A Study of John 11:28-37  

“When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?””

John 11:28-37 ESV

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After confessing Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, Martha went and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” Mary then rose up quickly once she heard the news and went to Jesus. At this time Jesus was still outside the village where Martha had met Him. As Mary rose up quickly and went out, the Jews who were consoling her accompanied her, thinking she was going to the tomb to weep. However, when Mary saw Jesus and came to Him she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

As Jesus saw Mary, and the Jews who were with her, weeping, He was moved deeply, and troubled greatly in His Spirit. And He said, “Where have they laid him?”, to which they replied, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept, and the Jews who were there said, “See how he loved him!”, but others said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”.

Textual Analysis and Implication (what is being said and what does this mean?):

After confessing her belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, in verse 28, Martha went and called her sister Mary and said to her in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” The text does not say why Martha went to Mary in private, or in other words, “in secret”, but it is fair to assume it was so that Mary could also have a brief moment with Jesus before the crowd of mourners surrounded them. Martha also referred to Jesus as “The Teacher.” This was a common way for the disciples of Jesus to refer to Him pre-resurrection, but He is not simply “a teacher”, He is “The Teacher.” And it is significant that a woman should refer to Jesus as such because the Rabbis of this time refused to teach women. However, Jesus elevated women as He taught men and women alike in the same set and setting.

Next, in verses 29-32, we read of how Mary quickly went to Jesus outside the village, as the Jews who mourned with her followed, thinking she was going to the tomb to grieve. When Mary came to where Jesus was, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Here we see the attempt at privacy was unsuccessful as the mourners followed Mary. However, there is nothing negative in the intent of those who followed her. They simply thought she was going to the tomb to grieve, and wanted to support her.

Once Mary got to Jesus, she said the exact same thing Martha had said, which is that her brother would not have died if Jesus had been present. This is likely something the two sisters had said to each other many times as they grieved the death of Lazarus. While Mary is not recorded as making the same profession of faith as Martha, who declared Jesus to be the Christ and the Son of God, her confidence that Jesus could have healed her brother nevertheless displays the same sort of confidence in His identity. What is different about Mary’s approach to Jesus at this time is that she seems to exhibit more emotion as she falls at His feet. And this emotional display will lead to a different and more emotional response from Jesus as they will soon go to the tomb.

Then, in verses 33-35, Jesus was “deeply moved” and  “greatly troubled” in His spirit when He saw Mary and the Jews with her weeping. He then asked, “Where have you laid him?”, to which they replied, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus “wept.” The original Greek words translated as “deeply moved” and “greatly troubled” tell us that as Jesus wept He was more than just sad. These words mean Jesus was sorrowful and angry that His friend had died, and deeply grieved over the power of sin and death that He would soon break by raising Lazarus, and ultimately by His own crucifixion and resurrection.

It is also as He was faced with the tears of Mary and the other Jews that Jesus wept. This means God is not indifferent to our pain. He is deeply troubled by it, and He cares intensely about us. Instances such as this call to mind Hebrews 5:7-8 which says of Jesus, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.”

Finally, for this passage, as they saw Jesus weep, the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”, and others said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”. These are the two ways Jesus’ emotional display was understood by the onlookers who had come to grieve with Martha and Mary. And both of these interpretations were both right and wrong. The first interpretation was that Jesus loved Lazarus, and in this they were correct. However, they were also incorrect in that they assumed His grief to be despairing in the same way as theirs was.

The second interpretation was also correct in that they remembered Jesus had healed the blind man. But they were wrong to assume Jesus could not have saved Lazarus from death. These people were understandably confused, but their bewilderment betrays their unbelief. And this unbelief is probably also something that added to the grief and anger of Jesus in this moment.

The faith they had in Jesus was based only on miraculous displays of power, and this sort of faith does not hold firm when such displays do not occur. This weak kind of faith is not built upon Jesus’ identity as the one true God incarnate. Just because Jesus did not save Lazarus from death does not mean He could not save him.

As Charles Spurgeon put it, “Suppose that Jesus is willing to open the eyes of the blind, and does open them; is he therefore bound to raise this particular dead man? If he does not see fit to do so, does that prove that he has not the power? If he lets Lazarus die, is it proven therefore that he could not have saved his life? May there not be some other reason? Does Omnipotence always exert its power? Does it ever exert all its power?”. Jesus had good reason to allow Lazarus to die. It was so that He could display His power over death by raising Lazarus from the dead, and in so doing, inspire greater faith in all who would see and hear of it.

Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This passage is an encouragement to us as we experience pain and suffering, because it tells us Jesus is deeply moved and greatly troubled by our suffering. He knows what it is like to suffer grief and pain, and He cares intensely about our grief and pain. As we pray to Him, asking Him to act, we can pray with the  confidence that He wants us to tell Him about our trouble and He will comfort us in our trouble. And also, one day, all those who trust Christ will be delivered from pain and sorrow forever.

But as we suffer and do not yet receive the deliverance we ask for, we, like the mourning Jews in this passage, might wonder why we still suffer. Could not He who raised Lazarus from the dead stop our trouble with merely a word? Jesus can and will bring an end to our suffering, but just as He had good reason for allowing Lazarus to die, He has good reason for the pain He allows us to experience. The pain is bad, and we may not know all the good reasons why Jesus allows it, but we can be confident that He who conquered sin and death through His own suffering on the cross will be glorified and strengthen our faith, and the faith of others, as we hold fast to Him in severe trials and struggles. No matter how intense the difficulty, God is good and He is love, and we who trust Christ will rise no matter how hard we may fall.

Self Reflection:

1. What am I struggling with right now?
2. Have I made a habit of telling Jesus about my pain?
3. How does this story of Lazarus, Martha and Mary help me to better understand why Jesus has allowed this in my life?