Excerpts adapted from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. Passages attributed to “Anonymous” are from unnamed Christian writers from the patristic era (2nd–8th century), preserved in a reliably ancient source.
Reading 1 (Ezekiel 37:12-14)
Overview: The vision of the valley of the dry bones is a passage read regularly in the churches (Jerome) and foretells the resurrection (Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Novatian, Theodoret) in the way that it reverses the order of nature (Ambrose, Chrysostom), a process begun by the prophet uttering only one word (Jerome, Aphrahat). The resurrection is central to the gospel (Cyril of Jerusalem), in its movement from death to life (Paulinus). The vision is also interpreted as a metaphor for caring for the weak (Basil) or a prediction of future judgment (Justin). The Spirit gives new life (Jerome, Ambrose), shared in the celebration of the Eucharist, the memorial of the cross (Jerome).
The Mystery of the Resurrection. Origen: The mystery of the resurrection is great and difficult for many of us to understand. It is mentioned also in many other passages of the Scriptures and is proclaimed no less through these words in Ezekiel. Commentary on the Gospel of John 10.233.
The Drama of the Prophecy and Its Paradoxical Message. Ambrose: In minute detail the holy prophet Ezekiel teaches and describes how strength will be restored to our dry bones, feeling return and motion added; how, with the return of sinews, the whole structure of the human body will grow strong, and how the driest bones will be clothed with restored flesh and the openings of the veins and the streams of the blood will be concealed by a veil of skin drawn tautly over them. At the very words of the prophet, as we read, the crop of human bodies seems to rise up again to life, and one may see the wide expanses of the fields sprouting with a novel kind of growth. On His Brother Satyrus 2.69.
The Spirit Is the Last to Return. Ambrose: Note how the prophet shows that there was hearing and movement in the bones before the Spirit of life was poured on them. For, above, both the dry bones are bidden to hear, as if they had the sense of hearing, and that on this each of them came to its own joint is pointed out by the words of the prophet. . . . Great is the lovingkindness of the Lord, that the prophet is taken as a witness of the future resurrection, that we, too, might see it with his eyes. For all could not be taken as witnesses, but in that one all we are witnesses, for neither does lying come on a holy person or error on so great a prophet. On His Brother Satyrus 2.72-73.
By One Word Only. Aphrahat: But why, my beloved, was it that those dead did not rise because of the one word [spoken] through Ezekiel, and why was not their resurrection, both of bones and spirit, accomplished [through that one word]? For look! By one word the bones were fitted together, and by another the Spirit came. It was in order that full perfection might be left for our Lord Jesus Christ, who with one utterance and one word will raise up at the last day every human body. For it was not the word that was insufficient but its bearer was inferior. Demonstrations 8.13.
The Unique Character of This Vision. Chrysostom: There were at all events many wonderful and great prophets among ourselves who spoke many things about the future, and they in no way used to bid those who asked them to dig up the bones of the departed. Ezekiel standing near the bones themselves was not only not hindered by [the bones] but added flesh, and nerves and skin to them and brought them back to life again. Discourse on Blessed Babylas 2.
Faith in the Resurrection Is Fundamental. Cyril of Jerusalem: The hope of resurrection is the root of every kind of good work, for the expectation of reward braces the soul to productive toil. And whereas every worker is ready to sustain his toil if he can look forward to being repaid for his labors, where toil has no recompense the soul is soon discouraged and the body flags with it. A soldier who expects his share of the spoils is ready for war. But no one is prepared to die serving a king so undiscerning that he does not provide rewards for labors. In the same way, any soul that believes in resurrection takes care for itself, as is right, but any soul that disbelieves the resurrection abandons itself to destruction. A person who believes that the body survives to rise again is careful of this garment and does not soil it by fornicating. But a person who does not believe in the resurrection gives himself up to fornication, abusing his own body as if it were nothing to him. A mighty message and teaching of the holy Catholic church is belief about the resurrection of the dead; mighty and most indispensable. While many deny it, the truth claims credence for it. Greeks deny it, Samaritans disbelieve, while heretics tear away the half. Truth never appears but in one shape, while contradiction assumes a hundred. Catechetical Lectures 18.1.
Ezekiel Saw the Resurrection Before Him. Gregory of Nyssa: Ezekiel, with prophetic spirit, has surpassed all time and space and with his power of prediction has stood at the very moment of the resurrection. Seeing the future as already present, he has brought it before our eyes in his description. On the Soul and the Resurrection.
The Wonder of the Resurrection. Novatian: He will contemplate truly admirable souls that have been brought back from the grave to reanimate completely consumed bodies. On the Spectacles 10.2.
From Death to Life. Paulinus of Nola: If you are skeptical that ashes can be reassembled into bodies and souls restored to their vessels, Ezekiel will be your witness, for long ago the whole process of resurrection was revealed to him by the Lord. In his pages you will behold the dusty remains of people of old come to life over the entire region, bones scattered far and wide over the broad plain spontaneously hastening to fuse together when bidden, sprouting sinews from the innermost marrow and then drawing the skin over the flesh that had grown on them. Then the limbs are perfectly ordered more quickly than words can tell, and from the ancient dust stand forth people made new. Poem 31.311.
The Vision Is Read Regularly. Jerome: The vision is a famous one and is celebrated by being read in all the churches of Christ. Commentary on Ezekiel 11.37.1-14.
The Nature of the Vision. Theodoret of Cyr: Again this is the spirit of contemplation; he did not see these bodies that were shown to him with his eyes, but he had them revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Commentary on Ezekiel 15.37.
37:3 Speak to the Bones
Even Dry Bones Can Hear the Word of God. Jerome: It is wonderful how he addresses the dry bones, bones that were able to hear the Word of God before they had nerves, flesh, skin and life-giving breath. Commentary on Ezekiel 11.37.1-14.
37:5 Breath Enters the Bones
The Weak Are Supported by the Strong. Basil the Great: There should . . . be certain bones of the inner person in which the bond of union and harmony of spiritual powers is collected. Just as the bones by their own firmness protect the tenderness of the flesh, so also in the church there are some who through their own constancy are able to carry the infirmities of the weak. And as the bones are joined to each other through articulations by sinews and fastenings that have grown on them, so also would be the bond of charity and peace, which achieves a certain natural junction and union of the spiritual bones in the church of God. Homilies on the Psalms 16 (Ps 33).
The Spirit Gives Life. Jerome: This is the resurrection of the dead, the Spirit breathing in, giving life that has entered the human bodies, and immediately they live and stand on their feet, which means the resurrection of the dead. Commentary on Ezekiel 11.37.1-14.
37:7-10 Ezekiel Prophesies
The Vision Portrays Future Judgment. Justin Martyr: The prophets have foretold two comings of Christ: the one, which already took place, was that of a dishonored and suffering man; the other coming will take place, as it is predicted, when he gloriously comes from heaven with his angelic army, when he also raises to life the bodies of all the people that ever were, cloaks the worthy with immortality and relegates the wicked, who will be subjected to pain for all eternity, into the eternal fire, together with the evil demons. We will now show how these things also have been predicted as yet to happen. Thus spoke the prophet Ezekiel, “And the bones came together, bone to its bone.” First Apology 52.
The Eye Glorified. Origen: If there is some excellent glory in the eye, it is particularly in this: that either it is the leader of the body or it is not abandoned by the functions of the other members. I think this is what is taught to us through that vision of the prophet Ezekiel. Homilies on Leviticus 7.2.9.
The Bodies Come Back to Life. Theodoret of Cyr: The proclamation, he says is made by me, by divine command. The bodies that were bound together came back to life, and they experienced a resurrection, and the multitude of those who rose again was not small. Commentary on Ezekiel 15.37.
37:14 God’s Spirit Within You
The Truth of Resurrection by God. Ambrose: It is a prerogative of God to raise the dead. On the Holy Spirit 3.19.149.
