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JOHN
CHAPTER 11
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose
of the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand
within the normative rules of language, context and logic 
which limits the observer to the content offered by the book of John.
This will serve to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and
more importantly, it will provide the framework for a proper and
objective comparison with passages located elsewhere in Scripture.
Note that similar or the same subject matter describing an historic event which matter is essentially the same as the subject matter in another passage in Scripture does not necessarily prove that the passages in view portray the same event. This is so, including those passages in which Jesus Himself is in view. For not everyone who lived or passed through the Palestinian region - which numbered in the millions - were present every time and in every place that Jesus preached and healed people. So it stands to reason that the subject matter that He preached bore frequent repetition in order to reach the greatest numbers.
On the other hand, passages in Scripture which not only have similar or the same subject matter describing an event but which also have different subject matter from one another, may or may not have the same event in view depending upon a full examination of the context of each of the passages. Given the brevity of the bible - the limited time, space and resources such as paper, ink, etc. - not everything was capable of being included in each of the writings or even in all of the writings together. There are going to be similarities and differences. But a careful examination of Scripture will reveal that there is nevertheless a
miraculous harmony and complete absence of contradiction.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
(Jn 11:1 NASB) "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
(Jn 11:2 NASB) It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
(Jn 11:3
NASB) So the
sisters sent word to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is
sick.' "
[(Jn 11:1-3)
In Jn 11:1,
author John reports about a certain man named Lazarus of Bethany, the
village of Mary and her sister Martha, Who was sick.
In Jn 11:2, John provides who this Mary is - the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, (ref. Jn 12:1-10; Lk 7:38; 10:38-42; Mt 26:6-12; Mk 14:3-9).
And in Jn 11:3, John reports that the sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick,' implying that Jesus had visited with Lazarus and come to know him well and love him, as well as his sisters, (ref. Jn 11:5). Lazarus' sickness was evidently serious. For the message of his sisters had an urgent tone to it - an expectation that Jesus would immediately respond and come to heal Lazarus. From Jn 11:1-3 and corresponding references listed above, it is evident that Jesus spent considerable time in close fellowship with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, becoming close friends with them.
Furthermore, in view of Jesus' many miraculous healings, and His friendship with Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha were inspired to send word to Jesus so that He might heal their brother who was evidently very seriously ill. Their message was to return to Bethany in Judea to heal Lazarus from his sickness, despite the fact that the Jewish rulers were actively seeking to kill Him should He return to Judea]
(Jn 11:4
NASB) "But
when Jesus heard this, He said, 'This sickness is not to end in death,
but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by
it.' "
[(Jn 11:4) In Jn 11:4, author John writes that although Jesus heard of His beloved friend Lazarus' serious illness, and while exercising His godly omniscience, He (Jesus) said that this sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God, evidently referring to Himself, may be glorified by it, implying a supernatural event which the passage later reveals: Lazarus' resurrection from the dead.
For in view
of His performance of many miraculous healings, Jesus' words in Jn 11:4
are a promise to see to it that Lazarus' "sickness [was] not to end in
death," [albeit
he would first die and then be resurrected]. His words were to be an
encouraging message which foretold of an event
that would be so remarkable that God and the Son of God, (Himself),
would be glorified]
(Jn 11:5 NASB) "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
(Jn 11:6 NASB) So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
(Jn 11:7
NASB) Then after
this He said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.' "
[(Jn 11:5-7) Jn 11:5, which immediately follows Jn 11:4, foretold of an event that would glorify God and the Son of God. Author John remarks in Jn 11:5, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Despite the fact that it would be potentially deadly for Jesus to return to the Judean area, where Bethany is located; in view also is the fact that Jesus had acknowledged that Lazarus' sickness occasioned an opportunity to glorify God and the Son of God, referring to Himself, (ref. Jn 11:4) via a supernatural act that could only come from God. So the message that Jesus' agape love of Lazarus and his sisters in Jn 11:5 further compelled Him to go to the aid of Lazarus. Nevertheless Jesus evidently waited until the right moment according to the Father's plan. Throughout His Humanity He displayed His obedience to the Father in a precisely timed manner, even to His death on the cross glorifying the Father and the Son every step of the way. For Jesus said in Jn 11:4: "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."
So implied in
Jn 11:4 is Jesus' obedience to the plan of the Father which resulted in
His "staying two days longer in the place
where He was" so that by the time Jesus got to Bethany, Lazarus "had
already been in the tomb four days," (Jn 11:17). Although Jesus
stayed two days longer in the place where He was, rather than to
immediately change direction and travel back to Judea to come to the
aid of Lazarus; He did not move further away from
Judea either.
On other occasions, Jesus acted promptly to heal Jairus's daughter, (Lk 8:41-42, 49-56); and He raised Nain's son from the dead immediately when he met the funeral procession on the way to the burial ground, (Lk 7:11-16). As one continues one's study through chapter 11, verses 11-15 indicate that Jesus followed the timing of God's plan and waited for Lazarus to die and be entombed for four days and then be resurrected by the Son of God, (Himself), in order that God and His Son might be glorified, and so that the disciples and many others who followed Jesus might believe in Him for eternal life, (ref Jn 11:45).
Worthy of note is the fact that just as God's plan was that the death, burial and resurrection of Lazarus would serve to glorify Himself and His Son prompting many to believe in His Son Jesus for eternal life; so the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God would prompt many more throughout the ages to believe in Him for life, (ref. Jn 11:25-27). It is evident that Lazarus did die, (ref Jn 11:14) and Jesus in His godly omniscience knew of that ahead of time. To raise Lazarus from the dead was a testimonial to those who followed Jesus around. They would be a witness to others of their experiencing the presence of the miraculous work of God through the Son of God, namely Jesus Christ Himself, thus glorifying God and the Son of God as Jesus foretold.
