Lazarus Died (Jn. 11:17-31)

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”' 28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” 29 As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 For Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him. 31 So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

When Jesus arrived in Bethany Lazarus had been dead for four days.  It was a common belief among the Jews in ancient Palestine that the soul typically lingered near the body for three days after death.  After that time, all the spirits would have left the grave site and there would be little hope of restoration or revival.  As Bethany was close to Jerusalem Jesus was now closer to the religious authorities who had tried to kill him so it would be a great risk for him to perform a miracle there.  

Many in the community came to mourn Lazarus and comfort Martha and Mary which was the cultural norm of the time.  The community would offer support to those who were grieving.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him.  She had deep faith in Jesus’ healing power and expressed regret that he had not come while Lazarus was still alive.  Jesus was well known for his miracles.  Martha acknowledged that Jesus’ power came from God and that God would grant him anything he asked for in prayer.  Even though Lazarus had been dead for four days Martha was confident that Jesus could intercede in some way because of his connection to God,  

Jesus told Martha that Lazarus would rise again.  Martha understood that to mean the future resurrection of the dead on the last day, a central tenet of Jewish belief at the time, rooted in the teachings of the prophets and Jewish scripture.  He was assuring Martha of the promise of eternal life.  Jesus’ declaration foreshadowed the events that would shortly take place.  Jesus then revealed to Marha that he can not only bring about resurrection but that he is the source of life itself and those who believe in him will have eternal life.  He was the giver of life both in this world and the next and challenged Martha’s faith by asking her if she truly believed what he told her.  Martha confessed her belief that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of God, and went to get Mary.  Jesus had not yet entered the village, so Mary quickly went to meet him and the Jews who were mourning followed her.  

Almighty and merciful God, nourish our faith so that in the darkest times we may truly believe in Your Son who can fill us with hope and life.  Help us to trust in his promise of resurrection and eternal life, especially in times of grief and loss.  This we pray 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.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.