In considering John 11
● notice that the “certain man” is identified extensively: by name (Lazarus), by place (Bethany), and by known relations (Mary- whose connection with Jesus is further rehearsed- and Martha), all perhaps to establish weight as a witness,
● register the similarity with the opening of chapter 9, the man’s blindness occurred in order for the “works of God” (9:3) to be shown and Lazarus’ sickness occurs in order to show the “glory of God” (4, 40),
● puzzle over this cluster of three verbs- “loved (5) … heard (6) … stayed (6)”: having heard of the illness of a beloved friend, Jesus waited two days to be sure the death and the accompanying rituals had been accomplished,
● recognize that this sign of the glory of God plays out under the danger of political conflict and threat (8, 16),
● see the difference and similarity between Martha’s and Mary’s responses: Martha “went and met” (20) while Mary “remained seated” (20), only later to “rise quickly and go out” (31) and then she “fell at his feet” (32), yet they each directly declare the difference that Jesus’ presence would have made (21, 32),
● notice how Jesus engages Martha in an exchange where she twice declares “I know” (22, 24), showing her readiness to believe in the spiritual reality Jesus offers, an immediate receptiveness that surpasses the woman at the well in chapter 4, while later she so readily declares the reality of the four-day stench (39) that shows the tug of the practical and physical, somewhat like the woman at the well,
● add “I am the resurrection and the life” (25) to John’s intentional collection of Jesus’ “I am” declarations,
● consider how the elaborated narrative, the dramatic story, of Jesus in front of the tomb (38-44) is a fitting sign of God’s work to preface the approaching story of Jesus himself as God’s greatest display of his glory, and
● ponder the irony of the high priest’s remark that “it is better for you that one man should die for the people” (50).
Thank you,
Randy Tumlinson