So when it was time for the Son of God to continue to fulfill His mission to glorify God and the Son of God in accordance with the Father's plan relative to Lazarus, Jesus said in Jn 11:7 to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
(Jn 11:8
NASB) "The
disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone
You, and are You going there again?' "
[In Jn 11:8, John wrote that Jesus' determination to return to Judea was met with the disciples' great anxiety because the Jewish leaders were now seeking to stone Him on sight. The disciples were so emphatic that the message implied that they would go anywhere with Him but back to Judea where imminent danger awaited for all of them.]
(Jn 11:9 NASB) "Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
(Jn 11:10
NASB) 'But if
anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in
him.' "
[Jn 11:9-10
is in answer to
Jesus' disciples' concern for the safekeeping of Jesus and themselves
as expressed in Jn 11:8. Jesus made a proverbial type statement
beginning with "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks in
the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world"
in the sense that in the physical world one should walk during daylight
hours when one would not stumble because [one] sees the light of this
world" which is provided by the Sun. This was spoken by Jesus in the
sense that just as one should walk during daylight hours when one would
not stumble because one can see in the light of the day as opposed to
night time; so one should walk in accordance with the Light of this
world, i.e., the wisdom and decrees of God Himself - the means by which the Son of God chose to
return to Judea. Whereupon Jesus
gave the opposite of walking in the light, which is, "But if anyone
walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." Just
as anyone who walks in the night in the physical
world, and stumbles because he has no light to guide him - to prevent
him from seeing any hazards, and thereby prevent him from stumbling
over those hazards; so anyone who walks in the darkness of his own
perception without the Light of the world to guide him, namely God, he
will inevitably stumble because God's wisdom and direction are not in
him. He has only the darkness of the world and his own mind which are
defective and he will inevitably stumble.
And so Jesus is explaining to His disciples that He is following the plan of the Father Whom He refers to as "the Light of this world" in His action to return to Judea, to attend to Lazarus and on to Jerusalem, to experience His death, burial and resurrection.
So relative to the will of God, the words in Jn 11:9 rendered "the Light of this world" symbolize the wisdom and direction of God exemplified in Jesus - specifically referring to the Father's will for the Son of God - for the mission of Jesus Christ. And in the context of this portion of Jn 11, the will of God was for Jesus to return to Judea beginning with a journey to Bethany to tend to Lazarus.
a) [(Jn 11:9-10) Compare
Expositor's Bible Commentary]:
"9-10 Jesus countered the disciples' objection with the following enigmatic statement: 'Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by the world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.' The expression of Jesus may have been a current proverb like the one underlying the remark in John 9:4: 'As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.' In both instances, Jesus was thinking of His obligation to perform the work the Father had committed to Him. Realizing that He was acting in accord with the purpose of the Father who had sent Him and that He had clear illumination concerning His duty, Jesus resolutely decided to return to Jerusalem in spite of the peril."
And so Jesus would return to Bethany in Judea and raise Lazarus from the dead. As a result of this great miracle on top of the many other miracles He performed; His teaching which corroborated the Law, unlike that of the current Jewish rulers; and His life which fulfilled the Prophets' statements about Himself as the Messiah; large crowds of people repeatedly gathered around Him and followed Him. Many of them believed in Him unto eternal life, (Jn 11:25-27). The ever growing increase in the size of Jesus' following amongst the people caused great consternation amongst the Jewish rulers who owed their positions to the Romans so long as there was peace and no dissension amongst the Jewish people, (ref. Jn 11:48). But it became obvious that there were great differences between the way the rulers of Israel, the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes, were conducting themselves versus what Jesus was teaching.
In essence, Jesus was saying that to act outside of God's purpose is to walk in darkness; and to act in accordance with God's purpose is to walk in the light as He is in the light, (1 Jn 1:1-10). To do the former is to hazard stumbling; and to walk in the light is to have moments which by the grace of God ones actions are aligned with God's purpose and plan for one]
(Jn 11:11 NASB) "This He said, and after that He said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.'
(Jn 11:12 NASB) The disciples then said to Him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.'
(Jn 11:13 NASB) Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.
(Jn 11:14 NASB) So Jesus then said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead,
(Jn 11:15 NASB) and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.'
(Jn 11:16
NASB) Therefore
Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us
also go, so that we may die with Him.' "
[In Jn 11:11,
author John wrote, "This He [Jesus] said to His disciples, (the message
about walking in God's light of Jn 11:9-10). After that John reports
that in a figurative manner,
Jesus said to them, "our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so
that I may awaken him out of sleep" in the sense that Lazarus had died.
So Jesus assured the disciples that He was on the way to "awaken him
out of sleep," in the sense of raising him from the dead. But the
disciples evidently did not understand what He was saying:
In Jn
11:12, the disciples' reaction was one of misreading Jesus'
figurative language when they said, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he
will recover." The disciples considered that since Lazarus had fallen
asleep, that that was a good sign that he would recover.
Whereupon
John explained in Jn 11:13 what Jesus meant, "Now Jesus
had spoken of his [Lazarus'] death, but they thought that He was
speaking of
literal sleep." The fact that Jesus had already spoken of an event
relative to Lazarus' illness which would glorify God and the Son of
God, in Jn 11:4 as follows: "But
when Jesus heard this, He said, 'This sickness is not to end in death,
but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by
it;' "
brings to mind something more than awakening from literal sleep. Although the
disciples often misunderstood Jesus, especially at the beginning of
their discipleship, they nevertheless
exemplified a deep concern for what Jesus said and did - a sign of
growing maturity in their discipleship to Him. They were committed to
follow Him back to Judea where they would face danger.
So
in Jn 11:14-15 John wrote that Jesus
said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead," implying foreknowledge, i.e.,
omniscience as the Son of God, "and I am glad for your sakes that I was
not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him." So Jesus
exercised His capacity of foreknowledge and foretold of an event
relative to going to
Lazarus ((which was to raise him from the dead, (Jn 11:43-44)) which
the disciples would witness
and thereby believe that Jesus is
the resurrection and the life, "the Christ, the Son of God, even He Who
comes into the world" the same information that Martha had confessed to Jesus
that she had believed, (ref. Jn 11:27 ). What the disciples and Martha believed amounted to an acceptance of
Jesus as the propitiation for their sins resulting
in eternal life as
testified to in the Book of Isaiah and elsewhere
in Scripture that they would be familiar with . Hence, Jesus declared that He was
glad for the disciples' sakes that He was not there when Lazarus was
still alive implying that Lazarus needed to have died so that Jesus
might raise him from the dead to demonstrate that He indeed was "the
Christ, the Son of God, even He Who comes into the world," (ref. Jn
11:27), that they
may believe in Him and live even if he dies, i.e.,
have eternal life, (ref. Jn 11:25-27).
