John 11:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He also usefully mentions Lazarus’s sisters, adding the particular thing that belonged to Mary: “It was Mary who anointed the Lord with myrrh.”

Some are perplexed here and ask how Christ allowed a woman to do this. Therefore we must first observe that this is not the harlot mentioned in Matthew, Mt 26:7, nor the one mentioned in Luke, Lk 7:37.

No, this is another woman. Those were indeed harlots and full of many vices. But this woman was honorable and zealous, concerned with receiving Christ.

The Evangelist indicates that the sisters also loved Christ, and yet He allowed Lazarus to die. Why then did they not leave their sick brother and go themselves to Christ, as the centurion and the royal official did?

One must also know that this Mary, who anointed the Lord with myrrh, was neither the harlot mentioned by the Evangelist Luke (Lk 7:37-50), nor the woman mentioned by the Evangelist Matthew (Mt 26:7). She was another woman, not a harlot, but honorable, beloved of God, and zealous.

She cared for the reception of Christ and served Him, as John himself later testifies (Jn 12:2). The Lord also testifies of her that she chose the good part, as the Evangelist Luke notes (Lk 10:42).

These sisters were so wondrous and venerable that Lazarus became known chiefly because of them. For it is said that Lazarus was from Bethany, from the village of Mary and Martha.

The Evangelist deliberately mentions the women’s names, showing that they were renowned as God-fearing women, and that for this reason the Lord loved them.

Although, as we should think, Mary had done many other things for the Lord, the Evangelist mentions precisely the fragrant ointment, and not by chance.

He does this to show that Mary had such longing for Christ that she “wiped His feet” with her “hair.” She was seeking to implant more truly within herself the spiritual blessing from His Holy Flesh.

For she often appears listening to Christ with great ardor and diligence, and through this she acquires kinship with Him.

Therefore, because of the love of these women, their brother also was worthy to be loved by Christ, for He loved him very greatly as well (Jn 11:5, 36).

Here John confirms the passage in Luke where it is said that this took place in the house of a certain scribe, Simon, while Mary performed this act on another occasion. That she did it again in Bethany is not mentioned in Luke's narrative, but it appears in the other three Gospels.

See Lk 7:37-50. See also the commentary on verse 1.

But perhaps you say, “Reveal which one He crowned and which one He saved, for we know that Christ snatched Lazarus from the hand of Hades.”

It was Mary, as Scripture says, whom He saved from seven demons. She also anointed with myrrh the Giver of spices, and with her hair wiped the feet that cleanse the whole man from the stain of the deceiver.

At that time He crowned Martha, when she served them with love. He also encouraged her in her weeping over her brother, saying to her: “He will arise; he will rise, saying: Thou art life and resurrection.”

On the illness, see the commentary on Jn 11:1 or Jn 11:3. On Mary's anointing, see the commentary on Jn 12:3.

The sisters of Lazarus probably heard that Jesus Christ was not far from them in Perea, and they sent to inform Him of the illness of their brother, whom He loved.

On the one hand, they knew that in Judea Jesus Christ was threatened with the danger of death. On the other hand, they believed that He could perform a healing even from afar.

Therefore they did not express a request that He come to them and heal their brother, but only informed Him of the latter’s illness.

In reply to this message, Jesus Christ says: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

By this He comforted Mary and Martha, as well as their friends who were the messengers, giving a promise that Lazarus would not die.

The news of Lazarus’s illness. Jesus was approaching Jerusalem and was already not far from Bethany, a village on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, where Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, lived (Lk 10:38-42).

Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sisters, hearing of Jesus’ approach, sent to tell Him this, hoping, of course, that He would hurry to them and heal the sick man.

Jesus loved the whole family of Lazarus. Whenever He journeyed to Jerusalem, He would stop at his house to rest from the noise of the crowd that followed Him everywhere.

When He was approaching the border of Judea, He received sorrowful news from Bethany (see Lk 10:38-42): the one whom He loved "was dangerously ill" (Jn 11:1-16). With this news, Lazarus's sisters sent a special messenger to Him. Seeing no hope for their beloved brother's recovery, they asked Christ to come to them as soon as possible. By His divine participation, they hoped He might somehow help them in the grief that had befallen them. On Mary's anointing, see Jn 12.

"It was that Mary," and so forth: this points to an event that happened somewhat later and is described by John himself (Jn 12:1 and following). John now refers to this event as one that afterward made Mary especially renowned. He probably does so to characterize more clearly the Lord's relationship to this family.

The raising of Lazarus, Jn 11:1-57. Verses 1-3. St. John passes over in silence the period from the Feast of Dedication, at the end of December, to the resurrection of Lazarus, which took place about two weeks before Pascha.

The deeds and teachings of these three months are described by the other Evangelists: Lk 13-18, Mk 10, Mt 23:37-39, Mt 19:3-12, and Mt 24:26-41.

Here also, as in other cases, the Evangelists’ narratives agree with one another. According to Luke, Lk 17:11, Jesus, “as He went to Jerusalem, passed between Samaria and Galilee.”

