John 11:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When they still hesitated, He says, "He has died." He used the first expression because He wished to teach them not to seek glory. And since the disciples thought the Lord was speaking of falling asleep in the sense of sleep, He spoke with greater clarity.

Seeing that His disciples still did not understand Him, the Lord says plainly that Lazarus "has died." Why, then, did He first speak not plainly but in a veiled way, calling death "sleep"? For many reasons. First, because of humility. He did not wish to appear boastful, but veiledly called the resurrection an awakening from sleep. How could He have used this expression, if He had not called death sleep? That this is true, namely that He spoke veiledly out of humility, is clear from what follows. For after saying that Lazarus "has died," the Lord did not add, "I am going to raise him." Do you see how He did not wish to boast in words of what He intended to confirm by deed? At the same time, the Lord teaches us not to be hasty in our promises.

Since the disciples did not understand that He had called death sleep, He revealed it more clearly, saying, "He has died." He says that He rejoices, not from love of glory because He intends to perform a miracle, but because this would become an occasion for the disciples' faith. The saying, "that I was not there," has this meaning: if I had been there, he would not have died, for I would have had mercy on him even in a slight illness. But now death has occurred in My absence, so that by raising him I may give you great benefit for your faith in Me. Christ says this not because He performs divine works only when He is present. Rather, He says that, had He been present, He would not have allowed His friend to come under death's dominion. And He says, "Let us go to him," as to one who is alive. For the dead live for Him as God, since they are to live.

They sent for Him so that He might heal Lazarus from illness, not from death. But how could death be hidden from Him into whose hands the soul of the dead man had departed?

All physicians give themselves to the sick man so that he may not die. But the Healer of Lazarus waited for his death, so that He might reveal His victory over death.

To this He answered plainly: "He has died. Being away, I am as man; as God, I know all things. Now, if we truly arrive beforehand, I shall raise the corpse and at once stop the tears of Mary and Martha."

After this, however, removing the veil that brought darkness, He reveals the truth most clearly and says plainly, "Lazarus has died." They did not know what His words meant, and they showed this ignorance all the more by giving an answer utterly out of place. Therefore the Lord, to explain the matter, very fittingly adds at once, "Lazarus has died." It is as though He said, "From this explanation, understand what will follow. For I go to awaken him." He speaks without vainglory. In His words He shows neither ambition, nor weakness, nor ignorance. Rather, He reveals all at once the wisdom, foreknowledge, and power that belonged to His nature. He foretold the event so certainly, as though the future were already present.

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.

They did not understand Jesus, and therefore He had to tell them plainly that Lazarus had died.

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.

He spoke plainly, without figurative speech (cf. Jn 10:24; Jn 16:25). He sets this forth as a decisive motive for the journey and removes every contradiction.

Now the words, "I go to awaken him," should have been fully intelligible to the disciples from earlier examples of such awakening, that is, resurrection (Mt 9:24 and following; Mk 5:29 and following). Yet the Lord now expresses this same thought, that He is going to awaken Lazarus, differently and with special solemnity.

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.

Lazarus died, a faithful friend of God, as is clear from the testimony of the Gospel. According to John, for forty years he compensated for the damage of the flesh by works of the will.

After a swift death, owed to his earthly constitution, that is, more to the earth itself than to humanity, Lazarus was buried in a tomb. For, as Genesis says, the dust of the earth also answers for us. Christ the Judge was far away, bearing the gifts of salvation in the regions of Judea. Lazarus was buried so that he might become what he was before: dust.