John 11:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They did not say this simply, but in order to prevent Him from going there. "You say," they object, "that he is sleeping? Then there is no special need to go there." Yet He had said "our friend" precisely to show the necessity of going.

The disciples, not suspecting the hidden meaning of His words, say to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." For sleep is considered a natural medicine for the sick.

When the disciples heard this, they said, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." They judged not according to piety, but from a medical point of view. Sleep is indeed harmful to those sinking into lethargy, yet in some illnesses it relieves more than perspiration.

The disciples, wishing to hold Him back from the journey there, say: It is enough if he has fallen asleep. If he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Therefore we do not need to go, for there is no necessity.

Although the Lord, speaking of Lazarus, added, "My friend," in order to show the necessity of being there, the disciples insist that His visit is not needed. They say Lazarus can recover precisely because he has fallen asleep.

Not understanding the meaning of His words, they thought that Jesus was speaking of the repose of sleep. Such sleep occurs in many sick persons and brings them relief. Therefore they say that there is no proper reason to go and awaken Lazarus from sleep, since it is not useful to wake a sick man. They said this because they wished to keep Him from the journey. They were indicating that it was not worth being among murderers in order to do something unprofitable.

His disciples said, understanding as they did, and answering accordingly: "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Sleep is usually a sign of returning health. Jesus was speaking of his death, but they thought He was speaking of ordinary sleep.

The disciples said, "He will be saved," that is, he will recover. They wished to turn Him away from His intention, because they were still afraid.

As soon as they heard His words, the Apostles all cried out to the Lord as with one voice: "Sleep for men is for healing, and not at all for destruction."

Meanwhile the Lord remained in the same place where the news of Lazarus's illness had reached Him. Two days later He began to speak to the disciples of His intention to go again into Judea. The disciples were troubled when they heard of this intention after the recent hostilities in Jerusalem. Against their objections the Lord set this one point: His day had not yet ended. Therefore His way there, and theirs with Him, was safe. Then, explaining the reason for the journey, He added, "Lazarus, our friend, has fallen asleep." Seeing that His disciples did not understand, He said plainly that he had died. He added, "I am glad that he died without Me. This is better for you, namely for your faith. Let us go to him. I will awaken him in your presence," showing that death is like sleep.

After this Jesus Christ says to His disciples, "Lazarus, our friend, has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." The disciples thought that the Lord was speaking of ordinary sleep. They understood the words "awaken him" to mean, "heal him." Since they did not want Christ to go into Judea, they say that if Lazarus has fallen asleep, this is a good sign. It shows that he will recover, and therefore the Lord need not trouble Himself with a journey to Bethany to heal the sick man. Then the Lord says to them plainly, "Lazarus has died." He adds, "And I rejoice for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe." That is, the Lord rejoices for the disciples that, by the will of God the Father, He did not heal the sick Lazarus.

The Apostles, not losing hope of holding Jesus back from the dangerous journey to Jerusalem, observed that there was no need to go if Lazarus had fallen asleep. Sleep is a sign that the illness has turned and is moving toward recovery: "If he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

Then He told them that Lazarus had fallen asleep, and that He was now going to awaken him. At least three of them should have remembered how, on another well-known occasion, the Savior had spoken of death as sleep. But either others had heard those words, or they were too slow to recall them. Since they understood His words as referring to ordinary natural sleep, He had to tell them plainly that Lazarus had died. He also said that He rejoiced in this for their sake, that they might believe, because He was now going to raise him to life.

"If he has fallen asleep, he will recover." This answer is taken from practical observation, since in certain illnesses sleep is a sign that the illness has turned for the better. It seems strange that the disciples did not understand the Lord's words about Lazarus's death. Yet two things must be kept in mind. First, they did not understand the Lord's words, "This sickness is not unto death," as referring to his coming miraculous resurrection. Rather, by analogy with Jn 9:3, they thought the Lord would come and miraculously heal him. Second, despite the Lord's encouragement (Jn 11:9-10), they did not wish to go into Judea (Jn 11:8). They used the literal sense of His words to try once more to dissuade Him from this journey. They argued that if Lazarus's illness had taken a favorable turn, there was now no reason to go into Judea; cf. Theophylact.

Verses 11-16. When Jesus said that Lazarus was sleeping and that it was necessary to awaken him, the disciples thought He was speaking of ordinary sleep. Yet among the Jews death too was called sleep: Sir 46:22; Sir 48:14; Jer 51:39; 1 Thess 4:13; Acts 7:60; Acts 13:36. "If Lazarus has fallen asleep, he will recover," the disciples said. The Hebrews used to say, "The sleep of a sick man is a sign of recovery." The Savior then said plainly that Lazarus had died, and added that He rejoiced that He had not been at his sickbed. Why? Otherwise love would have compelled Him, at the request of those He loved, to restore health to the sick man. But would that have been the same as restoring life to one who had died?

Let us again note the detail with which this event is described, including the words spoken by the disciples and their thoughts, which were open to the Knower of hearts. Apart from the divine character of the sacred books, the Lord, when choosing an instrument for writing them, does not remove the writer's individual human personality. In the Gospel of John we see that the sacred narrative is written by an eyewitness. He was not only present at all these events, but was close to the Lord in the flesh, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." The disciples thought, according to popular belief, that a sick man's sleep meant a speedy healing. So they addressed this remark to the Lord, asking His view of the sleep about which He Himself had spoken, after adding that He was going to awaken Lazarus.