That is, He passed along the southern border of Samaria, and therefore through the very region indicated by St. John when he said that Jesus withdrew to Perea, Jn 10:40-42.

We know that the Evangelist John the Theologian, in Jn 20:30-31, says that he did not consider it possible to write an account of all the miracles performed by the Lord: "These are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

From all the miracles wrought by the Lord, John the Theologian selects seven. Among them the resurrection of Lazarus is the last. These seven miracles are: 1. the changing of water into wine at Cana, Jn 2:1; 2. the healing of the nobleman's son at Capernaum, Jn 4:46; 3. the healing of the paralytic in Jerusalem, at the pool of Bethesda, Jn 5:1; 4. the miraculous multiplication of the loaves on the shore of the lake of Galilee, Jn 6:1; 5. the Lord's walking upon the waters, Jn 6:16; 6. the healing of the man born blind in Jerusalem, Jn 9:1; and 7. the resurrection of Lazarus in Bethany near Jerusalem.

Of the seven miracles, three were performed in Galilee and three in Jerusalem. The walking upon the waters is a manifestation of the Lord's dominion, as God, over the whole earth.

Two miracles, the first and the last, were performed as it were within the circle of family life, though they at once became widely known. Four miracles were performed before a great gathering of people and before the eyes of the Lord's enemies. The seventh miracle, the walking upon the waters, was performed only before the eyes of the disciples, though it too immediately became known.

The very sequence of the miracles, as they are related in the Gospel according to John, invites reflection. The first miracle, the changing of water into wine, reveals the Lord Jesus as sovereign over nature. The moral effect of this miracle extended only to the narrow circle of the Lord's closest and first disciples. Only later did this miracle become known.

Yet the glory of the Lord increases with every day. "The blind see, the deaf hear, lepers are cleansed." Demons tremble and are cast out. At last, the dead are raised.

The people of Galilee are shaken by the report that the nobleman's son and the centurion's servant were restored from the bed of death. After this, Jairus's daughter is raised from the dead within the walls of the house. The son of the widow of Nain is raised before the eyes of the crowd, by the word of the Lord.

In Jerusalem the people are stirred by the healing of the paralytic who had lain hopelessly for thirty-eight years. Yet the malice of the Jews is so strong that the Lord leaves Jerusalem and goes again into Galilee.

There the multiplication of the loaves and the Lord's walking upon the waters take place. The first miracle fed a crowd of many thousands. Yet only the disciples could grasp the full greatness of the miracle. They saw that, despite their abundant distribution of food, it did not fail in their hands.

Their hearts could not but open wide to faith in the Lord. That same night this faith was strengthened still more by the appearing of the Lord walking upon the waters. Once again, in human flesh, He revealed Himself as Master of nature and its powers.

With these disciples now strengthened in faith, the Lord again goes to Jerusalem and heals the man born blind. Again in Jerusalem this miracle provokes an outburst of malice among the Jews.

The prince of darkness, through his faithful servants, the Pharisees and the rulers of the Jews, wages war against light and truth. Yet he is struck down by the last great miracle described by the Evangelist John: the resurrection of a man who had been dead four days.

The Evangelists have left us an account of three miracles in which the Lord raised the dead: the daughter of Jairus, Mt 9 and Mk 5:29, 35ff.; the widow's son in Nain, Lk 7ff.; and the resurrection of Lazarus, Jn 11.

John the Theologian relates the resurrection of Lazarus, of which the preceding Evangelists do not speak. He does not relate the accounts of Jairus's daughter and the son of the widow of Nain, because these events were already known to Christians.

Yet there are deeper reasons why John narrates precisely this event. First, it takes place, so to speak, at the very gates of Jerusalem. Some of those Jews who, in their bitterness, resolved at all costs to kill the Lord saw it with their own eyes.

Second, in none of the miracles did the sacred image of the God-man appear so clearly to man. As true man, the Lord Jesus grieved, was troubled in spirit, and shed precious human tears over the sorrow of His brethren according to the flesh.

As God, He commands the dead man to rise and go, alive, to the living. By the word of the Creator, he rises from corruption. It is impossible to portray the great image of the God-man more clearly in human words.

Some have asked why the resurrection of Lazarus did not enter the narrative of the first three Gospels. We answer that there are several reasons for this. The first is that the Apostles and disciples of the Lord are "His witnesses."

Perhaps none of the first three Evangelists was an eyewitness of the resurrection of Lazarus. Therefore they keep silence about what they had not seen themselves. Besides, they knew that John was still alive among them, one of the chief pillars of the first Church.

They also knew that he had been an eyewitness of this event. Undoubtedly, even before writing the Gospel, he had preached and taught about it orally.

It is likely that the first Evangelists saw with their own eyes the resurrection of the widow's son in Nain, and therefore recorded it. They also stood at the door of Jairus's house when his daughter was raised.

Having at hand a vast material, both from their own memories and from tradition, they selected for writing precisely what, humanly speaking, remained more strongly in their memory. Yet it was written by the command of the Spirit of God.