The Wonder of Resurrection. Ambrose: We notice here how the operations of the Spirit of life are again resumed; we know in what way the dead are raised from the opening tombs. And is it in truth a matter of wonder that the sepulchers of the dead are opened at the bidding of the Lord, when the whole earth from its utmost limits is shaken by one thunderclap, the sea overflows its bounds and again checks the course of its waves? On His Brother Satyrus 2.76.
The Eucharist Is the Memorial of the Cross. Jerome: We ourselves make the spiritual memorial that is fulfilled as a result of the cross of the Lord and Savior. Commentary on Ezekiel 11.37.1-14.
Psalm (130:1-8)
OVERVIEW: Sinners who repent and are ashamed of their sins should be reconciled to the church with proper admonition and discipline (APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS). When repentance is genuine, absolution should be granted immediately, just as God’s mercy has no limit or fixed time (LEO).
130:3-4 If God Should Mark Iniquities
PRAYER FOR MERCY. APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: When you see the offender, with severity command him to be cast out. As he is going out, let the deacons also treat him with severity, and then let them go and seek for him and keep him out of the church. When they come in, let them entreat you for him. For our Savior entreated his Father for those who had sinned, as it is written in the Gospel: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Then order the offender to come in. And if on examination you find that he is penitent and fit to be received at all into the church when you have assigned him his days of fasting, according to the degree of his offense—as two, three, five or seven weeks—so set him at liberty and speak such things to him as are fit to be said by way of reproof, instruction and exhortation to a sinner for his reformation, so that he may continue privately in his humility and pray to God to be merciful to him, saying: “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For with you there is forgiveness.” This sort of statement contains what is said in the book of Genesis to Cain: “You have sinned; be quiet”; that is, do not continue in sin. That a sinner ought to be ashamed for his own sin, the oracle of God delivered to Moses concerning Miriam is a sufficient proof, when he prayed that she might be forgiven. For God said to him, “If her father had spit in her face, should she not be ashamed? Let her be shut out of the camp for seven days, and afterwards let her come in again.” We therefore ought to do the same with offenders, when they profess their repentance, namely, to separate them for a period of time, according to the degree of their offense; and afterwards, as fathers deal with their children, receive them again on their repentance. CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2.3.16.
130:7 Steadfast Love and Plenteous Redemption
THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS ON GOD’S MERCY. LEO THE GREAT: But satisfaction must not be ruled out or absolution denied to those who in time of necessity or in the moment of pressing danger beg for the protection of penance followed by absolution. For we cannot put limitations on the mercy of God or fix limits to times. With him there is no delaying of pardon when the conversion is genuine, as the Spirit of God says through the prophet: “If being converted you lament, you will be saved”; and elsewhere: “Tell me your sins first in order that you may be justified”; and again: “Because with the Lord there is mercy; and with him plentiful redemption.” Consequently, we must not be stingy in dispensing the gifts of God or disregard the tears and groans of those accusing themselves, since, in our opinion, the very desire for penance was conceived through the inspiration of God, as the apostle says: “Lest by chance God give them repentance . . . so that they may recover themselves from the snare of the devil, at whose pleasure they are held captive.” LETTER 108.
Reading 2 (Romans 8:8-11)
Overview: The Fathers agreed with Paul, but they were not always in agreement on who was “setting their minds on the flesh.” For some of the Fathers, this phrase could be applied to new Christians who had not yet progressed very far in their sanctification. For others it meant the Jews. The Fathers were quite clear, however, that “flesh” here refers to a spiritual principle and not to the physical body. The substance of the flesh as such is not censured.
8:8 The Flesh Cannot Please God
The Substance of Flesh as Such Not Censured. Irenaeus: The apostle does not reject the substance of flesh but shows that the Spirit must be infused into it. Against Heresies 5.10.2.
Tertullian: In these and in similar statements it is not the substance of the flesh which is censured but its actions. On the Resurrection of the Flesh 10.20.
Ambrosiaster: The wise of this world are in the flesh because they cling to their wisdom, by which they reject God’s law. For whatever goes against the law of God is of the flesh, because it is of the world. For the whole world is flesh and every visible thing is assigned to the flesh. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.
Whether the Flesh Can Please God. Chrysostom: Are we to cut our bodies to pieces in order to please God? Should we become murderers in order to practice virtue? You see what inconsistencies result if we take these words literally! What Paul means by the flesh in this passage is not the essence of the body but a life which is carnal and worldly, serving self-indulgence and extravagance to the full. Homilies on Romans 13.
Chrysostom: Why is this? Is not the speaker himself clad in flesh? Paul does not mean that those clad in flesh are incapable of pleasing God but rather those who put no store by virtue, whose thoughts are totally carnal and who are caught up in pleasures of that kind, paying no attention to their soul, which is incorporeal and intellectual. Homilies on Genesis 24.6.
Jerome: If all who are carnal cannot please God, how does Paul himself, the speaker, please God? How do Peter and the other apostles and saints, whom we cannot deny were carnal, please him? . . . It is because they—and we—do not live according to the flesh. We . . . walk about on the earth, it is true, but we are hastening on our way to heaven, for here we do not have a lasting place, but we are wayfarers and pilgrims, like all our fathers. Homilies 63.
Augustine: In the same way, snow cannot tolerate heat. For when snow is heated it melts; it becomes warm as water, but no one can then call it snow. Augustine on Romans 49.
Pelagius: This proves that Paul did not find fault with the flesh itself but with the works of the flesh, because those to whom he was writing were undoubtedly living in the flesh in the physical sense. Once one has given himself over to the flesh (in the spiritual sense) it is impossible to avoid sin. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.
Theodoret of Cyr: Paul is not telling us to leave the body but to be set free from the wisdom of the flesh. What this means, he tells us in the following verses. Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans.
Overview: The body is dead because it is mortal, but the spirit is alive if Christ dwells in us. The perspective of the Fathers was eschatological, and they frequently spoke in terms of future fulfillment. The Fathers were intrigued by the juxtaposition of the terms “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” in Romans 8:9. It was clear to most of them that this is the one Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, and they interpreted the text accordingly. The Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead has the power to give us new life as well. On earth he fills us with the wisdom, peace and righteousness of Christ, but all of this is merely in preparation for the great resurrection on the last day. Romans 8:12 and the following verses were favorites with the Fathers, who viewed them as an outline of the Christian life. To their way of thinking, there was no such thing as a half-hearted Christian. One who was born again must live the new life in anticipation of the resurrection. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be made a child of God, not by nature as Christ was but by grace. We are God’s children by adoption and are given strength by the Spirit to live the kind of life that is required of those who have been so called. To be a child of God is to be made an heir—the greatest gift God can give us.
8:9 The Spirit of God and of Christ
Whether the Spirit of God and of Christ Are Distinguished. Origen: Is the Spirit of God somehow different from the Spirit of Christ, or are the two one and the same? As far as I can follow the logic of this passage, not to mention what the Savior says of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel, viz., that “he proceeds from the Father” and “he receives of me,” to which he adds by way of explanation: “Father, everything which is mine is yours, and everything which is yours is mine; wherefore I said, that he receives of me.” When, I say, I consider the logic of this unity between the Father and the Son, it seems to me that the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are one and the same Spirit. We can understand this to mean that someone who is not of such a character as to deserve to have the Spirit of Christ is not recognized as belonging to him. . . . It may also be understood to mean that anyone who does not act in the Spirit, who is not prepared for righteousness, for truth, for the proclamation of the Word of God, for the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, for rejecting the letter of the law and for opening up its spirit, for resisting sin, for everything which will prevent him from coming to death, is not Christ’s disciple. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.