Finally, John reports in Jn 11:16, that Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, so that we may die with Him,' fully expecting that they would die with Jesus by the hands of the Jewish rulers indicating their renewed committment to follow Jesus no matter what]
(Jn 11:17 NASB) "So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
(Jn 11:18 NASB) Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;
(Jn 11:19 NASB) and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.
(Jn 11:20 NASB) Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.
(Jn 11:21 NASB) Martha then said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
(Jn 11:22 NASB) 'Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.'
(Jn 11:23 NASB) Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'
(Jn 11:24 NASB) Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.'
(Jn 11:25 NASB) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
(Jn 11:26 NASB) and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?'
(Jn 11:27
NASB) She said to
Him, 'Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the
Christ, the Son of God, even He Who comes into the world.' "
[Jn 11:17-27
has in
view the time of Jesus' arrival in Bethany to see to Lazarus, His
beloved
friend; up through Martha's statement of faith in Jesus as the Christ,
the Son of God, even He Who comes into the world which faith provided
for her (the disciples and all mankind who believed), eternal life.
Jn 11:17-18 states, "So when Jesus came, He found that he [Lazarus] had already been in the tomb four days."
Jn 11:18 sets the stage for a momentous event which Jesus had spoken of earlier in Jn 11:4 that would glorify God and the Son of God in Bethany two miles from Jerusalem where deadly trouble awaited Jesus, (ref. Jn 11:4).
a) (Jn 11:17-18) [Expositor's
Bible Commentary]:
"17-18
The time between Lazarus's death and Jesus' arrival at Bethany was four
days. Presumably the time required for the journey of the messengers
and the time needed for Jesus' return to Bethany would be approximately
the same. Also, two full days intervened between their [the
messengers'] arrival where
Jesus was and his departure for Bethany (v. 6). So the death of Lazarus
must have occurred not long after Jesus was first informed of his
illness. [most likely at the moment when Jesus announced that "Lazarus
has fallen
asleep," (ref. Jn 11:11]. The trip each way would have taken not much
less than a day's
travel since Bethany was more than twenty miles distant from Jesus'
refuge in Perea (10:40-42). After three days all hope of resuscitation
from a coma would be abandoned; and in the hot Palestinian climate,
decay would have begun." [Hence Lazarus needed to be quickly wrapped
and buried in a tomb]
"Perea or Peraea (Greek: Περαία, "the country beyond"), was the portion of the kingdom of Herod the Great occupying the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, from about one third the way down from the Sea of Galilee to about one third the way down the eastern shore of the Dead Sea; it did not extend very far to the east."
Perea was
beyond the Jordan River near the place where John the Baptist was
baptizing on the eastern side of the river, and where Jesus took His
refuge]
After
receiving the news from the messengers that Martha sent to Him that
Lazarus was ill, Jesus remained where He was - evidently in Perea - for
two days while He considered what He would do. On the third day, Jesus
announced, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go, so that I
may awaken him out of sleep, (Jn 11:11). The phrase rendered "has
fallen asleep" had the figurative meaning of having died, (ref. Jn
11:13). Whereupon Jesus began that third day to travel to Bethany, (Jn
11:15). It is evident that when Lazareth died, his body was rapidly
wrapped and
entombed within 24 hours as is the custom in such a hot climate. So
Jesus began to travel to Bethany on the first day after His two days
that He remained where He was. And He continued to journey to Bethany
through the next day. Then on the third day of travel,
Jesus met up with Martha, who had left her house to seek Him as He was
traveling toward her. And she conversed with Jesus as they traveled
together back toward the village of Bethany. When He and Martha arrived
at the tomb on the fourth day - this day not needing to be a full 24
hour day - Jesus found out that Lazareth had been buried in the tomb
for
four days, (Jn 11:17). On the basis of this it is evident that Jesus'
announcement that "Lazarus had fallen asleep" was the moment when he
died.
And according
to Jn 11:19, many Jews had come to see Martha and Mary to console them
concerning their brother's death. It was custom for many to mourn the
dead for a prolonged period of time, often as a pious duty to comfort
the bereaved, if not out of personal friendship. And Jerusalem was
nearby to Bethany, hence there would have been many attending Lazarus'
burial.
c) (Jn 11:19) [Expositor's Bible Commentary]:
"19 The
family at Bethany must have been well known in Jerusalem, with
connections within the Jewish hierarchy, since many 'Jews' came to
comfort Martha and Mary over the loss of Lazarus. A procession composed
of relatives, friends, and sometimes hired mourners accompanied a body
to the grave; and mourning usually lasted for several days afterward."
So John wrote in Jn 11:20 that Martha got word that Jesus was coming to where she lived, whereupon she went out to meet Him on the way. But Mary stayed at the house.
Jn 11:21-22
indicates that Martha did meet with Jesus Who was traveling on the way
to her village where her house was located. She engaged
Him in an earnest
conversation beginning with, "Lord, if You had been here my brother
would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God
will give You." She was evidently asking Jesus to ask God to resurrect
her
brother from the dead. Since Jesus had been
performing many miraculous things in the name of God the Father,
especially in the Jerusalem area; and since He had frequently stayed
with Martha, Mary and Lazarus at their house in nearby Bethany, it is
evident that
Martha was aware of Jesus' capacity for accomplishing the miraculous by
asking God to do it. As a matter of fact Martha had believed that Jesus
[is] the Christ, the Son of God, even He Who comes into the world,
(ref. Jn
11:27).
