John 11:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

NIV: "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

NASB: Martha then said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

CSB: Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.

NLT: Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.

KJV: Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

NKJV: Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

Scripture shows that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had a close relationship. Jesus has spent a noteworthy amount of time with this family (Luke 10:38–42; Matthew 21:17). When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters felt it was necessary to send a messenger to Jesus (John 11:3). That message appealed to Jesus' friendship with their brother. Jesus' response was a reassurance that Lazarus' illness would not lead to death (John 11:4). However, based on the timeline shown in this chapter, that response would have arrived back to Mary and Martha after Lazarus had already been dead for a day or two (John 11:17).

Given all of that, it's understandable that Martha's initial words to Jesus can be interpreted in one of two ways. This might be an accusation. Martha might be implying it was Jesus' fault for not being there when Lazarus was ill.

However, Martha would have been aware of the time it took a messenger to travel. She would have known that by the time Jesus heard about Lazarus' illness, it was already too late. Her statement here, tied what she says next, seems more an expression of sadness mixed with hope. In full context, her meaning is something like, "this is not how I hoped things would be, but…"

What she says to Jesus in the following verse is a thinly-veiled request (John 11:22). Though she's in mourning and being careful, it's clear Martha is still willing to trust in Jesus and His decisions.

John 11:17–27 describes Jesus' encounter with Martha, Lazarus' brother. By the time Jesus got word of Lazarus' illness, His friend had already died, but Jesus delayed a further two days before coming to see the family. Martha is both heartbroken and resigned. She is confident that her brother will see eternal resurrection. Jesus confirms His role in salvation as He comforts her; she responds by affirming Him as the Messiah. This is the fifth of seven ''I Am'' statements by Jesus in this gospel. In the following passage, Jesus will meet with Martha and Lazarus' sister, Mary, expressing His sorrow for their pain.

Jesus has left the vicinity of Jerusalem to avoid hostile religious leaders. While gone, He receives word that a good friend, Lazarus, is sick. In fact, Lazarus has died by the time this message reaches Jesus. He purposefully waits a few days before returning to Bethany, arriving four days after Lazarus' burial. In front of Lazarus' mourning sisters—who Jesus weeps with—and an assembled crowd, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in a stirring and spectacular miracle. This is the seventh of John's seven ''signs'' of Jesus' divine power. In response, religious leaders coordinate in their effort to have Jesus murdered.

After giving sight to a man born blind (John 9), Jesus sparred with religious leaders on at least two occasions (John 10). After another failed arrest attempt, Jesus left the area and went out where Jerusalem's politics had little influence. In this chapter, He returns to resurrect a recently-departed friend, Lazarus. That results in a renewed commitment from Jerusalem's religious leaders to have Jesus murdered. As the crucifixion draws near, Jesus will stage His triumphal entry in chapter 12, and then begin His final teachings to the disciples.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.