When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” 35 And Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” 37 But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” 38 So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42 I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Mary fell at Jesus’ feet and expressed her belief that Jesus would have healed Lazarus if he had come sooner. Mary and the Jews who had followed her were weeping out of despair over Lazarus’ death. Jesus asked to see where they lay Lazarus, and he wept. Jesus had said to Martha and the disciples who were with him, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this (Jn. 11:25-26)?” Did Jesus weep out of sadness for Lazarus or was he weeping because of the lack of faith of his disciples, Martha, and Mary who had failed to understand what he had told them? The Jews knew that Jesus worked miracles and questioned why he could not prevent Lazarus’ death. They did not understand who Jesus was and that also perturbed Jesus. They saw Jesus as a miracle worker.
When Jesus reached the tomb which was in a cave, he asked for the stone covering the entrance to be removed. Martha, still without understanding that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, told Jesus that four days had passed since Lazarus died so there would be a stench. Jesus told Mary to believe and she will see the glory of God. Then Jesus prayed to the Father in thanksgiving and for the crowd to believe that he was sent by God. Jesus called forth Lazarus from the tomb who had to be freed from the burial cloths.
In raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus demonstrated that he is the life of the world (Jn. 5:25-26), but he also condemned himself to death. The High Priest told the Sanhedrin, “It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people (Jn. 11:50).” Jesus gives life to one and receives death. Jesus receives death and gives life to all who believe in him.
Almighty and eternal God, through your Son’s death and resurrection you justify sinful men who believe in Jesus and confess his name. Hear us as we humbly lift our hearts to you in supplication and grant us joy in this life and in your kingdom. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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