Those in the Spirit. Ambrosiaster: Those who are said to be in the Spirit are not in the flesh if they agree with the apostle John and do not love the world. . . . Paul speaks somewhat ambiguously because those who have been inducted into the law do not yet have a perfect faith, although Paul saw a hope of perfection in them. For this reason he sometimes speaks to them as if they are perfect and sometimes as if they are yet to become perfect. This is why sometimes he praises them and sometimes he warns them, so that if they maintain the law of nature according to what has been said above they will be said to be in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God cannot dwell in anyone who follows carnal things. Here Paul says that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, for everything which belongs to the Father belongs to the Son as well. Therefore he says that whoever is subject to the above-mentioned sins does not belong to Christ. Such a person does not have the Spirit of God, even if he has accepted that Christ is God’s Son. For the Holy Spirit abandons people for one of two reasons, either because they think carnally or because they act carnally. Therefore he exhorts them to good behavior by the things which he commands. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.
[Pseudo-]Constantius: Here Paul reveals that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.
Things Good and Bad. Chrysostom: Some things are good, some are bad and some are indifferent. The soul and the flesh both belong to things indifferent, since each of these may become either good or bad. But the spirit belongs to things which are good and can never become anything else. Likewise, the mind of the flesh, i.e., wickedness, belongs to things which are always bad. Homilies on Romans 13.
You Are Not in the Flesh. Chrysostom: “You are not in the flesh” not because you are not clad in flesh but because in spite of being clad in flesh you rise above the thinking of the flesh. Homilies on Genesis 22.10.
The Sense in Which the Spirit Dwells in You. Pelagius: You are in the Spirit because you are occupied with spiritual things. The Spirit of God dwells in those in whom his fruit is manifest, as Paul says to the Galatians: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, etc.” The Spirit of Christ, who loved his enemies and prayed for them, is the Spirit of humility, patience and all the virtues. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.
Oecumenius: The Spirit is common to the Father and the Son. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.
Severian: By “Spirit of God” Paul here refers to the spiritual gifts of the New Testament. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.
8:10 Dead in the Body, Alive in the Spirit
Your Bodies Are Dead Because of Sin. Ambrosiaster: Paul asserts that the bodies of those whom the Holy Spirit has abandoned because of sin are dead, nor does the feeling of their murder touch him, i.e., the Spirit. For the Spirit of God cannot sin. He is given for righteousness in order to make people righteous by his assistance. If a believer returns to the life of the flesh, the Holy Spirit will leave him and he will die in his unrighteousness. In saying “the body” Paul means that the whole person will die because of sin. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.
Chrysostom: Paul is not saying here that the Spirit is Christ but is showing rather that anyone who has the Spirit has Christ as well. For where the Spirit is, there Christ is also. Wherever one person of the Trinity is present, the whole Trinity is present too. For the Trinity is undivided and has a perfect unity in itself. Homilies on Romans 13.
Augustine: Paul calls the body “dead” because it is mortal. Furthermore, it is because of this mortality that the lack of earthly things troubles the soul and arouses certain desires, to which the man who serves the law of God in his mind does not submit and sin. Augustine on Romans 50.
Augustine: Paul shows that both life and death exist in a man living in his body—death in his body, life in his spirit. The City of God 20.15.
Carnal Death and Spiritual Life. Pelagius: If you imitate Christ the carnal mind offers no resistance, because it is effectively dead. The spirit lives in order to produce righteousness, for the aim is not just to stop doing carnal things but to start doing spiritual ones. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.
Your Spirits Are Alive Because of Righteousness. Theodoret of Cyr: Paul makes something which was doubtful clear and demonstrates that he is not attacking the flesh but sin. For he decreed that the body was dead to sin, i.e., that it should not sin. But here he calls the soul spirit, because it has already become spiritual. He commands it to follow after righteousness, whose fruit is the hope of eternal life. Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans.
8:11 Life Through the Spirit
He Who Raised Christ Will Raise You. Polycarp: But he who raised Christ up from the dead will raise us up also if we do his will and walk in his commandments and love what he loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil-speaking, false witness, “not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,” or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in his teaching. The Epistle to the Philippians 2.
Tertullian: The resurrection of the dead implies the resurrection of their bodies. Against Marcion 5.14.
The Temple of the Body Restored to Life. Origen: If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, it seems essential that his dwelling place (i.e., your body) will be given back to him and his temple restored. This is how you can know whether you have the Spirit of Christ or not. Christ is wisdom, so if you are wise according to Christ and know what is his, then by this wisdom you have the Spirit of Christ. Likewise, Christ is righteousness; therefore, if you have the righteousness of Christ, by that righteousness you have the Spirit of Christ. Christ is peace; if you have Christ’s peace in you, then through the Spirit of peace you have the Spirit of Christ. So it goes with love, with sanctification and with all that belongs to Christ. The one who has these things may be confident of having the Spirit of Christ in him and can hope that his mortal body will be restored to life on account of the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.
Ambrosiaster: Paul repeats here what he has just said. Once again, the word body stands for the whole person. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.
The Spirit of the Triune God. Diodore: Having already mentioned the Spirit of Christ, Paul refers to him once more, calling him “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead.” By saying that the Spirit of Christ is also the Spirit of the Father, Paul teaches clearly that the Spirit of the Son partakes of the Father’s divinity and that their power is one, because they share the same essence as the Father. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.
Resurrected Life to Your Mortal Bodies. Chrysostom: Here Paul touches once more on the resurrection, since this was the most encouraging hope to the hearer, giving him a sense of security from what happened to Christ. . . . Therefore do not let your body live in this world, so that it may be made alive in the next one! Make it die so that it may never die! For if it goes on living it will die, but if it dies now it will live forever. This is the case with resurrection in general. We must first die and be buried, and then we shall become immortal. This has already been done in baptism. . . . The man who is dead to this life is thus the one who is most truly alive. Homilies on Romans 13.
Finally Made Perfect. Augustine: Paul now explains the fourth of the four states which we mentioned above. But this state is not attained in this life. It belongs to the hope by which we await the redemption of our body, when this corruptible matter will put on incorruption and immortality. Then there will be perfect peace, because the soul will no longer be troubled by the body, which will be revived and transformed into a heavenly substance. Augustine on Romans 51.
Fleshly Annoyances Continue in This Life. Augustine: This is a very explicit witness to the resurrection of the body, and it is sufficiently clear that as long as we are in this life there will be no lack of both the annoyances occasioned by the mortal flesh and some excitations arising from carnal pleasures. For although he who is established under grace serves the law of God with his mind and does not yield, nevertheless, with the flesh he continues to serve the law of sin. Questions 66.7.
The Temple Restored. Pelagius: God will not allow the temple of his Spirit to perish. In the same way as he raised Jesus from the dead he will also restore your body. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.
Gospel (John 11:1-45)
Overview: In the raising of Lazarus, whose name means “helped” (Isidore), the Lord accomplishes one of his greatest miracles as he, the Creator, raises his own creation (Augustine). John mentions not only Lazarus by name, but also his sisters Mary and Martha, whose tears for Lazarus become the focus of the Orthodox liturgy for Lazarus Saturday, which precedes Palm Sunday (Romanus). John focuses at the beginning on Mary’s anointing of Jesus as a testament to her piety and her attachment to him (Cyril). This makes it all the more important to note that the Mary mentioned here is not Mary the harlot mentioned in Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts (Chrysostom), although John does seem to confirm Luke’s account in other details (Augustine). Since Jesus, the Life, was absent from Lazarus and his sisters, death had room to do its work through the agency of disease (Gregory of Nyssa). Mary and Martha’s report to Jesus of their brother and his friend’s illness reminds us that even friends of Christ suffer (Chrysostom).
