17 Jesus, therefore, having come, found him having been four days already in the tomb. 18 And Bethany was nigh to Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off, 19 and many of the Jews had come unto Martha and Mary, that they might comfort them concerning their brother; 20 Martha, therefore, when she heard that Jesus doth come, met him, and Mary kept sitting in the house. 21 Martha, therefore, said unto Jesus, 'Sir, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died; 22 but even now, I have known that whatever thou mayest ask of God, God will give to thee;' 23 Jesus saith to her, 'Thy brother shall rise again.' 24 Martha saith to him, 'I have known that he will rise again, in the rising again in the last day;' 25 Jesus said to her, 'I am the rising again, and the life; he who is believing in me, even if he may die, shall live; 26 and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die—to the age; 27 believest thou this?' she saith to him, 'Yes, sir, I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming to the world.'
28 And these things having said, she went away, and called Mary her sister privately, saying, 'The Teacher is present, and doth call thee;' 29 she, when she heard, riseth up quickly, and doth come to him; 30 and Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was in the place where Martha met him; 31 the Jews, therefore, who were with her in the house, and were comforting her, having seen Mary that she rose up quickly and went forth, followed her, saying—'She doth go away to the tomb, that she may weep there.' 32 Mary, therefore, when she came where Jesus was, having seen him, fell at his feet, saying to him, 'Sir, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died;'
33 Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, did groan in the spirit, and troubled himself, and he said, 34 'Where have ye laid him?' they say to him, 'Sir, come and see;' 35 Jesus wept. 36 The Jews, therefore, said, 'Lo, how he was loving him!' 37 and certain of them said, 'Was not this one, who did open the eyes of the blind man, able to cause that also this one might not have died?'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 11:17-37
Commentary on John 11:17-32
(Read John 11:17-32)
Here was a house where the fear of God was, and on which his blessing rested; yet it was made a house of mourning. Grace will keep sorrow from the heart, but not from the house. When God, by his grace and providence, is coming towards us in ways of mercy and comfort, we should, like Martha, go forth by faith, hope, and prayer, to meet him. When Martha went to meet Jesus, Mary sat still in the house; this temper formerly had been an advantage to her, when it put her at Christ's feet to hear his word; but in the day of affliction, the same temper disposed her to melancholy. It is our wisdom to watch against the temptations, and to make use of the advantages of our natural tempers. When we know not what in particular to ask or expect, let us refer ourselves to God; let him do as seemeth him good. To enlarge Martha's expectations, our Lord declared himself to be the Resurrection and the Life. In every sense he is the Resurrection; the source, the substance, the first-fruits, the cause of it. The redeemed soul lives after death in happiness; and after the resurrection, both body and soul are kept from all evil for ever. When we have read or heard the word of Christ, about the great things of the other world, we should put it to ourselves, Do we believe this truth? The crosses and comforts of this present time would not make such a deep impression upon us as they do, if we believed the things of eternity as we ought. When Christ our Master comes, he calls for us. He comes in his word and ordinances, and calls us to them, calls us by them, calls us to himself. Those who, in a day of peace, set themselves at Christ's feet to be taught by him, may with comfort, in a day of trouble, cast themselves at his feet, to find favour with him.
Commentary on John 11:33-46
(Read John 11:33-46)
Christ's tender sympathy with these afflicted friends, appeared by the troubles of his spirit. In all the afflictions of believers he is afflicted. His concern for them was shown by his kind inquiry after the remains of his deceased friend. Being found in fashion as a man, he acts in the way and manner of the sons of men. It was shown by his tears. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Tears of compassion resemble those of Christ. But Christ never approved that sensibility of which many are proud, while they weep at mere tales of distress, but are hardened to real woe. He sets us an example to withdraw from scenes of giddy mirth, that we may comfort the afflicted. And we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. It is a good step toward raising a soul to spiritual life, when the stone is taken away, when prejudices are removed, and got over, and way is made for the word to enter the heart. If we take Christ's word, and rely on his power and faithfulness, we shall see the glory of God, and be happy in the sight. Our Lord Jesus has taught us, by his own example, to call God Father, in prayer, and to draw nigh to him as children to a father, with humble reverence, yet with holy boldness. He openly made this address to God, with uplifted eyes and loud voice, that they might be convinced the Father had sent him as his beloved Son into the world. He could have raised Lazarus by the silent exertion of his power and will, and the unseen working of the Spirit of life; but he did it by a loud call. This was a figure of the gospel call, by which dead souls are brought out of the grave of sin: and of the sound of the archangel's trumpet at the last day, with which all that sleep in the dust shall be awakened, and summoned before the great tribunal. The grave of sin and this world, is no place for those whom Christ has quickened; they must come forth. Lazarus was thoroughly revived, and returned not only to life, but to health. The sinner cannot quicken his own soul, but he is to use the means of grace; the believer cannot sanctify himself, but he is to lay aside every weight and hinderance. We cannot convert our relatives and friends, but we should instruct, warn, and invite them.