Jn 11:23-27
continues to have in view Jesus' conversation with Martha as they
walked
together toward the village where her house was located, (ref. Jn 11:30), nearby where Lazarus was already
buried for four days in a tomb, (ref. Jn 11:34-39):
In Jn 11:23,
Jesus says to Martha, "Your brother
will rise
again."
Whereupon in
Jn 11:24, Martha responded, "I know that he
will rise again on the last day." So Martha understood that at the last
day when those who have believed in Jesus Who declared Himself to be
the Resurrection and the Life, i.e. those who believed as Martha did,
"Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the One Who comes into the
world," (Jn
11:27). So anyone
who believes as Martha believed will be resurrected to
eternal life. And that included her
brother, Lazarus, (Jn 11:24). For it is made clear in numerous places
in both Hebrew
and Greek Scripture
Who Jesus is; and the terms stated above by Jesus and Martha refer
exclusively and clearly to Jesus Himself especially relative to the
reception of eternal life which has been made available to all men
through a moment of faith alone in Him alone.
Note that
when Jesus said to Martha, "Your brother will rise again," (Jn 11:23);
He was referring to something different from
the last day resurrection. He was speaking of Lazarus' immediate
resurrection from the dead as his dead body lay in the tomb. This
He would shortly do before many who were there to mourn the death of
Lazarus with Martha and Mary in order to glorify God and the Son of
God, Himself, (ref. Jn 11:4); leading many of them to believe in Him
for salvation.
Then for a moment, Jesus changed the subject to Martha's own personal salvation:
In Jn 11:25-26,
Jesus said to Martha something remarkable, comforting and majestic: "I
am
the Resurrection and the Life; he who
believes in Me will live even if he dies [because he will be
resurrected to eternal life]. The phrase rendered, "He who believes in
Me will live even if he dies" refers to anyone who is obviously
physically alive and of accountable age and believes in Jesus for
eternal life such that the result of that moment of faith alone in
Christ alone begins to have present tense possession of eternal life
while in ones mortal body. And should the case may that while one is in
ones mortal body one physically dies, one will be transformed into a
perfect, sinless resurrection body to live with God forever.
Not that
children and the rest of those not of accountable age automatically
receive eternal life .
On the other
hand, should an individual of accountable age who has believed in Jesus
for eternal life, and not die physically, (of which further details of
the circumstances are not provided in the text at hand in Jn chapter
11, such as the rapture of physically alive in Christ and the dead in
Christ at the end of the church age ), it is clearly implied in Jesus' words within
the context of Jn chapter 11
that those who believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life and remain
alive will also receive eternal life and a perfect eternal body to live
with Jesus Christ forever ).
And Jesus
further added, "everyone who lives and
believes in Me will never die." Jesus said this in the sense that one
who believes in Him - in His capacity to create life and cause
resurrection from the dead; and believe in His willingness to resurrect
those who believe
in
Him unto eternal
life. So the one who believes in Him has eternal life that transcends
physical death, he will never die the second
death to eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire, Rev 2:11;
20:6, 14;
21:8.
(Rev 20:6
NASB) "Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first
resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will
be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand
years."
(Rev 20:14 NASB) "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire."
(Rev 21:8
NASB) "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and
murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all
liars, their part will be in
the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
So,
no matter what the case, whether one who believes in Jesus for eternal
life lives out ones physical life of appointed years, or dies
physically prematurely or is raptured, the case for the believing one
is that they will never die the second death.
Whereupon Jesus asks Martha directly, "Do you believe this?" Notice that Jesus moved to the subject of Martha's personal salvation unto eternal life. For the meaning of "lives" in the phrase rendered, "everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die," is in the sense of never become separated from God, i.e., having eternal life, being always in the presence of God. And that eternal life is brought about by Jesus Christ Himself, He Who is the Resurrection and the Life - the One Who created life, the Creator of all that has been created, i.e., God, (Jn 1:1-3), and the One Who can and is willing to resurrect those who believe in Him for it.
e) (Jn 1:1-3) The Word Is Personified By The Pronoun, 'Him,' The Agent Of All Creation, Himself Uncreated, Preexistent, Eternal And God
(Jn 1:1 YLT) "In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn 1:3 NAS) All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." =
(Jn 1:3a Greek) "Panta .....di' .........autou ..................egeneto"
.........................."All things through Him [the Word] came into being"
"The phrases "through Him" and "without Him" mark "Him," the Word in Jn 1:3, as the Agent of creation. In this verse the context of the term "Word" is as the Agent of creation, a Person, and not just a commanding word from God to create. So through the Word, a Person, all things were created. He Himself was not created because verses 1-3 stipulate so: (Jn 1:1 YLT) "In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (Jn 1:2 YLT) He [lit., This One] was in [the] beginning with God; (Jn 1:3 NAS) All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being."
The Word did not create Himself, He is the Creator of all things, Who by virtue of this is Himself uncreated, preexistant, eternal and God.
Then in Jn
11:27, and without
so much as a word of objection to Jesus' changing the subject from the
one she was so
concerned with, i.e., her brother's death, Martha answered Jesus'
question
in Jn 11:27 about her personal salvation with a firm and emphatic
statement in the perfect tense of her belief in Jesus for eternal life,
namely, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ,
the
Son of God, even He Who comes into the world." Notice that Martha said
to Him, "I have believed," past tense, indicating in an emphatic way,
her decision at a moment in the past to express a moment of faith alone
in Christ alone which provided an ongoing present state of guarantee of
resurrection unto eternal life at the last day because she had
already believed in Jesus for resurrection unto eternal life at the
last day. Each phrase of her answer described Jesus with terms that can
be found in Scripture with very specific meanings relative to God,
Creator, Messiah, the Savior, the One to come and provide salvation for
of all mankind who trust in Him for it: "the Christ," "the Son of God,"
"He Who comes into the
world," titles
and descriptions pointing to Jesus Christ, the Son of God which authors
such as John, Matthew, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel wrote about and .