The raising of Lazarus is unique among the resurrections Jesus performed in the Gospels because rather than leaving immediately at the request of Lazarus’s sisters, Jesus had allowed death to have full reign so that in Lazarus, the sign of the resurrection would be shone in all its fullness (Peter Chrysologus). Lazarus’s sisters, nevertheless, demonstrate great faith in approaching Jesus to heal Lazarus since they were convinced that Jesus is not one who loves and then abandons those he loves (Augustine). Although Lazarus’s death is for the glory of God, God does not cause Lazarus’s illness (Cyril). The resurrection of Lazarus is for the glory of the Father and the Son since the glory of the Father and the Son is one. We should also note that Jesus’ glory is the consequence, not the cause, of Lazarus’s death (Chrysostom). Mary, Martha and Lazarus are loved by the one who can bring them true comfort and healing (Augustine).
11:1 Lazarus, Mary and Martha
Lazarus Signifies “Helped.”
Isidore of Seville: Lazarus means “helped,” referring to him who was [helped] when raised from the dead. Etymologies 7.10.5.
The Maker Raises His Creation.
Augustine: Among all the miracles done by our Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of Lazarus holds a prime place in preaching. But if we consider attentively who did it, our duty is to rejoice rather than to wonder. A man was raised up by him who made humankind. He is the only one of the Father by whom, as you know, all things were made. And if all things were made by him, why is anyone amazed that one was raised by him when so many are daily brought into the world by his power? It is a greater deed to create men and women than to raise them again from the dead. Yet he decided both to create and to raise again; to create all, to resuscitate some. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.1.
The Tears of Mary and Martha.
Romanus Melodus: Let us all, with love, hurry to Bethany to see Christ there, weeping for His friend. For wishing all things to be ordained by law, He controls all things in His dual nature. He suffers as son of David; as Son of God, He redeems the whole world from all the evil of the serpent, And on the fourth day, He raised up Lazarus, taking pity on The tears of Mary and Martha. Together sustained by faith, the two announced to Christ and God the death Of their brother, saying, “Hasten, come, Thou who art always present in all places, For Lazarus whom Thou dost love is ill: if Thou come near, Death will vanish, and Thy friend will be saved from corruption, And the Jews will see that Thou, the Merciful One, hast taken pity on The tears of Mary and Martha.” Kontakion on the Raising of Lazarus 15.2-3.
11:2 Mary, Who Anointed the Lord
Edifying Description of the Sisters.
Cyril of Alexandria: The Evangelist has a purpose in mentioning the names of the women, showing that they were distinguished for their piety, which is why the Lord loved them. And of the many things that probably had been done for the Lord by Mary, he mentions the ointment, not in a haphazard way but in order to show that Mary had such a thirst for Christ that she wiped his feet with her own hair, seeking to fasten to herself in a more real way the spiritual blessing that comes from his holy flesh. Indeed, she often appears with much warmth of attachment, sitting close to Christ without being distracted by any interruption and to have been drawn into a close relationship of friendship with him. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
Mary Is Not the Harlot Mentioned in Luke.
Chrysostom: First we are to observe that this was not the harlot mentioned in Matthew or Luke, but a different person. Those mentioned in Matthew and Luke were harlots full of many vices, but she was an honest woman, who treated our Lord with marked reverence. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.1.
John Confirms Luke’s Account.
Augustine: John here confirms the passage in Luke, where this is said to have taken place in the house of one Simon a Pharisee: Mary had done this act therefore on a former occasion. That she did it again at Bethany is not mentioned in the narrative of Luke, but it is in the other three Gospels. Harmony of the Gospels 2.79.154.
11:3 The One You Love Is Ill
Death Has Room to Work.
Gregory of Nyssa: One of the Lord’s companions and friends is ill (Lazarus is the sick man’s name). The Lord refuses any visiting of his friend, though far away from the sick man, that in the absence of the Life, death might find room and power to do his own work by the agency of disease. On the Making of Man 25.11.
Friends of Christ Do Suffer.
Chrysostom: Many are offended when they see any of those who are pleasing to God suffering anything terrible. There are those, for instance, who have fallen ill or have become impoverished or have endured some other tragedy. Those who are offended by this do not know that those who are especially dear to God have it as their lot to endure such things, as we see in the case of Lazarus, who was also one of the friends of Christ but was also sick. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.1.
Conquering Death More Important.
Peter Chrysologus: Our Lord had raised up the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue. Although he restored life to the dead girl, he left the law of death still in force. He also raised the widow’s only son. He halted the bier, forestalled the young man’s burial, arrested the onset of physical decay. But the life he restored had not completely fallen into the power of death. The case of Lazarus was unique. His death and resurrection to life had nothing in common with the other two. Death had already exerted its full power over him, so that in him the sign of the resurrection shone out in all its fullness. I think it is possible to say that if Lazarus had remained only three days in the tomb it would have deprived our Lord’s resurrection of its full significance, since Christ proved himself Lord by returning to life after three days, whereas Lazarus, as his servant, had to lie in the grave for four days before he was recalled. However, let us see if we can verify this suggestion by reading the Gospel text further. “His sisters sent a message to Jesus saying, Lord, the friend whom you love is sick.” By these words they appeal to his affection, they lay claim to his friendship, they call on his love, urging their familiar relationship with him to persuade him to relieve their distress. But for Christ it was more important to conquer death than to cure disease. He showed his love for his friend not by healing him but by calling him back from the grave. Instead of a remedy for his illness, he offered him the glory of rising from the dead. Sermon 63.1-2.
Love Does Not Abandon.
Augustine: But what was the message sent by his sisters? “Lord, behold, he whom you love is ill.” They did not say, “Come,” for the intimation was all that was needed for one who loved. They did not venture to say, “Come and heal him,” nor did they venture to say, “Command there, and it shall be done here.” And why would it be any different with them if, on these very grounds, the centurion’s faith was commended? For he said, “I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.” These women said nothing like this, but only, “Lord, behold, he whom you love is ill”—as if to say: It is enough that you know. For you are not one that loves and then abandons. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.5.
11:4 For the Glory of the Son of God
God Is Not the Cause of Lazarus’s Illness.
Cyril of Alexandria: Jesus saw that in the end, Lazarus’s illness and death would be for the glory of God. This is not to say that the sickness came on Lazarus so that God should be glorified, for it would be silly to say this, but rather, since the sickness had come upon Lazarus, Jesus foresaw the wonderful conclusion to Lazarus’s illness. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
The Glory of Father and Son Is One.
Chrysostom: Observe how he again asserts that his glory and the Father’s is one. For, after saying “of God,” he has added, “that the Son of God might be glorified.” Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.1.
Jesus’ Glory Is the Consequence of Lazarus’s Death.
Chrysostom: The word “that” [which is in the phrase “that the Son of God may be glorified,”] here signifies not the cause but the consequence. The sickness sprang from other [natural] causes, but he turned it to the glory of God. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.1.
11:5 Jesus’ Love for Mary, Martha and Lazarus
Loved by the Comforter and Healer.
Augustine: Lazarus is sick, his sisters are sorrowful, all of them are loved. But [they had hope because the] one who loved them was the healer of the sick—even more, he was the raiser of the dead and the comforter of the sorrowful. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.7.
Overview: Why wait two days longer instead of coming immediately—unless Jesus wanted to give free reign to death before he conquered it so that no one could doubt Lazarus had truly died (Peter Chrysologus)? Then Jesus tells his disciples to return with him to Judea, where the Jews had previously sought to stone him (Augustine). His disciples’ reaction to this is one of fear for themselves and for him because they lack faith (Chrysostom). They presume to give advice to God, and so he rebukes them by asking a question concerning the twelve hours of daylight, in which there is great symbolism, pointing for instance to Christ as the day and his twelve disciples as the hours (Augustine). It may also refer to the twelve patriarchs or apostles who look to the Sun, Christ, who is the spiritual day (Origen). Christ is telling his disciples that now is not the time for the Sun/Son to withdraw from the Jews since while there is daylight, there is still time for them to be illumined (Cyril). Apart from the light of Christ there is only stumbling in the darkness of the devil (Athanasius). But those who walk uprightly, as though during the day, need have no fear of evil (Chrysostom).
