again mentioned after
the name in xx. 24, xxi. 2. Possibly Thomas was commonly known in Asia
Minor as Didymus.
17. Venit itaque Iesus: et 17. Jesus therefore came and
invenit eum quatuor dies iam found that he had been four
in monumento habentem. days already in the grave.
17. *Four days.* The day of the messenger’s arrival would 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 18. (Now Bethania was near
Ierosolyman quasi stadiis Jerusalem, about fifteen
quindecim.) furlongs off.)
18. See above on verse 1, and especially on vi. 19.
19. Multi autem ex Iudaeis 19. And many of the Jews were
venerant ad Martham et Mariam, come to Martha and Mary, to
ut consolarentur eas de fratre comfort them concerning their
suo. 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 20. Martha therefore, as soon
quia Iesus venit, occurrit as she heard that Jesus was
illi: Maria, autem domi come, went to meet him; but
sedebat. Mary sat at home.
21. Dixit ergo Martha ad 21. Martha therefore said to
Iesum: Domine si fuisses hic, Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst
frater meus non fuisset been here, my brother had not
mortuus: died.
22. Sed et nunc scio quia 22. But now also I know that
quaecumque poposceris a Deo, whatsoever thou wilt ask of
dabit tibi Deus. 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 23. Jesus saith to her: Thy
frater tuus. 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 24. Martha saith to him: I
resurget in resurrectione in know that he shall rise again
novissimo die. in the resurrection at the
last day.
24. Understanding Him to speak of the final resurrection, 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 25. Jesus said to her: I am
resurrectio et vita: qui the resurrection and the life:
credit in me, etiam si mortuus he that believeth in me
fuerit, vivet: although he be dead, shall
live.
26. Et omnis qui vivit et 26. And every one that liveth,
credit in me, non morietur in and believeth in me shall not
aeternum. Credis hoc? 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 the
_Benedictus_ in the Office for the Dead, declares that He Himself by His
own power, and not merely by supplication to the Father, as she imagined
(verse 22), 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 be _corporally_
dead, like Lazarus, shall live again a glorious life, even in his body;
and everyone who is living _in 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.(76) If 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 the _body_ of 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 the _dead_, the enduring life of the
_living_. 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. Ait illi: Utique Domine, 27. She saith to him: Yea,
ego credidi quia tu es Lord, I have believed that
Christus Filius Dei vivi, qui thou art Christ the Son of the
in hunc mundum venisti. living God, who art come into
this world.
28. Et cum haec dixisset, 28. And when she had said
abiit, et vocavit Mariam, these things, she went, and
sororem suam silentio, dicens: called her sister Mary
Magister ad est, et vocat te. secretly, saying: The master
is come and calleth for thee.
29. Illa ut audivit, surgit 29. She, as soon as she heard
cito, et venit ad eum. _this_, riseth quickly and
cometh to him.
30. Nondum enim venerat Iesus 30. For Jesus was not yet come
in castellum: sed erat adhuc into the town; but he was
in illo loco ubi occurrerat ei still in that place where
Martha. Martha had met him.
31. Iudaei ergo qui erant cum 31. The Jews therefore who
ea in domo, et consolabantur were with her in the house and
eam, cum vidissent Mariam quia comforted her, when they saw
cito surrexit et exiit, secuti Mary that she rose up speedily
sunt eam dicentes: Quia vadit and went out, followed her,
ad monumentum ut ploret ibi. saying: She goeth to the
grave, to weep there.
32. Maria ergo, cum venisset 32. When Mary therefore was
ubi erat Iesus, videns eum, come where Jesus was, seeing
cecidit ad pedes eius, et him, she fell down at his
dicit ei: Domine, si fuisses feet, and saith to him: Lord,
hic, non esset mortuus frater if thou hadst been here, my
meus. 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 believes(77) Him 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, 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 33. Jesus therefore, when he
plorantem, et Iudaeos qui saw her weeping, and the Jews
venerant cum ea, plorantes, that were come with her,
infremuit spiritu, et turbavit weeping, groaned in the
seipsum. spirit, and troubled himself.
33. The word ἐνεβριμήσατο which we translate *groaned*, 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 34. And said: Where have you
eum? Dicunt ei: Domine, veni, laid him? They say to him:
et vide. 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 36. The Jews therefore said:
quomodo amabat eum. Behold how he loved him.
37. Quidam autem ex ipsis 37. But some of them said:
dixerunt: Non poterat hic, qui Could not he that opened the
aperuit oculos caeci nati, eyes of the man born blind,
facere ut hic non moreretur? have caused that this man
should not die?
38. Iesus ergo rursum fremens 38. Jesus therefore again
in semetipso, venit ad groaning in himself, cometh to
monumentum: erat autem the sepulchre: Now it was a
spelunca: et lapis cave; and a stone was laid
superpositus erat ei. over it.
