11:1 Now {1} a certain [man] was sick, [named] Lazarus, of Bethany, the {a} town of Mary and her sister Martha.
(1) Christ, in restoring the rotting body of his friend to life, shows an example both of his mighty power, and also of his singular good will toward men: and this is also an image of the resurrection to come.
(a) Where his sisters dwelt.
11:1 Lazarus Raised from the Dead
SUMMARY OF JOHN 11:
Lazarus Sick Unto Death. Jesus Sent For. Lazarus Dead and Buried When He Comes. The Resurrection and the Life. Lazarus Comes Forth at the Word. Many Jews Believe. The Sanhedrin Takes Counsel Against Christ. The Prophecy of Caiaphas. The Passover at Hand.
A certain [man]... [named] Lazarus. He is not named in the other Gospels, though his sisters are.
Bethany. About two miles east of Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet.
The town of Mary... and Martha. John speaks of the sisters as well known in the church. They had been named by Luke, who wrote before him (Lu 10:38-42).
11:1 One Lazarus - It is probable, Lazarus was younger than his sisters. Bethany is named, the town of Mary and Martha, and Lazarus is mentioned after them, John 11:5. Ecclesiastical history informs us, that Lazarus was now thirty years old, and that he lived thirty years after Christ's ascension.
11:1-6 It is no new thing for those whom Christ loves, to be sick; bodily distempers correct the corruption, and try the graces of God's people. He came not to preserve his people from these afflictions, but to save them from their sins, and from the wrath to come; however, it behoves us to apply to Him in behalf of our friends and relatives when sick and afflicted. Let this reconcile us to the darkest dealings of Providence, that they are all for the glory of God: sickness, loss, disappointment, are so; and if God be glorified, we ought to be satisfied. Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. The families are greatly favoured in which love and peace abound; but those are most happy whom Jesus loves, and by whom he is beloved. Alas, that this should seldom be the case with every person, even in small families. God has gracious intentions, even when he seems to delay. When the work of deliverance, temporal or spiritual, public or personal, is delayed, it does but stay for the right time.