11:6 Jesus Stayed Two Days Longer
Jesus Grants Free Reign to the Grave.
Peter Chrysologus: You see how he gives full scope to death. He grants free reign to the grave. He allows corruption to set in. He prohibits neither putrefaction nor stench from taking their normal course. He allows the realm of darkness to seize his friend, drag him down to the underworld, and take possession of him. He acts like this so that human hope may perish entirely and human despair reach its lowest depths. The deed he is about to accomplish may then clearly be seen to be the work of God, not of man. [Jesus] waited for Lazarus to die, staying in the same place until he could tell his disciples that he was dead. Then he announced his intention of going to him. “Lazarus is dead,” he said, “and I am glad.” Was this a sign of his love for his friend? Not so. Christ was glad because their sorrow over the death of Lazarus was soon to be changed into joy at his restoration to life. “I am glad for your sake,” he said. Why for their sake? Because the death and raising of Lazarus were a perfect prefiguration of the death and resurrection of the Lord himself. What the Lord was soon to achieve in himself had already been achieved in his servant. . . . This explains why he said to them, “I am glad for your sake not to have been there, because now you will believe.” It was necessary that Lazarus should die, so that the faith of the disciples might also rise with him from the dead. Sermon 63.2.
11:7-8 Going Again to Judea
The Attempted Stoning Was in Judea.
Augustine: [Judea is] where he had just escaped being stoned. For this was the cause of his leaving. He left indeed as man: he left in weakness, but he returns in power. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.7.
Jesus Tries to Prepare the Disciples.
Chrysostom: He had not as yet told his disciples where he was going. But now he tells them, in order to prepare them beforehand because they are so worried when they hear about it. . . . They feared both for him and for themselves. For they were not yet established in faith. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.1.
11:9-10 Daylight versus Stumbling in the Dark
Christ Is the Day, the Disciples Are Twelve Hours.
Augustine: What did the Lord mean? As far as I can judge . . . he wanted to dissuade them from their doubting and unbelief. For their words were meant to keep the Lord from death, who had come to die, in order to save themselves from death too. . . . And so, when [these] men presumed to give advice to God, disciples to their Master, servants to their Lord, patients to their physician, our Lord reproved them, saying, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble.” Follow me if you do not want to stumble. Do not give counsel to me when you should be receiving it from me instead. . . . He showed himself to be the day by appointing twelve disciples. If I am the day, he says, and you are the hours, is it for the hours to give counsel to the day? The day is followed by the hours, not the hours by the day. . . . Even when Judas fell, he was still succeeded by Matthias, and the number twelve was preserved. Our Lord did not make the choice of twelve disciples arbitrarily, then, but to indicate that he himself is the spiritual Day. Let the hours be lightened by the day so that by the preaching of the hours, the world may believe on the day. Follow me, then, says our Lord, if you wish not to stumble. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.8.
Twelve Patriarchs, Twelve Apostles, Twelve Hours.
Origen: As the day is divided into twelve hours, accordingly the twelve patriarchs and the choir of the apostles are equal in number with the hours of the day, having as their Sun Christ our God, who is also the spiritual Day, from whom there is learning and the enlightenment of its knowledge. Fragment 137 on the Gospel of John.
It Is Not the Time for the Sun/Son to Withdraw.
Cyril of Alexandria: Perhaps he compares to the ever-moving course of the day, the easily-swayed and novelty-loving mind of people, which is not established in one opinion but vacillates from one way of thinking to another, just as the day changes from one hour to another. This is also how the words “are there twelve hours in the day” can be understood. In other words, “I,” he says, “am the Day and the Light. Therefore, just as it is not possible for the light of the day to fail without having completed its appointed time, so it is not among possibilities that the illumination that proceeds from me should be shrouded from the Jews without having fully reached its fitting measure of love for humankind.” And he speaks of the time of his presence as “day,” and of that before it as “night,” as the Lord also does when he says, “We must work the works of him that sent us while it is day.” This therefore is what he says here: “This is not the time for me to separate myself from the Jews, even though they are unholy. Instead, I must do everything that I can for their healing. For they must not now be punished by having the divine grace (like the light of the sun) withdrawn from them. But just as the light of the day does not fail until the twelve hours have been completed, so the illumination that proceeds from me is not shrouded before the proper time. However, until I am crucified I remain among the Jews, sending forth unto them like light the understanding of the knowledge of God. For since the Jews are in the darkness of unbelief, and so stumble on me as on a stone, I must go back to them and enlighten them so that they may desist from their madness in fighting against God.” Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
Stumbling Without the Light of Christ.
Athanasius: Consider what I have said, that the Light is Christ. Everyone who will walk in his commandments will not be laid hold of by evil. These twelve hours that are in the day are the twelve apostles. The devil . . . is compared with the night. He who walks in the will of the devil will stumble because he does not have the light of Christ. Homily on the Resurrection of Lazarus.
The Upright Need Fear No Evil.
Chrysostom: It is as if Jesus is saying that the upright need fear no evil. It is only the wicked who have cause to fear. We have done nothing worthy of death, and therefore we are in no danger. Or, he is saying, If any one sees this world’s light, he is safe. The one who is with me is even safer. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.1.
Overview: The fact that Jesus says Lazarus is only sleeping is a promise of things to come since, from Jesus’ perspective, Lazarus was sleeping and not dead (Augustine). Jesus did not need to go to Lazarus to raise him, but he chose to go so that no one could doubt that he had performed the miracle (Hippolytus). Thinking this was another one of Jesus’ enigmatic statements (Chrysostom), the disciples misunderstand what Jesus means about Lazarus sleeping, unaware of what kind of sleep it was (Romanus). They are soon informed that Lazarus has died, returning to the clay from which he was taken (Potamius). But Jesus does not yet tell them that he is going to raise Lazarus (Chrysostom), knowing that he had been sent to heal sickness, but it was death that could not remain in hiding from him (Augustine). Unlike normal physicians, who wear themselves out to save life, Lazarus’s physician waited for his death in order to establish the victory of life over death (Ephrem). Jesus uses Lazarus’s death, in other words, to establish his disciples’ faith (Hippolytus). His delay not only ensures Lazarus’s death will occur but was also necessary, since his love might otherwise have moved him to heal Lazarus, leaving no opportunity for the greater miracle of resurrection. Knowing that Lazarus has died, he then decides to go to him and Thomas volunteers to go with him, asserting that he will join Jesus in death. This is either an expression of audacity from one who has a false sense of bravery, although he may indeed have understood Jesus’ true power over death (Cyril), or it is the expression of a coward who later, however, is the most zealous of the disciples (Chrysostom). Or, perhaps Thomas unwittingly knows that one must die with Jesus in order to live with him (Origen).
11:11 Lazarus Sleeps
From Jesus’ Perspective, Lazarus Was Sleeping.
Augustine: It was really true that he was sleeping. To his sisters he was dead; to our Lord, he was sleeping. To those who could not raise him again, he was dead. Our Lord awoke him with as much ease from his grave as you might awake a sleeper from his bed. He calls him then “asleep,” with reference to his own power, . . . as the apostle says, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, concerning those who are asleep.” . . . Asleep, he says, because he is foretelling their resurrection. And so, all the dead are sleeping, both good and bad. But just as it matters to those who sleep and wake again daily, what they see in their sleep—some having pleasant dreams, others nightmares so scary that they are afraid to fall asleep again in case they reoccur—so it is [in death]. Everyone sleeps and wakes up again in circumstances peculiar to his own situation. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.9.
Jesus’ Presence Confirms He Performed a Miracle.