38. Caves were the usual 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 39. Jesus saith: Take away the
lapidem: Dicit ei Martha, stone. Martha, the sister of
soror eius qui mortuus fuerat: him that was dead, saith to
Domine, iam foetet, him: Lord, by this time he
quatriduanus est enim. 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 not _now_ hope 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 40. Jesus saith to her: Did
tibi quoniam si credideris, not I say to thee, that if
videbis gloriam Dei? 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: 41. They took therefore the
Iesus autem elevatis sursum stone away. And Jesus lifting
oculis, dixit: Pater gratias up his eyes said: Father, I
ago tibi quoniam audisti me: 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
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 42. And I knew that thou
semper me audis: sed propter hearest me always, but because
populum qui circumstat, dixi, of the people who stand about
ut credant quia tu me misisti. 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 (see 19, 31, 45),
performed to prove that Christ had come from the Father (verse 42); that
He was the resurrection and the life (verses 25, 26); that He was the Son
of God (verse 4); that, in fact, He was all that which, a short 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
(John v. 5‐9), nor of the man born blind (John ix.), 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).
43. Haec cum dixisset, voce 43. When he had said these
magna clamavit: Lazare veni things, he cried with a loud
foras. voice: Lazarus, come forth.
44. Et statim prodiit qui 44. And presently he that had
fuerat mortuus, ligatus pedes been dead came forth, bound
et manus institis, et facies feet and hands with winding‐
illius sudario erat ligata. bands, and his face was bound
Dixit eis Iesus: Solvite eum, about with a napkin. Jesus
et sinite abire. said to them: Loose him and
let him go.
45. Multi ergo ex Iudaeis qui 45. Many therefore of the Jews
venerant ad Mariam et Martham; who were come to Mary and
et viderant quae fecit Iesus, Martha, and had seen the
crediderunt in eum. things that Jesus did,
believed in him.
46. Quidam autem ex ipsis 46. But some of them went to
abierunt ad pharisaeos, et the Pharisees, and told them
dixerunt eis quae fecit Iesus. the things that Jesus had
done.
47. Collegerunt ergo 47. The chief priests
pontifices et pharisaei therefore and the Pharisees
concilium et dicebant: Quid gathered a council, and said:
facimus, quia hic homo multa What do we, for this man doth
signa facit? many miracles?
48. Si dimittimus eum sic, 48. If we let him alone so,
omnes credent in eum: et all will believe in him, and
venient Romani, et tollent the Romans will come, and take
nostrum locum, et gentem. 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 49. But one of them named
Caiphas nomine, cum esset Caiphas, being the high‐priest
pontifex anni illius, dixit that year, said to them: You
eis: Vos nescitis quidquam. know nothing.
50. Nec cogitatis quia expedit 50. Neither do you consider
vobis ut unus moriatur homo that it is expedient for you
pro populo, et non tota gens that one man should die for
pereat. the people, and that the whole
nation perish not.
51. Hoc autem a semetipso non 51. And this he spoke not of
dixit: sed cum esset pontifex himself: but being the high‐
anni illius, prophetavit quod priest of that year, he
Iesus moriturus erat pro prophesied that Jesus should
gente. die for the nation.
52. Et non tantum pro gente, 52. And not only for the
sed ut filios Dei, qui erant nation, but to gather together
dispersi, congregaret in unum. 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 thing, the
Prophet himself something quite different. It is the common opinion, too,
that even the _inspired writers_ did 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, as _President 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, iii., § 76, n.
18. See Acts vii. 1; ix. 1, 2.
53. Ab illo ergo die 53. From that day therefore
cogitaverunt ut interficerent they devised to put him to
eum. 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, 45 ff.; viii. 45 ff.; viii. 59; ix. 22;
x. 39.
54. Iesus ergo iam non in 54. Wherefore Jesus walked no
palam ambulabat apud Iudaeos, more openly among the Jews,
sed abiit in regionem iuxta but he went into a country
desertum, in civitatem quae near the desert, unto a city
dicitur Ephrem, et ibi that is called Ephrem, and
morabatur cum discipulis suis. 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’s _B. D._
55. Proximum autem erat pascha 55. And the pasch of the Jews
Iudaeorum: et ascenderunt was at hand: and many from the
multi Ierosolymam de regione country went up to Jerusalem
ante pascha, ut sanctificarent before the pasch, to purify
seipsos. 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 56. They sought therefore for
colloquebantur ad invicem, in Jesus; and they discoursed one
templo stantes: Quid putatis, with another, standing in the
quia non venit ad diem festum? temple: What think you, that
Dederant autem pontifices et he is not come to the festival
pharisaei mandatum, ut si quis day? And the chief priests and
cognoverit ubi sit, indicet, the Pharisees had given a
ut apprehendant eum. 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, 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 think *that 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.