John 11 Study Notes

11:28 The Teacher was a natural way for a disciple to refer to Jesus before his resurrection (v. 8; 1:38,49; 3:2; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 20:16).

11:29-32 Although Mary says less than Martha had, her faith in Jesus was no less strong.

11:33 Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled in the face of human suffering and death (12:27; 13:21).

11:34-35 Jesus wept, or perhaps even better, “burst into tears,” as the term is regularly translated in extrabiblical sources.

11:36-37 In this sacred scene were still skeptics who would soon have their world shocked.

11:38-39 While the Jews used spices at burials, this did not prevent decomposition of the body, as Martha pointed out.

11:40-42 Jesus’s prayer finds an OT antecedent in Elijah’s prayer (1Kg 18:37). Compare Jn 6:11.

11:43 Jesus raised Lazarus not by magic, incantations, or spells, but by the power of his word.

11:44 John did not record Lazarus’s reaction or any of the aftermath of his raising. Instead, he immediately moved (v. 45) to focus on the plot against Jesus.

11:45-46 Surprisingly, not all who were there at the raising of Lazarus put their faith in Jesus (see Lk 16:30-31).

11:47 On the Sanhedrin, see notes at 3:1; 7:45-52.

11:48 Our place almost certainly refers to the temple. Similar concerns resurface in Ac 6:13-14 and 21:28, where the temple is referred to as “this holy place” or “this place.” Take away . . . our nation may refer to the feared removal of the Jews’ semi-autonomous status by the Romans. Ironically, what the Sanhedrin sought to prevent by killing Jesus still came to pass when the Romans razed the temple and sacked Jerusalem in AD 70 (see note at 2:13-22).

11:49 That year need not imply that the high priestly office rotated annually. It simply indicates that Caiaphas happened to serve in this role the year Jesus was tried and crucified. In fact, Caiaphas was high priest for eighteen years (AD 18-36), longer than any other first-century high priest.

11:50-51 Die for the people invokes memory of the Maccabean martyrs (2Macc 7:37-38). In the typical double meaning used in John’s Gospel, Caiaphas’s pronouncement anticipated the substitutionary atonement Jesus was to render. As the Jewish high priest, Caiaphas prophesied, speaking better than he knew.

11:52 The scattered children of God refers to the Gentiles (see note at 3:3-8).

11:53-54 From now on, “Jesus is not to be arrested in order to be tried; he is to be tried because he has already been found guilty (as Mk. 14:1-2 presupposes)” (D. A. Carson).

11:55 This is the third and final Passover mentioned by John. See note at 2:13. People went up to Jerusalem early to purify themselves from any ceremonial uncleanness that would prevent them from celebrating Passover (Nm 9:4-14; 19:11-12).

11:56-57 On the timing of Jesus’s arrest, see note at 2:4.