Hippolytus: For truly the death of human beings is counted with the Lord as sleep. Why does he say “I go”? Are you unable to enliven the dead while remaining here? But, [Jesus says], the Jews in my absence do not receive the grace. For perhaps on his arising they will think Lazarus has come to life by some chance. I therefore am coming so that, if I am there, they will be eyewitnesses of the miracles done by me. And when they receive this grace from me, they can then be brought to a sure and certain faith. On the Gospel of John and the Resurrection of Lazarus.
Another Enigmatic Statement of Jesus?
Chrysostom: If anyone asks, “How did the disciples imagine Lazarus was only sleeping? Why didn’t they understand that death was meant when Jesus said, ‘I go to awake him?’ for it was foolishness of them to expect that he would go fifteen stadia to awake him”—we would reply, that they thought this was another one of Jesus’ dark sayings, such as he often spoke to them. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
The Disciples Are Ignorant, but Paul Would Have Known.
Romanus Melodus: Again the Lord spoke to the disciples; “See now, Lazarus, our friend, has fallen asleep, And I wish to go and awaken him.” But they did not understand that the Redeemer referred to death as sleep, Indeed if Paul had been there, he would have known the word of the Word, For, instructed by Him, he sent to his churches epistles Calling the dead those who have fallen asleep. For who can die if he loves Christ? How can he fall if he eats the living bread? He has in his heart the miracle As a phylactery, so even if he perish, He will be resurrected and he will rise up Saying, “Thou art the Life and the Resurrection.” Kontakion on the Raising of Lazarus 14.6.
11:12-13 If Asleep, He Will Recover
Sleep Exists for One’s Safety.
Romanus Melodus: The Creator of all spoke on behalf of the disciples, saying: “Friends and companions, our friend has fallen asleep.” He was secretly teaching them in advance, because he knows and cares for all things— “Let us go, then, let us advance and see the unusual tomb, And let us cause the mourning of Mary and Martha to cease As I raise up Lazarus from the tomb, and as the Merciful One take pity on The tears of Mary and Martha.” When they heard these words, the apostles as with one voice cried out to the Lord, “Sleep exists for man for his safety and not at all for his destruction.” And so He spoke to them openly: “He is dead. As mortal I am away from him; but as God, I know all things. If we truly arrive in time, I shall resurrect the dead, and cause to cease The tears of Mary and Martha.” Kontakion on the Raising of Lazarus 15.4-5.
11:14 Lazarus Is Dead
Lazarus Begins to Be What He Had Been.
Potamius of Lisbon: Lazarus, this intimate friend of God, died, as is known through the testimony of the Gospel. According to John, for forty years he had compensated for the losses of the flesh by the actions of his will. And so after a quick death which was due to his earthly frame, that is, to earth itself more than humanity—according to the book of Genesis the rich fluidity of clay is responsible for us as well—while Christ the judge was far away, imparting the gifts of salvation on the borders of Judea, Lazarus was buried and placed in the tomb in order that he might begin to be what he had been —clay. On Lazarus.
No Hint Yet of the Miracle to Come.
Chrysostom: When he said, “He sleeps,” he added, “I go to awake him.” But when he said, “He is dead,” he did not add, “I go to raise him.” For he would not foretell in words what he was about to confirm by his deeds. He is always teaching us not to look for glory and not to make promises without a reason for doing so. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
Physicians Normally Do Everything to Save Life.
Ephrem the Syrian: All physicians wear themselves out for their patient lest he die. But Lazarus’s physician was waiting for his death in order to show his victory over death. Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 17.3.
Jesus Heals Death.
Augustine: He had been sent for in order to restore Lazarus from sickness, not from death. But how could the death be hidden from him into whose hands the soul of the dead had flown? Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.11.
11:15 For Your Sake I Am Glad I Was Not There
Establishing the Disciples’ Faith.
Hippolytus: Is he who does not desire the death of a sinner, now glad of the death of a friend? I rejoice, [Jesus says], not for my own sake, nor for the sake of the dead, but for your sake. For I need this death as the foundation for your faith. On the Gospel of John and the Resurrection of Lazarus.
Christ’s Love Would Have Overcome Him.
Cyril of Alexandria: Here it is as though Jesus says, If I had been there, he would not have died, because I would have had pity on him when he was suffering only a little. But now in my absence his death has taken place, so that, by raising him to life I shall bestow upon you a great advantage through your faith in me. And Christ says this, not to indicate that he is only able to do his divine work when present, but rather to show that if he had been present he would not have been able to neglect helping his friend who was dying. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
11:16 That We May Die with Him
Thomas Later Becomes the Most Zealous of All the Disciples.
Chrysostom: Some say that Thomas himself wanted to die. But this is not the case. The expression is rather one of cowardice. And yet Christ does not rebuke him but instead supports his weakness. The result is that in the end he became stronger than them all—in fact, invincible. For the wonderful thing is this: We see one who was so weak before the crucifixion become more tenacious than any of them after the crucifixion and after he comes to believe in the resurrection. This is how great the power of Christ was. The very man who dared not go in company with Christ to Bethany, the same person, while not seeing Christ, ran practically through the entire inhabited world, living in the midst of nations that were full of murder and wanting to kill him. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
Thomas Expects Death When He Should Expect Life.
Cyril of Alexandria: There is audacity in Thomas’s words, but also timidity. It was the outflow of a devout heart, but it was mixed with a small faith. For he does not endure being left behind and even tries to persuade the others to adopt a similar resolution. Nevertheless, he thinks that they are destined to suffer [death] at the hands of the Jews, even against the will of Christ. . . . He neglects to look at the power of the Deliverer as he should have. And Christ made them timid, by enduring with patience beyond measure the sufferings he did experience at the hands of the Jews. Thomas therefore says that they should not separate themselves from their teacher, although undoubted danger lay before them. So, perhaps with a knowing smile, he said, “Let us go,” that is, “Let us die.” Or, maybe he meant, If we go, we certainly will die. Nevertheless, let us not refuse to suffer, for that would be too cowardly. Because if he raises from the dead, fear is superfluous seeing that we have someone who is able to raise us again after we have fallen. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
Thomas Must Die with Jesus in Order to Live with Him.
Origen: Perhaps Thomas also knew that it would not be possible to live with Jesus except by having died with him, as Paul taught. But those who disagree say that he said this because he suspected the envy of the Jews that would arise from the resurrection of Lazarus, and the ensuing danger. Fragment 79 on the Gospel of John.
Overview: The fact that Jesus says Lazarus is only sleeping is a promise of things to come since, from Jesus’ perspective, Lazarus was sleeping and not dead (Augustine). Jesus did not need to go to Lazarus to raise him, but he chose to go so that no one could doubt that he had performed the miracle (Hippolytus). Thinking this was another one of Jesus’ enigmatic statements (Chrysostom), the disciples misunderstand what Jesus means about Lazarus sleeping, unaware of what kind of sleep it was (Romanus). They are soon informed that Lazarus has died, returning to the clay from which he was taken (Potamius). But Jesus does not yet tell them that he is going to raise Lazarus (Chrysostom), knowing that he had been sent to heal sickness, but it was death that could not remain in hiding from him (Augustine). Unlike normal physicians, who wear themselves out to save life, Lazarus’s physician waited for his death in order to establish the victory of life over death (Ephrem). Jesus uses Lazarus’s death, in other words, to establish his disciples’ faith (Hippolytus). His delay not only ensures Lazarus’s death will occur but was also necessary, since his love might otherwise have moved him to heal Lazarus, leaving no opportunity for the greater miracle of resurrection. Knowing that Lazarus has died, he then decides to go to him and Thomas volunteers to go with him, asserting that he will join Jesus in death. This is either an expression of audacity from one who has a false sense of bravery, although he may indeed have understood Jesus’ true power over death (Cyril), or it is the expression of a coward who later, however, is the most zealous of the disciples (Chrysostom). Or, perhaps Thomas unwittingly knows that one must die with Jesus in order to live with him (Origen).
