John 11:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

NIV: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

NASB: (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.)

CSB: Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.

NLT: So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,

KJV: Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

NKJV: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Scripture is light on details about the relationship between Jesus and these three siblings. We see Mary and Martha following Jesus' teachings (Luke 10:38–42), and He presumably lodged at their home several times (Matthew 21:17). Several other verses in this passage allude to Jesus' close friendship with Lazarus (John 11:3; 36). This connection explains why the sisters would have sent an urgent message to Jesus when Lazarus fell ill.

Jesus' reply in the prior verse, as it turns out, comes after Lazarus' death. In fact, by the time the messenger got to Jesus in Bethabara, Lazarus would have died earlier that same day. We can piece together a timeline from the rest of this passage, showing that Jesus' response to the sisters is given when Lazarus is already dead (John 11:4). Although their brother is already buried, Jesus will reassure them that his illness won't lead to death.

This demonstrates the nature of God's loving truthfulness. Hearing Jesus' reply would have been confusing, much as Abraham would have been confused when he was commanded to sacrifice his own son (Genesis 22:1–2). However, God has plans in mind that human beings can only fully grasp in hindsight (Genesis 22:12–14; John 11:41–44).

John 11:1–16 sets up the most spectacular of Jesus' earthly miracles: the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus is given word that Lazarus is sick but delays several days before leaving to see the family. As it turns out, by the time this message gets to Jesus, Lazarus has already died. The disciples assume Jesus won't go back to Judea, since local religious leaders want to kill Him. When Jesus plans to head into dangerous territory, His followers are frightened and pessimistic. The following passage will show Jesus arriving four days after Lazarus had passed away.

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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.