Johannes 11:28 Kommentar

In this chapter we have the history of that illustrious miracle which Christ wrought a little before his death - the raising of Lazarus to life, which is recorded only by this evangelist; for the other three confine themselves to what Christ did in Galilee, where he resided most, and scarcely ever carried their history into Jerusalem till the passion-week: whereas John's memoirs relate chiefly to what passed at Jerusalem; this passage therefore was reserved for his pen. Some suggest that, when the other evangelists wrote, Lazarus was alive, and it would not well agree either with his safety or with his humility to have it recorded till now, when it is supposed he was dead. It is more largely recorded than any other of Christ's miracles, not only because there are many circumstances of it so very instructive and the miracle of itself so great a proof of Christ's mission, but because it was an earnest of that which was to be the crowning proof of all - Christ's own resurrection. Here is, I. The tidings sent to our Lord Jesus of the sickness of Lazarus, and his entertainment of those tidings (v. 1-16). II. The visit he made to Lazarus's relations when he had heard of his death, and their entertainment of the visit (v. 17-32). III. The miracle wrought in the raising of Lazarus from the dead (Joh 11:33-44). IV. The effect wrought by this miracle upon others (Joh 11:45-57).

And some of them said,.... Who were averse to him, and bore him a secret grudge, and were willing to put the worst construction on every action of his: could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind; as it is said, at least pretended, that he did, Joh 9:6, for this must be understood as calling the miracle into question, and as a sneer upon it, and not as taking it for granted that so it was; and even supposing that, it is mentioned to his reproach, since if so, he might have caused that, even this man should not died: for either the above cure was a sham, or, if it was a real thing, he who did that could have prevented Lazarus's death; and if he could, and would not, where is his friendship? and what must be thought of all this show of affection to him? and what are these tears, but crocodile ones? but this reasoning, as specious as it may seem, was very fallacious; for he that cured the man born blind could raise Lazarus from the dead, which he intended; and therefore did not prevent his death, that he might still give more joy to the family, bring more glory to God, and himself, and more shame and confusion to his enemies.

As soon as she heard that,.... That Christ was come, and inquired for her, and wanted to see her: she arose quickly, and came unto him; having an equal affection for him as her sister Martha; and which she showed, by leaving her comforters at once, and by making the haste she did, to another and better comforter: both Martha and Mary, out of their great love to Christ, break through the rule for mourners mentioned in note, See Gill on Joh 11:19, of not going out of the door of the house the first week of mourning.

(Hom. lxii. 3) Christ's words had the effect of stopping Martha's grief. In her devotion to her Master she had no time to think of her afflictions: And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly. (Hom. lxii) She calls her sister secretly, in order not to let the Jews know that Christ was coming. (non occ.). For had they known, they would have gone, and not been witnesses of the miracle.

(Tr. xlix. 16) Silently, i. e. speaking in a low voice. For she did speak, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. (Tr. xlix. 16) We may observe that the Evangelist has not said, where, or when, or how, the Lord called Mary, but for brevity's sake has left it to be gathered from Martha's words. (Tr. xlix. non occ.) So we see, if she had known of His arrival before, she would not have let Martha go without her.

She went away to call her sister, that she also might share the happiness which arose from the expected event, and receive at once in common with herself the dead one raised again beyond all hope. For she had heard the words: Thy brother shall rise again. And she told the good news of the coming of the Saviour to her sister secretly, because there were sitting by her some of those Jews who felt ill-will towards Christ for His wondrous works. And we shall not find in the Gospels that Christ said: "Call thy sister to Me;" but Martha taking the undeniable emergency of the affair and the right due to her sister of being invited to come, as equivalent to an uttered command, she speaks as she does. And Mary readily ran towards Him, and was willing to go to meet Him. For how could she help doing this, when she was in such great grief at His absence, and had such a warm feeling of piety and great love towards Him?

Perhaps she thought the presence of Christ in itself a call, as if it were inexcusable, when Christ came, that she should not go out to meet Him.

Martha "secretly" calls her sister; and she did this very wisely. For if the Jews who had come to them had learned that Mary was going to meet Christ, they would have left them, and the miracle would have remained without witnesses. But now the Jews thought that Mary was going to the tomb to weep, went along with her, and by necessity became obvious witnesses of the miracle. Martha says to Mary: "The Teacher is calling you." But in the Evangelist it is not noted that the Lord called her. This can be explained in two ways: either the Evangelist passed over in silence that the Lord commanded Martha to call her sister, or she regarded the very arrival of the Lord as an invitation and said that the Teacher is calling you. For when the Lord came, should she not have gone to Him? Thus, the arrival of the Lord, which necessarily required Mary to go out and meet Him, the Evangelist called an invitation. "For the Teacher," she says, "has come and is calling you"; and since He has come, His very arrival serves as a call to you. For as soon as He came, it is necessary for you also to go out to meet Him.

1521 The Evangelist, after describing Martha, now describes Mary. First, he mentions how she was called; secondly, her meeting with Christ; and thirdly, the devotion she showed him (v 32). 1522 Mary was called by Martha, who had been consoled and instructed by Christ, as she did not want her sister to miss such consolation. When she had said this, the previous words, to the Lord, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, The Teacher is here and is calling for you. She called her sister quietly: "The words of the wise heard in quiet..." (Eccl 9:17). She did this because a number of Jews were with her sister, as has been said; and perhaps there were some among them who did not like Jesus, or would have left, or who, if they had heard what Martha said, would not have followed her. As for the mystical sense, we may understand that one more efficaciously calls upon Christ in quiet or in private: "In quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (Is 30:15). 1523 There is a problem about her saying, the Teacher is here and is calling for you. This seems to be false, because our Lord did not tell Martha to call Mary. Augustine says that the Evangelist omitted this detail from his account for the sake of brevity, for perhaps our Lord did tell Martha to call her. However, others say that Martha considered the very presence of Christ as a call. Martha was thinking: If he is here, it would be inexcusable for one not to go to meet him.

Account of the sickness of Lazarus, Joh 11:1. His sisters Martha and Mary send for Christ, Joh 11:2. Our Lord's discourse with his disciples on this sickness and consequent death, Joh 11:3-16. He arrives at Bethany four days after the burying of Lazarus, Joh 11:17, Joh 11:18. Martha meets Christ - their conversation, Joh 11:19-27. She returns and Mary goes out to meet him, in great distress, Joh 11:28-33. Christ comes to the grave - his conversation there, Joh 11:34-42. He raises Lazarus from the dead, Joh 11:43-46. The priests and Pharisees, hearing of this, hold a council, and plot his destruction, Joh 11:47, Joh 11:48. The remarkable prophecy of Caiaphas, and the consequent proceedings of the Jews, Joh 11:49-53. Jesus withdraws into a city called Ephraim, Joh 11:54. They lay wait for him at the passover, Joh 11:55-57.

The Master is come - This was the appellation which he had in the family; and from these words it appears that Christ had inquired for Mary, desiring to have her present, that he might strengthen her faith, previously to his raising her brother.

LAZARUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD--THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS. (John 11:1-46) of Bethany--at the east side of Mount Olivet. the town of Mary and her sister Martha--thus distinguishing it from the other Bethany, "beyond Jordan." (See on Joh 1:28; Joh 10:40).

The Master is come and calleth for thee--The narrative does not give us this interesting detail, but Martha's words do.