11:11 Lazarus Sleeps
From Jesus’ Perspective, Lazarus Was Sleeping.
Augustine: It was really true that he was sleeping. To his sisters he was dead; to our Lord, he was sleeping. To those who could not raise him again, he was dead. Our Lord awoke him with as much ease from his grave as you might awake a sleeper from his bed. He calls him then “asleep,” with reference to his own power, . . . as the apostle says, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, concerning those who are asleep.” . . . Asleep, he says, because he is foretelling their resurrection. And so, all the dead are sleeping, both good and bad. But just as it matters to those who sleep and wake again daily, what they see in their sleep—some having pleasant dreams, others nightmares so scary that they are afraid to fall asleep again in case they reoccur—so it is [in death]. Everyone sleeps and wakes up again in circumstances peculiar to his own situation. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.9.
Jesus’ Presence Confirms He Performed a Miracle.
Hippolytus: For truly the death of human beings is counted with the Lord as sleep. Why does he say “I go”? Are you unable to enliven the dead while remaining here? But, [Jesus says], the Jews in my absence do not receive the grace. For perhaps on his arising they will think Lazarus has come to life by some chance. I therefore am coming so that, if I am there, they will be eyewitnesses of the miracles done by me. And when they receive this grace from me, they can then be brought to a sure and certain faith. On the Gospel of John and the Resurrection of Lazarus.
Another Enigmatic Statement of Jesus?
Chrysostom: If anyone asks, “How did the disciples imagine Lazarus was only sleeping? Why didn’t they understand that death was meant when Jesus said, ‘I go to awake him?’ for it was foolishness of them to expect that he would go fifteen stadia to awake him”—we would reply, that they thought this was another one of Jesus’ dark sayings, such as he often spoke to them. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
The Disciples Are Ignorant, but Paul Would Have Known.
Romanus Melodus: Again the Lord spoke to the disciples; “See now, Lazarus, our friend, has fallen asleep, And I wish to go and awaken him.” But they did not understand that the Redeemer referred to death as sleep, Indeed if Paul had been there, he would have known the word of the Word, For, instructed by Him, he sent to his churches epistles Calling the dead those who have fallen asleep. For who can die if he loves Christ? How can he fall if he eats the living bread? He has in his heart the miracle As a phylactery, so even if he perish, He will be resurrected and he will rise up Saying, “Thou art the Life and the Resurrection.” Kontakion on the Raising of Lazarus 14.6.
11:12-13 If Asleep, He Will Recover
Sleep Exists for One’s Safety.
Romanus Melodus: The Creator of all spoke on behalf of the disciples, saying: “Friends and companions, our friend has fallen asleep.” He was secretly teaching them in advance, because he knows and cares for all things— “Let us go, then, let us advance and see the unusual tomb, And let us cause the mourning of Mary and Martha to cease As I raise up Lazarus from the tomb, and as the Merciful One take pity on The tears of Mary and Martha.” When they heard these words, the apostles as with one voice cried out to the Lord, “Sleep exists for man for his safety and not at all for his destruction.” And so He spoke to them openly: “He is dead. As mortal I am away from him; but as God, I know all things. If we truly arrive in time, I shall resurrect the dead, and cause to cease The tears of Mary and Martha.” Kontakion on the Raising of Lazarus 15.4-5.
11:14 Lazarus Is Dead
Lazarus Begins to Be What He Had Been.
Potamius of Lisbon: Lazarus, this intimate friend of God, died, as is known through the testimony of the Gospel. According to John, for forty years he had compensated for the losses of the flesh by the actions of his will. And so after a quick death which was due to his earthly frame, that is, to earth itself more than humanity—according to the book of Genesis the rich fluidity of clay is responsible for us as well—while Christ the judge was far away, imparting the gifts of salvation on the borders of Judea, Lazarus was buried and placed in the tomb in order that he might begin to be what he had been —clay. On Lazarus.
No Hint Yet of the Miracle to Come.
Chrysostom: When he said, “He sleeps,” he added, “I go to awake him.” But when he said, “He is dead,” he did not add, “I go to raise him.” For he would not foretell in words what he was about to confirm by his deeds. He is always teaching us not to look for glory and not to make promises without a reason for doing so. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
Physicians Normally Do Everything to Save Life.
Ephrem the Syrian: All physicians wear themselves out for their patient lest he die. But Lazarus’s physician was waiting for his death in order to show his victory over death. Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 17.3.
Jesus Heals Death.
Augustine: He had been sent for in order to restore Lazarus from sickness, not from death. But how could the death be hidden from him into whose hands the soul of the dead had flown? Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.11.
11:15 For Your Sake I Am Glad I Was Not There
Establishing the Disciples’ Faith.
Hippolytus: Is he who does not desire the death of a sinner, now glad of the death of a friend? I rejoice, [Jesus says], not for my own sake, nor for the sake of the dead, but for your sake. For I need this death as the foundation for your faith. On the Gospel of John and the Resurrection of Lazarus.
Christ’s Love Would Have Overcome Him.
Cyril of Alexandria: Here it is as though Jesus says, If I had been there, he would not have died, because I would have had pity on him when he was suffering only a little. But now in my absence his death has taken place, so that, by raising him to life I shall bestow upon you a great advantage through your faith in me. And Christ says this, not to indicate that he is only able to do his divine work when present, but rather to show that if he had been present he would not have been able to neglect helping his friend who was dying. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
11:16 That We May Die with Him
Thomas Later Becomes the Most Zealous of All the Disciples.
Chrysostom: Some say that Thomas himself wanted to die. But this is not the case. The expression is rather one of cowardice. And yet Christ does not rebuke him but instead supports his weakness. The result is that in the end he became stronger than them all—in fact, invincible. For the wonderful thing is this: We see one who was so weak before the crucifixion become more tenacious than any of them after the crucifixion and after he comes to believe in the resurrection. This is how great the power of Christ was. The very man who dared not go in company with Christ to Bethany, the same person, while not seeing Christ, ran practically through the entire inhabited world, living in the midst of nations that were full of murder and wanting to kill him. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
Thomas Expects Death When He Should Expect Life.
Cyril of Alexandria: There is audacity in Thomas’s words, but also timidity. It was the outflow of a devout heart, but it was mixed with a small faith. For he does not endure being left behind and even tries to persuade the others to adopt a similar resolution. Nevertheless, he thinks that they are destined to suffer [death] at the hands of the Jews, even against the will of Christ. . . . He neglects to look at the power of the Deliverer as he should have. And Christ made them timid, by enduring with patience beyond measure the sufferings he did experience at the hands of the Jews. Thomas therefore says that they should not separate themselves from their teacher, although undoubted danger lay before them. So, perhaps with a knowing smile, he said, “Let us go,” that is, “Let us die.” Or, maybe he meant, If we go, we certainly will die. Nevertheless, let us not refuse to suffer, for that would be too cowardly. Because if he raises from the dead, fear is superfluous seeing that we have someone who is able to raise us again after we have fallen. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
Thomas Must Die with Jesus in Order to Live with Him.
Origen: Perhaps Thomas also knew that it would not be possible to live with Jesus except by having died with him, as Paul taught. But those who disagree say that he said this because he suspected the envy of the Jews that would arise from the resurrection of Lazarus, and the ensuing danger. Fragment 79 on the Gospel of John.
