John 11:15

15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

John 11:15 Meaning and Commentary

John 11:15

And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there
At Bethany, before he died, or when he died; because he might have been prevailed upon through the solicitations of his dear friends, Mary and Martha, and through tender affection to Lazarus, to have prevented his death, by rebuking the distemper, and restoring him to health, or to have raised him immediately as soon as he was dead; and in either case the miracle would not have been so illustrious, nor have been such a means of confirming the faith of his disciples, as now it would be:

to the intent ye may believe;
more strongly, that he was the Son of God, and true Messiah:

nevertheless, let us go unto him;
to Lazarus, to the grave where he lies: the Syriac version reads, "let us go there"; to Bethany, where he lived, and died, and now lay interred.

John 11:15 In-Context

13 They thought that Jesus was talking about actual sleep, but He was speaking about the death of Lazarus.

14 So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas called Didymus said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb.