John 11:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But if Bethany was fifteen stadia away, which is two miles, how could Lazarus have been "four days in the tomb" (Jn 11:39)? Christ remained in that place for two days. On the day before those two days, the messenger came with the news, and on that very day Lazarus died. Thus Christ arrived precisely on the fourth day. Therefore He waited to be called, and did not enter of His own accord without invitation, so that no one would suspect the event. Nor did the sisters themselves, whom He loved, come. Outsiders were sent.

The Lord deliberately delayed until Lazarus had completed four days. Then He went, so that the miracle might be free from slander on every side.

He therefore states the number of days after Lazarus's death, so as to arouse greater wonder at the miracle. He does this so that no one could say that He came after one day, and that Lazarus was not dead, but that He raised him while he was still sick.

Much can be said about the four days, as about many obscure passages of Scripture. They give rise to as many interpretations as there are people who attempt to understand them.

Let us also state our judgment about the meaning of the dead man who lay four days in the tomb. As we understand in the blind man, in a certain way, the human race, so perhaps in this one dead man we should understand many.

The same thing can be expressed figuratively in different ways. When man is born, he is already born with death, for he bears sin from Adam.

For this reason the Apostle says: "As by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, because in him all sinned" (Rom 5:12).

Lazarus died on the same day after his sisters, Martha and Mary, had sent to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ remained two days in the place where He was, namely that very day and the next.

On the third day He said to the disciples, "Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep," and so forth. On the fourth day He came, because He was waiting until the smell of the corpse could be noticed. Thus He would reveal the greatness of His power all the more strongly.

The sisters sent no longer to Jesus Christ, because they had already despaired that their brother would remain alive.

Jesus now goes to Judea in the body. Yet in His divinity He always embraces and fills the world, and those in the world, like poor little locusts.

He who fills all things came to Bethany to accomplish divine works. When Death heard the sound of His feet, he whispered to Hades: "What feet are these, Death, trampling upon my head? Alas, Jesus is surely drawing near. He has returned to demand payment from us.

"He escapes us, then, as once the widow's son escaped, and now Lazarus. He will arise. He will rise, saying: You are life and resurrection.

"Victorious Death, unconquered one, listen to Hades your friend, and abandon these labors. Do not bring me food, for I cannot digest it. You bring me corpses bound fast. As soon as I swallow them, I vomit them up.

Thus this was taking place. Meanwhile Lazarus was already dead and decaying, when Jesus, Christ and God, the giver of life, appears. First the vessel had to be broken, and only then the potter had to come. First the house had to be destroyed, and only then the builder had to appear. Therefore, now that Christ, God the Word, enters Bethany, let us also follow Him there with our speech. What does the Gospel say? "When Jesus came." Where, and from where? To Bethany from beyond the Jordan. But where is Christ not present? Or what place can be without Him? Here, however, He must be understood as man, not as God. God is an infinite and uncontainable being, whom nothing can limit. "When Jesus came, He found that he had already been four days in the tomb." He did this with a wise purpose.

When Jesus was approaching Bethany, He was told that Lazarus had died and had already been in the tomb four days.

Having traveled the road before them, the Savior and His disciples drew near to Bethany. Yet He did not at once enter the hospitable house, but stopped at some distance from the village.

Its nearness to Jerusalem, from which it was only about two and a half miles away, had attracted many notable Jews. So had the exceptional wealth and prominence of the family.

They had come to comfort the orphaned sisters and mourn with them. Among such determined enemies, it was plainly necessary to act with caution.

Meanwhile Mary, faithful to her contemplative nature and her love of solitude, sat at home, unaware of the Savior's approach. Martha, the more active of the two, had already learned of His arrival and immediately went to meet Him.

When He came: that is, to the village, though He had not yet entered the village itself (Jn 11:30). He was probably not far from the place where Lazarus's tomb was (Jn 11:34).

"He found," and so forth: this is the Evangelist's general remark that four days had passed since Lazarus's burial. See the note on Jn 11:11-13.

Verses 17-19. "He found that he had already been four days in the tomb." The Savior remained in that place for two days after they told Him of Lazarus's illness. More than a day had to be spent on the road from Perea to Bethany. According to the custom of the Jews, the dead man was placed in the burial cave on the very day of his death; Acts 5:6, 10. The dead were not left in the house overnight. Thus it becomes clear that Lazarus's death occurred on the same day when they spoke to Jesus about his grave illness. Bethany was fifteen stadia from Jerusalem, that is, three and a half versts; Lk 24:50; Acts 1:12. Because of this short distance, many from Jerusalem came to Bethany to the sisters of Lazarus, to comfort them in their sorrow.

We mentioned above the observation of St. John Chrysostom, in Homily 62 on John. The Lord judged it necessary, for the full confirmation of the miracle, that the departed Lazarus should undergo corruption.

Thus among the unbelieving Jews not even a shadow of doubt could remain concerning the great sign that had been accomplished.

When the Lord spoke to the disciples about the death of Lazarus, it probably occurred at that very moment. Therefore one may suppose that the Lord traveled four days, or three if He set out on the following day.

Let us not forget that the Savior always walked on foot like a poor traveler. The only exception was His solemn entry into Jerusalem on a young donkey from the Mount of Olives.

And here, amid the oppressive circles of darkness and the shadows of terrible blackness, he lies for four days. They pass in succession, increasing and fading away. I would say he lies eight days, if the lightless nights are counted with them.

His jaws are wide open and hanging down. The teeth in his mouth are falling out. His lips are closed, for he is truly decomposing, like a crumbling mass seized by earthly corruption.

His wretched burial has condemned his sinews, together with his whole body, to pitiable dissolution. As his limbs waste away, the blackened skin stretches over drying ribs that can easily be counted.

A stream of bodily fluid flows from the cavity of his inner organs. Already stinking like a sewer, it runs thickly and darkly from the corpse.