(Jn 11:28 NASB) "When
she [Martha] had said this, ['Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are
the Christ, the Son of God, even He Who comes into the world,' (Jn
11:27)], she went away and called Mary her
sister, saying secretly, 'The Teacher is here and is calling for you.' (Jn 11:29
NASB) And when
she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. (Jn 11:30
NASB) Now Jesus
had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where
Martha met Him. (Jn 11:31
NASB) Then the
Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling
her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed
her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. (Jn 11:32
NASB) Therefore,
when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and
fell at His feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if You had been here, my
brother would not have died.' (Jn 11:33
NASB) When
Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came
with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, (Jn 11:34
NASB) and said,
'Where have you laid him?' They said to Him, 'Lord, come and see.' (Jn 11:35
NASB) Jesus wept. (Jn 11:36
NASB) So the Jews
were saying, 'See how He loved him!' (Jn 11:37
NASB) But some of
them said, 'Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man,
have kept this man also from dying?' " =
[So in Jn
11:28 after Martha had made her
confession of faith to Jesus that He was "the Christ, the Son of God,
even He Who comes into the world," she departed from Jesus; and
evidently arriving at her house, Martha called to Mary
her sister. She secretly said to Mary, "The Teacher is here and is
calling for you," the word rendered "secretly" implying that there were
others there in the house. The
Jewish friends who were mourning Lazarus' loss with Mary were keeping
her company and consoling her. The word rendered "Teacher" which
word Martha used to characterize Jesus signified
a key role that Jesus played in the family of Mary, Martha and Lazarus;
and for that matter where ever He preached. For not only was it
affirmed
by His words and actions that He was the
Resurrection and the Life, the Christ, the Son of God and He Who comes
into the world, but Martha affirmed that He was the
Teacher of God's Word, the One Who brought spiritual life to the family
that was so close to Him, the family that He so often stayed with, Who
taught the
doctrine of eternal life so well to them. For the two sisters gave
evidence of a great understanding of Who He is.
Jn 11:29
indicates that Mary heard what Martha said, got up quickly and went off
to meet Jesus at the place where Martha left Him. The action of Mary,
though less assertive, reveals a similar trust in Who Jesus is. Martha
told Mary that Jesus was asking for her. To Mary, this was equivalent
to a command to come. Mary wasted no time in going to Jesus: "she got
up quickly and went to him." Jesus had not entered the village. He was
waiting for Mary to come to him. Perhaps he remained outside Bethany so
as not to precipitate an argument in the event his enemies discovered
him. Jesus was evidently
close by but not yet within the village of Bethany.
For in Jn 11:30, it indicates that Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met him, not far from her house in Bethany.
Then in Jn 11:31 it indicates that there were a number of fellow Jews who were there with Mary in the house, consoling her. So when they saw her go out, they followed her, perhaps supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there where her brother was buried.
And in Jn
11:32 when Mary came to where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His
feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not
have died,' nearly identical to Martha's words. Notice that Mary
too believed that Jesus was Lord in the
sense of someone to revere, even worship as God - in view of her
falling at His feet. She called Him Lord and acknowledged His
supernatural healing capacity - even to the extent of raising people
from the dead. So she knew of His capacity
to heal sicknesses. Furthermore, because of her close relationship with
her sister, Martha, she may well
have believed as Martha believed in Him unto eternal life, (Jn 11:27).
Jn 11:33 indicates that Jesus saw Mary weeping as well as the Jews that were following her, evidently as they together made their way to the tomb. Jesus, operating out of His Humanity, was deeply moved in His human spirit and was troubled. He too was evidently emotionally effected by the loss of His good friend Lazarus and by the weeping of Mary and the fellow Jews who were following her, to express their grief and to keep her company while she mourned.
And Jesus
said in Jn 11:34, 'Where have you laid him?' His question, not
demonstrating omniscience, evidently came from operating out of His
Humanity. And when those around Him answered, "Lord, come and see,"
notice that they too called Him Lord.
And with all
of this weeping and mourning for their friend Lazarus and his sisters,
Jn 11:35 says, "Jesus wept," out of His own personal grief for His
beloved friend Lazarus.
So in Jn
11:36, a number of the Jews who were weeping were continually and
repeatedly saying [imperfect tense] 'See how He loved him,' which
implies that the onlookers were deeply impressed with Jesus love and
affection for Lazarus.
Nevertheless,
others were bitter. Some of the Jews said, 'Could not this man, who
opened the eyes
of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?' (ref. Jn 11:37). Although
many knew of
Jesus' capacity to perform supernatural healing; and even some of them
made the connection
that He is "the Resurrection and the Life, the Christ, the Son of God,
even He who comes into the world," and believed in Him for eternal
life, (Jn 11:45); others who also experienced observing Jesus as He
raised
Lazarus from the dead believed that Jesus was an enemy of
the state of Israel that needed to be killed and reported Him to the
Jewish authority, (ref. Jn 11:46]
(Jn 11:38 NASB) "So Jesus, again being deeply
moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was
lying against it. (Jn 11:39
NASB) Jesus said,
'Remove the stone.' Martha, the sister of the
deceased, said to Him, 'Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for
he has been dead four days.' (Jn 11:40
NASB) Jesus said
to her, 'Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the
glory of God?' (Jn 11:41
NASB) So they
removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, 'Father, I
thank You that You have heard Me. (Jn 11:42 NASB) I knew that You always hear Me;
but because of the people
standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.' (Jn 11:43
NASB) When He had
said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come
forth.' (Jn 11:44
NASB) The man who
had died came forth, bound hand and foot with
wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to
them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.' " =
[In Jn 11:38,
author John wrote, "So Jesus again [from within His Humanity] being
deeply moved within, came to
the tomb." The Greek word transliterated "embrimOmenos" and rendered
"being deeply moved within" is a present
participle conveying an ongoing emotional and troubling reaction
- a gumbling within, lit., to be moved with anger - evidently begun
since verse 33 when He began to see Mary constantly weeping over
her brother's death and the ongoing weeping of those fellow Jews and
friends of Mary who were following her around and
consoling her. For the focus on these that were weeping and mourning
was on the physical death of Lazarus who lay in his tomb; as opposed to
the presence of Jesus the Son of God being in their presence Who was
about to raise their friend and Jesus' friend from the dead to life as
He had done for others .
