What does John 12:11 mean?

The gospel of John typically uses the phrase "the Jews" to refer to the main religious body of Jerusalem: the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes, as well as the laymen who loyally follow them. Many of those once-loyal followers, it seems, are willing to follow evidence to its logical conclusion. They see proof of Jesus' preaching (John 11:9), and so they follow.

Despite all the evidence that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be (John 20:30–31), there are those who will never accept any evidence, at all. This is because the "belief" which saves a person is a product of one's own preferences; for some people, even that which is obvious will never be enough (Romans 1:18–20). Jesus' most fervent critics have rejected everything up to and including Scripture in their stubbornness (John 5:39–40). Recently, they even responded to a spectacular miracle—the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:38–44)—with an increased resolve to have Jesus killed (John 11:53)!

That willful blindness leads to extended hatred, even to people like Lazarus, who also comes under the threat of violence (John 12:10). His crime is nothing more than being a living testimony to the power and divinity of Jesus Christ. The men who oppose Jesus are angered at the number of people who see Lazarus, dead four days and now living, and see it as proof of Jesus' ministry. Their answer is to have that evidence removed, by plotting the death of the resurrected man.

Tradition suggests Lazarus fled to Cyprus, possibly becoming a bishop there. Neither history nor Scripture give us any explicit resolution about his earthly fate.