Thus that sacred teaching was formed which is called the fourfold Gospel. Strictly speaking, however, it is one Gospel. Its parts were grouped and written in the order in which they needed to appear for the Church of Christ.

In the West it is also conjectured that Lazarus himself and his family were still alive when Matthew's first Gospel appeared in Hebrew. Perhaps this circumstance also caused the resurrection of Lazarus not to be included in Matthew's Gospel, lest murder by the Jews be brought upon him and his family.

It is necessary, however, to note the following. In one respect, the resurrection of Lazarus, the faithful friend of the Lord, was a family event. Though the three Evangelists pass over it in silence, they all relate the people's rapturous meeting of the Lord on the Mount of Olives.

This took place when He entered Jerusalem as He went to His Passion. The people, however, were thinking of an earthly kingdom.

Yet it must be understood that this solemn meeting by the people is closely connected with the last great miracle, the resurrection of Lazarus. This miracle could not remain hidden from anyone.

A man known to have died and been solemnly buried appeared alive. Such a report could not fail to spread among the people with lightning speed. This was especially so because many of the most prominent Jews from Jerusalem were eyewitnesses of the miracle.

The people joyfully greet and glorify God, who raises the dead, and who has appeared in the form of the Son of David, whose coming was foretold by the prophets. We know the end of this enthusiasm, which passed into cries of, "Crucify Him!"

In the account of the resurrection of Lazarus, we note four moments. First, the Lord is still in the country beyond the Jordan. The messengers inform Him of Lazarus's illness, but the Lord remains for some time where He is, in order to strengthen the faith of His disciples.

Second, the Lord is in Bethany. Here, in human form, He shows us by His example that human feelings, sorrow, and tears are holy things, sanctified by the Lord in His body.

Tears stream from the eyes of the God-man. Even among the Jews, the flame of faith and love is kindled. Which of them took the right path, and which returned to the path of the devil, we do not know.

Yet it is likely that those who felt within themselves the holy feeling of faith before the sign remained faithful to the Lord.

The sisters of Lazarus are both believing and loving souls, though unlike in character. Each expresses her faith according to her own nature. The traits recorded by the Evangelist strike us by their truth. Only an eyewitness of the events could have recorded them so.

Third, after this the miracle itself is performed, the resurrection from the dead. We regard the fourth part of the account as the indication of the miracle's consequences.

On the one hand, among the Jews there emerge people capable and ready to be received into the number of Christ's sheep. On the other hand, the embittered sons of perdition resolve at once to carry out their long-standing intention to kill the Lord.

Some of them try to justify the intended murder by political considerations. Before the last Passover, the Lord withdraws to the border of the wilderness, to the city of Ephraim.

This great final miracle brings among the Jews that definitive "division" of which the Lord had spoken earlier, Lk 12:51. The faithful servants of God are separated from the children of the devil.

For the servants and children of God, the miracle of Lazarus's resurrection becomes a revelation of the general resurrection of the dead. It is also a foreshadowing of the Lord's radiant Resurrection, which would fill their hearts with great joy after the terrible sorrow that was to visit them.

Moreover, the resurrection of Lazarus to temporal life bore witness to life beyond the grave. It opened before thought the immeasurable horizon of eternity.

It also showed that the raising of Lazarus to temporal life, by the voice of the Master of all things, both temporal and eternal, is not the goal of life. It is only a sign bearing witness to the meaning of Him who said, "He who believes in Me has eternal life," Jn 6:47; cf. Jn 5:24; 6:40, 54; 10 and elsewhere.

Thus the merciful Lord led His disciples, and with them all Christians, from revelation to revelation and from miracle to miracle. He did this so that spiritual knowledge, which is faith, might flare up with full flame.

In His last discourse with the disciples, the Lord finally reveals to the faithful all the mysteries of spiritual life which man is given to know on earth.

"Let faith not fail upon the earth," we pray to the Lord. Otherwise mankind will not only be deprived of eternal blessedness, but will also return to a state of barbarism, and probably sink to the level of savages.

Try to put, in place of the Christian principles of love and self-denial, a logically correct theory of self-interest. What will become of a society that has forgotten the principles of Christianity?

No codes of Huxley or Comte will raise up a society that has rejected Christ. "But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness; but to those who are called, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God," 1 Cor 1:23-24.

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick."

The name Lazarus is apparently a shortened form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, mentioned, for example, in Ex 6 or Num 20:25.

The village of Bethany lay on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, fifteen stadia, or 1,300 sazhen, from Jerusalem, according to Jn 11:18; Mk 11:1; Lk 19:29. On the site of Bethany there is still today a small settlement of about twenty houses, bearing the name El-Azariyeh.

The village of Bethany, or El-Azariyeh, is in fact located not on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives itself, but on a small ridge parallel to it. In El-Azariyeh they point out the cave where Lazarus was buried and the house of Simon.

Near the village of Bethany lay another village, Bethphage, as indicated in Mk 11:1. The names of these settlements mean "house of dates" and "house of unripe figs."