Now the
tomb was a cave with a stone lying against it, evidently cut into
limestone rock with the
opening closed by a specially selected stone shaped to cover the
opening.
Whereupon John stated in Jn 11:39 that when Jesus arrived at the tomb, He said, "Remove the stone." He was evidently focused upon tending to His Father's will to raise Lazarus from the dead, glorifying God and the Son of God. On the other hand, Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Jesus, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days." Martha expressed her concern that there would be a very unpleasant stench when the tomb was opened. At that moment, her mind was not focused upon what Jesus promised in Jn 11:23 that Lazarus would rise again; nor was she applying her faith in Jesus when He said in Jn 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
Notice that author John has written of eternal, spiritual, physical and temporal matters in his account of Jesus' resurrection of Lazarus implying that they are interconnected; and he wrote of the reactions of those who believed in Him for eternal life and those who did not and believed that He ought to be killed for the sake of Israel's and the rulers' survival.
Jesus responded to Martha in Jn 11:40 with, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" Jesus was evidently referring to His previous statements in Jn 11:4 when He said, "This [Lazarus'] sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it;" and in Jn 11:23-26 where Jesus testified, "[I am] the resurrection and the life; he who believes in [Me] will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in [Me] will never die. Do you [Martha] believe this?" With the result that Martha had answered, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He Who comes into the world," (ref. Jn 11:27).
Since Jesus had raised others from the dead before, such as Nain's son, (Lk 7:11-16); and Jairus' daughter, (Lk 8:41-42, 49-56), then raising Lazarus was no problem, and should have been the focus when He arrived at the tomb of Lazarus. The issue was the lack by Martha and the others' so that the glory of God might be revealed to her and all of those present that they might acknowledge who He is and believe in Him unto eternal life.
Whereupon in Jn 11:41-42, author and apostle John reports that they removed the stone from the front of Lazarus' tomb as Jesus had requested in verse 39. And then John reported that Jesus cried out in prayer to His Father before everyone there, raising His eyes to the heavens, With a loud voice, (ref. Jn 11:43-44), He prayed, "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me" in the sense of informing everyone around that God the Father had already heard, answered and granted Jesus' prayer, while operating out of His Humanity. It is herein implied that God always hears Jesus' prayers and answers / grants the Son's requests, (as Martha attested to, ref. Jn 11:22). Jesus then explained that He prayed out loud "because of the people standing around so they may hear it and believe that God sent Jesus, His Son, implying that the people will very shortly experience / observe God's answer to Jesus' prayer: an astounding miraculous event which occurred in front of their eyes: His raising of Lazarus from the dead. And Jesus stipulated that His public prayer was made so that those present as well as others may believe that God sent Jesus - as Martha testified to His being "the Christ, the Son of God, even He Who comes into the world" - so that those observing this supernatural miraculous event through Jesus may believe in Him for eternal life.
So when Martha expressed her saving faith in the Lord unto eternal life, she met His condition - the one and only step of faith she needed to take to secure eternal life which would then lead to Jesus' resurrection of her brother Lazarus as proof of Who He was: the Resurrection and the Life in Whom she believed; whereupon, Jesus began the steps to Lazarus' resurrection. He did not ask God to raise Lazarus; He thanked Him for having already answered His prayer which was prayed before this. So great was Jesus' faith in the Father that He assumed this miracle that was necessary to His mission was as good as done. Only raising Lazarus would complete the expectations Jesus had aroused in the disciples and in Mary and Martha and in a number of those who were present. He said in his prayer that the transaction was already complete, but he asked for the raising of Lazarus as a convincing sign to the assembled people that he had been sent by the Father.
a) [(Jn 11:43-44) Expositor's
Bible Commentary]:
"43-44 Having
uttered this prayer, Jesus addressed the dead man [as if he were
alive]. Jesus had said on a previous occasion that a time would come
when all who were in their graves would hear his voice John 5:28). This
occasion was a single demonstration of that authority. The words spoken
were brief, direct, and imperative and can be paraphrased, "Lazarus!
This way out!" [lit., "come outside"] as if Jesus were directing
someone lost in a gloomy dungeon. The creative power of God reversed
the process of corruption and quickened the corpse into life. The
effect was startling. The dead man appeared at the entrance to the
tomb, still bound by the graveclothes that had been wound around him.
Jesus then ordered that he be released from the wrappings and returned
to normal life. It was a supreme demonstration of the power of eternal
life that triumphed over death, corruption, and hopelessness."
And in Jn 11:43-44, John reports, "When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth.' The man who had died came forth, was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.' "
(Jn 11:45 NASB) "Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.
(Jn 11:46 NASB) But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.
(Jn 11:47 NASB) Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, 'What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
(Jn 11:48 NASB) If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.'
Jn 11:49 NASB) But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all,
(Jn 11:50 NASB) nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.'
(Jn 11:51 NASB) Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
(Jn 11:52 NASB) and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
(Jn 11:53 NASB) So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.
(Jn 11:54
NASB) Therefore
Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went
away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called
Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
(Jn 11:55 NASB) Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.
(Jn 11:56 NASB) So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, 'What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?'
(Jn 11:57 NASB) Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him."
1) [(Jn 11:45-57) Overview of Jn 11:45-57]:
In Jn
11:45-57 especially in view is the
overriding fear of the Jewish rulers was that Jesus' miraculous signs
and teaching which had prompted so many to believe in Him and follow
Him would disrupt
the
arrangement that the Jewish rulers had with the Roman authorities to
allow them to be in charge of the Israelite population - provided there
was order and no disruptions amongst the population. But when Jesus
came upon the scene in the first century, His miraculous signs and
teaching became a threat to their status quo - drawing so many
followers, many of whom sought to make Him King and overthrow the Roman
rule .
Jesus' growing popularity neither supported the rulers'
leadership, nor its theology; which the latter was unbiblical.
Furthermore, Jesus' opposition to them, which was
biblically sound, was especially
alarming to the
rulers:
a) [Compare Matthew chapter 23]:
(Mt 23:1 NASB) "Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
(Mt 23:2 NASB) saying: 'The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
(Mt 23:3 NASB) therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.
[Notice that
the Pharisees sat 'in Moses' seat' and apparently relayed to others
what the Law said. What is in view then is their lifestyle which
apparently did not follow what they preached]
(Mt 23:4 NASB) They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
(Mt 23:5 NASB) But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
(Mt 23:6 NASB) They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,
(Mt 23:7 NASB) and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.
(Mt 23:8 NASB) But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
(Mt 23:9 NASB) Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
(Mt 23:10 NASB) Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
(Mt 23:11 NASB) But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
(Mt 23:12 NASB) Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
(Mt 23:13 NASB) But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
(Mt 23:14
NASB) Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows'
houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will
receive greater condemnation. [see Mk 12:40, Lk 20:47]
[*WH, NU
Sinaiticus, B, D, L, Z, Theta, f(1), 33, it(a,e), syr(s), cop(sa) omit
the verse. In the following it comes before verse 13: W 0102, 0107,
Maj, it(f), Syr(h,p). In the following it comes after verse 13: TR,
f(13), IT, Syr(c) and so the TR has it as verse 14.So this verse
is not present in the earliest manuscripts and several other witnesses.
It evidently was taken from Mk 12:40 or Lk 20:47 and inserted in later
manuscripts either before or after 23:13. This kind of gospel
harmonization became especially prevalent after the fourth century]
(Mt 23:15 NASB) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
[Now what follows is the unbiblical teaching that the Pharisees promoted]:
(Mt 23:16 NASB) Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.'
(Mt 23:17 NASB) You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?
(Mt 23:18 NASB) And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.
(Mt 23:19 NASB) You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?
(Mt 23:20 NASB) Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
(Mt 23:21 NASB) And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.
(Mt 23:22 NASB) And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
(Mt 23:23 NASB) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
(Mt 23:24 NASB) You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
(Mt 23:25 NASB) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
(Mt 23:26 NASB) You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
(Mt 23:27 NASB) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
(Mt 23:28 NASB) So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
(Mt 23:29 NASB) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
(Mt 23:30 NASB) and say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
(Mt 23:31 NASB) So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
(Mt 23:32 NASB) Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.
(Mt 23:33 NASB) You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
(Mt 23:34 NASB) Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
(Mt 23:35 NASB) so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
(Mt 23:36 NASB) Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
(Mt 23:37 NASB) Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
(Mt 23:38 NASB) Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!
(Mt 23:39 NASB) For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'Blessed Is He Who comes in the name of the LORD!' "
2) [(Jn 11:45-57) Commentary On Verses 45-57]:
(Jn 11:45
NASB) "Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had
done, believed in Him. (Jn 11:46
NASB) "But some
of
them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had
done." =
[The
following words
from Jn 11:45, "Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw
what He had done, believed in Him," refer
especially to author Luke's account
of Jesus' raising of Mary's brother, Lazarus from the dead, (ref. Jn
11:1-44). Evidently
many of the Jews came to Mary when they learned of Lazarus' death in
order to console Mary and her sister Martha concerning the passing of
their brother. And as a result of seeing Jesus raise Lazarus from the
dead, many believed in Jesus for eternal life, (ref Lk 6:25-27).
But then the words in the next verse, Jn 11:46, evidently of those who did not believe in Jesus as follows, "But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done," have a tone of disapproval of what they observed and conveyed to the Pharisees who were Rulers of Israel evidently in order that the latter might take some action against Jesus. So John's account in Jn 11:1-46 of Jesus' resurrection of Lazarus from the dead is followed by Jn 11:47-53, which conveys the reaction of a special council called by the Jewish rulers in order to determine what to do with Jesus, especially in the light of His many miracles, especially the resurrection of Lazarus and the many who believed in Him who witnessed it]:
(Jn 11:47 NASB) "Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, 'What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.' "
[Many of the Jews that observed Jesus' raising of Lazarus from the dead, went to His enemies, the Pharisees, and reported what had happened. This miraculous sign was so significant that the chief priests and the Pharisees decided to call an emergency session of the Sanhedrin. Those that reported Jesus to the rulers were evidently hardened in sin or confused. Doubtless they felt that Jesus was some kind of magician who by secret arts was deceiving people. And in that meeting the rulers acknowledged that Jesus was indeed performing many miraculous signs which pointed to and fulfilled Scripture with which they should have been familiar being Israel's authority such matters. But they were frustrated because their status quo was being threatened as a result of the following that Jesus was receiving. So they disapproved of what Jesus was doing instead of receiving Him wholeheartedly as their Messiah. Rather than looking to their Savior Who was promised in the Scripture they should have been familiar with to lead them into and rule over the Eternal Kingdom of God; they responded to Jesus' growing popularity to become such a wave of popular support as an eventual threat of their own status under Roman rule, which He would have ended when Rome would notice, seize authority of Israel and break up their rule and scatter Israel abroad. The council expressed its inability to solve the problem by continuing to do what they had been doing. Official disapproval, excommunication, and counterteaching were not stopping Jesus' influence. The outcome would be insurrection and the Romans would crush the Jewish revolt; taking away both our place (i.e., the temple) and our nation.
Ironically
the rulers never acknowledged the connection to or even any
remarkable similarity between the words and actions of Jesus and the
prophecies in the Scriptures that were available to them about Who He
was, i.e., in the
Hebrew Bible - fulfillments of Scripture relative to the Messiah,
the Christ, the Son of God - the One Who is to come. Note that it was
Jesus
Himself Who testified that He was the fulfillment of Isa 61:1-2a and
hence would perform these signs when He read from a
scrollet of Isaiah in the Synagogue in Nazareth, (ref. Lk 4:17 ; and Isa 61:1-2 ). Nor did
the rulers acknowledge that Jesus was the promised Messiah /
Savior of the
world - the ONE Who is to come and Who would have mankind's iniquity
put upon Himself as
Scripture so clearly prophesied - especially in Isaiah chapter 9:; chapter 11:;
chapter 49:;
chapter 50:; chapter 52:; and chapter 53:.
The rulers
evidently did not understand the implications of these signs, their
minds set on their own
temporal positions and saving the nation Israel single handedly from
being destroyed by the Romans by killing one Man. Their minds were not
at all set upon what God has said about the Eternal Kingdom of God ]
(Jn 11:48
NASB) " 'If
we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans
will come and take away both our place and our nation.' (Jn 11:49
NASB) But one of
them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know
nothing at all, (Jn 11:50
NASB) nor
do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die
for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.' (Jn 11:51
NASB) Now
he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that
year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, (Jn
11:52
NASB) and
not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather
together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. (Jn 11:53
NASB) So from
that day on they planned together to kill Him." =
[In Jn 11:48,
the
word rendered "place" is most likely geographical in nature, i.e., the
Temple. The event predicted by those discussing what to do about
Jesus evidently would occur; for the Temple was utterly
destroyed by the Romans.
The high priest in view in Jn 11:49, Caiaphas, was the son-in-law of Annas, who is mentioned later in the account of Jesus' trial, (cf. Jn 18:13-28). Annas had been high priest from A.D. 7 to 14 and was succeeded by three of his sons and finally by Caiaphas from A.D. 18 to 36. The phrase "that year" in Jn 11:49 refers to the year when Christ was crucified to which author John provides details leading up and through His death on the cross especially in John chapters 18-19.
In Jn 11:49-50, Caiaphas was saying to fellow rulers in the Sanhedrin who had evidently been discussing the situation of Jesus' great popularity without arriving at anything substantive to do about it, "You know nothing at all nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." Caiaphas was evidently contemptuous of the indecisive attitude of those who were discussing the situation in the special meeting of the council. He recommended the elimination of Jesus rather than risking the possibility of a long contest with Rome. The alternative was destruction of the Jewish nation in war (11:48). But their rejection of Jesus did not solve the problem. The Jewish people followed false shepherds into a war against Rome (A.D. 66-70), which did in fact destroy their nation.
Although Jn
11:51
had stipulated that Caiaphas made a statement that Jesus was going to
die for the nation, author John did not write that this was made as if
it were on his own initiative, but because he was high priest. So he
was not considering
himself to be a prophet ordained and inspired by God, but by being high
priest that year. Hence he prophesised that Jesus was going to die for
the
nation as a sacrifice to save the nation and its rulership from being
decimated by the Romans.
And author John continues on this issue: he reports that Jesus Christ's mission also included the gathering of all Israelites into one the children of God who are scattered abroad as follows: "and [Caiaphas evidently declared that he had in view the protection of [not for the nation [of Israel] only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." This ironically mirrors the prophecies in Scripture about Jesus Christ dying but for the much larger purpose for payment of the sins of the whole world than the rulers' motive to kill Him for their own sakes to avoid conflict with Rome with an eventual view stipulated by Caiaphas to reunite all of the children of Israel including those who are scattered abroad. Ironically the current rulers of Israel under Roman rule were determined to sacrifice by execution this one man Jesus so that the Romans would not come and take away their place and the nation Israel also with a view to gathering together into one the children of God - Israel - who are scattered abroad; totally ignoring what God promised in Scripture under the New Covenant through Jesus' death on the cross, but not as a result of removing Him from being in conflict with the Jewish ruling body under Rome. The rulers reasoned that by executing Jesus instead of believing in Him, they would not lose their power and privileges under the Roman government. They thought that the turmoil caused by Jesus' teaching and performance of miracles would cause the Romans to step in and throw out the current rulers and decimate Israel. It is ironic that Caiaphas' words were reflective of prophecy in Scripture which actually predicted that Jesus would be executed by the Jewish rulers but God stipulated in scripture that this was in order to provide salvation for Israel, as well as the whole world with a view not for the preservation of the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. His death was not only for Jews but also for the world, thus making a new body from both (cf. Eph. 2:14-18; 3:6). The rulers were thinking solely about their own temporal moments in this life and not about Israel and all peoples of the world to make available to them eternal life in the Eternal Kingdom of God through faith in Him. So John reports in Jn 11:53 that from that day on the Jewish rulers planned together to kill Him.
(Jn 11:54
NASB) "Therefore
Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went
away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called
Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. (Jn 11:55
NASB) Now
the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of
the country before the Passover to purify themselves. (Jn 11:56
NASB) So
they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they
stood in the temple, 'What do you think; that He will not come to the
feast at all?' (Jn 11:57
NASB) Now
the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone
knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him." =
[So in Jn
11:53, which reads, "So from that day on they planned together to kill
Him," it is established that if Jesus was indeed
the promised Messiah / Savior to come as Scripture foretold; and it is
evident from the beginning of His ministry that He was ;
then it was prophesied that when all Israel turns to faith to in Him,
that it would result in the fulfillment of God's New Covenant with the
House of
Israel and the House of Judah and the commencement of the Eternal
Kingdom of God with
all Israelites transformed into righteous priests who know scripture
perfectly. They would become the ruling nation over the whole world .
Had this occurred in the first century it would have transformed the
corrupt Jewish rulers into perfect priests with a perfect knowledge of
Scripture as well; and the Romans would have been out of business. But
the first century Jewish rulers did not believe in Jesus.
Hence in Jn 11:54, "Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples, author John indicates that at this time in the ministry of Jesus, He no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. Ephraim was a village north of Jerusalem on the edge of the Judean desert into which Jesus could flee if necessary]
As it says in Jn 11:55, now that the Passover of the Jews was near, many came out of the country and went up to Jerusalem in order to purify themselves before it began. Then in Jn 11:56, considering His popularity and having appeared there before, there were many who sought Jesus, saying to one another as they stood in the temple, 'What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?' in view of the fact that the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.' For in Jn 11:57, it states that the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him. There was bound to be a lot more people in Jerusalem, for there had been numerous attempts to arrest or stone Him, (cf. Jn 5:18; 7:30, 44; 8:20, 59, 10:38).