Overview: The elapsed four days can be accounted for according to the letter (Chrysostom). Under such an understanding, after four days, Lazarus’s body would be subjected to miserable corruption in the grave, testifying against anyone who doubted he had died (Potamius). Because Bethany was only two miles from Jerusalem means that Christ could have arrived earlier had he wanted to. Many—even the enemies of Christ—come to console his friends Mary and Martha because he did not (Chrysostom). Mary is not there to greet him, which may perhaps lie in the fact that Mary is here and elsewhere more a type of the contemplative life, while Martha personifies the active life (Origen). It may also be true, however, that Martha simply wants to speak to Christ alone, and when comforted, then she retrieves her sister (Chrysostom). She expresses her disappointment at his absence, although he was indeed there (Andrew) despite her lack of recognition of his divinity (Chrysostom). Such ignorance, however, does not imply a lack of faith (Andrew). Martha trusts that Jesus knows what is best (Augustine) as Jesus leads Martha to higher truths (Chrysostom) while she herself struggles to believe (Peter Chrysologus). He tests her faith in his promises (Theodore), knowing that her brother could have been raised right then and there if Jesus had chosen to do so (Peter Chrysologus).
Jesus is the voice of life and joy that awakens the dead (Athanasius). He has always been and continues to be the God not of the dead but of the living (Irenaeus). He is the pledge of our resurrection, which was already prophesied in the Old Testament (Apostolic Constitutions). There is therefore no need for those who are at the tomb to weep who believe Jesus’ words (Romanus). Believers never die, although their bodies may (Methodius, Augustine). He gives us a joyful hope and security in him where we would otherwise be overcome by grief, as the world is (Cyprian). In Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus we see then a foretaste of the general resurrection (Cyril). Even though we may die, we are still alive if we believe (Augustine). Such a confession of faith is the confession Jesus seeks to elicit from Martha (Origen) and from us (Cyril). While Martha, perhaps in her grief, does not answer Jesus’ question about the resurrection (Chrysostom), she does confess that he is the Christ, as also Peter and Nathanael had done (Tertullian), and expresses her belief in the Son, which is ultimately belief in the resurrection (Augustine).
11:17 Dead for Four Days
An Accounting of the Four Days.
Chrysostom: Our Lord had stayed two days, and the messenger had come the day before—the very day on which Lazarus died. This brings us to the fourth day. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
The Corruption of Lazarus’s Body in the Tomb.
Potamius of Lisbon: Here indeed, throughout the gloomy spheres of darkness and the shades of black horror, that is, throughout the course of four days that are renewed in accordance with the alternate interchange of increase and diminution—throughout eight days, we may say, by including also the dark nights—he lay with his jaws gaping and hanging down, the teeth in his mouth dropping, his mouth obstructed since he was really putrefying like a crumbly clod, consumed by earthly destruction, and his unhappy burial condemned his nerve bundles with the essence of his body to a miserable corruption. Thus, with the contraction of his limbs, his blackened skin is stretched over the dry and easy-to-count ribs, and a stream of bodily fluid, which is released from the cavity of the entrails, an already foul-smelling sewer, flowed filthy and dark to the feet of the corpse. On Lazarus.
11:18-19 Bethany Was Near Jerusalem
Why Do Enemies of Christ Console His Friends?
Chrysostom: “Two miles.” This is mentioned to account for so many coming from Jerusalem. . . . But how could the Jews console the loved ones of Christ, when they had resolved that whoever confessed Christ should be put out of the synagogue? Perhaps the extreme affliction of the sisters excited their sympathy, or they wished to show respect for their rank. Or perhaps those who came were of the better sort, as we find that many of them believed. Their presence is mentioned to do away with all doubt that Lazarus was really dead. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.2.
11:20 Martha Goes While Mary Stays
Mary as Allegory of the Soul’s Quiet Receptivity.
Origen: Since Mary is a type of the contemplative life, Martha of the active, Lazarus of him who has fallen into sins after believing, naturally Mary and Martha mourn for Lazarus, and in mourning they need the comfort concerning their brother which the Jews wish to bring them. But before the fullness of time, words despair of being able to make the sister of the dead cease from weeping over him. Martha seems more eager than Mary, since Martha first ran to Jesus, while Mary remained sitting in the house. . . . Therefore Martha, who was somewhat inferior in this regard, ran to Jesus while Mary remains in the house to receive him as one who was able to bear his presence. And she would not have gone out from her house if she had not heard her sister say, “The teacher has arrived and is calling you.” And she did not simply get up but did so quickly, and falling at Jesus’ feet said what she said. The other sister had not fallen at his feet. Fragment 80 on the Gospel of John.
Martha Wants to Speak to Christ Alone.
Chrysostom: Martha does not take her sister with her because she wants to speak with Christ alone and tell him what has happened. When her hopes had been raised by him, then she went her way and called Mary. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.3.
11:21 Lord, If You Had Been Here
Christ Was There.
Andrew of Crete: Do you see her faith? Do you see her undoubting mind? She affirmed in two ways that he was God and the Giver of life, even though she was led astray on account of her simple nature: “If you had been here,” she said. What are you saying, Martha? Your reasoning is false. For he was there and he has been and still is present everywhere. . . . “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Do you see how she believed him to be God and able with his power to restrain death and to raise the dead? For she was saying, I know that if you had been here, death would not have prevailed. Homily 8 on Lazarus.
Ignorance Concerning Jesus’ Divinity.
Chrysostom: See how great the heavenly wisdom of the women is, although their understanding is weak. For when they saw Christ, they did not break out into mourning and wailing and loud crying, as we do when we see any of those we know coming in on our grief. Rather, immediately they reverence their Teacher. So then both these sisters believed in Christ, but not in a right way. For they did not yet certainly know either that he was God or that he did these things by his own power and authority, although on both points he had taught them. For they showed their ignorance of the former by saying, “If you had been here, our brother would not have died” and of the latter by saying, “Whatever you will ask of God, he will give it to you.” Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.3.
11:22 Ask, and God Will Give
Martha Trusts That Jesus Knows What Is Best.
Augustine: She does not say to him, “Bring my brother to life again.” For how could she know that it would be good for him to come to life again? She says, I know that you can do so, if you want to, but what you will do is for your judgment, not for my presumption, to determine. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.13.
Jesus Leads Martha to Higher Truths.
Chrysostom: He leads her to the knowledge of higher truths. Even though she had been inquiring only about the resurrection of Lazarus, he tells her of a resurrection in which both she and those with her would share. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.3.
Martha Is Trying to Believe.
Peter Chrysologus: This woman does not believe, but she is trying to believe, while her unbelief is disturbing her belief. “Whatever you ask of God. . . .” God gives of his own accord; he does not ask of himself. Why, woman, do you delay in making your request when the one to grant it stands before you? Woman, he is the Judge himself whom you desire merely as an advocate. In him there is the power to give, not the need to make any request. “I know,” she says, “that whatever you ask of God, he will give you.” Woman, to believe this means that you do not believe. To know this means that you do not know. The apostle has indicated this, that the moment when a person thinks that he knows something, he does not know it. Sermon 63.3.
11:23-24 The Resurrection on the Last Day
The Future Resurrection.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: From this it appears that they, even though they believed somehow in the power of the Lord, were still in doubt because of the greatness of the task. . . . On the one hand, she has no doubts about his promise. On the other hand, however, she considers the task superior to human power. Indeed, we said above that they still thought they were speaking to a man who does everything through his own strength. This is why she said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection of the last day.” Commentary on John 5.11.23-24.
Her Brother Could Be Raised Here and Now.
Peter Chrysologus: Martha, again you know but you do not know. Martha, again do you really know, when you do not know that your brother can rise here and now? Or is it perhaps that God who at that future time is able to raise up all is now unable to raise up even one from the dead? He is able, yes, God is able to raise up one from the dead as a sign for this time, God who will later raise up all the dead to eternal life. . . . Martha, right in front of you is the Resurrection that you are putting so far into the future. Sermon 63.4.
11:25 I Am the Resurrection and the Life
The Voice of Life and Joy That Wakens the Dead.
Athanasius: I am the voice of life that wakens the dead. I am the good odor that takes away the foul odor. I am the voice of joy that takes away sorrow and grief. . . . I am the comfort of those who are in grief. Those who belong to me are given joy by me. I am the joy of the whole world. I gladden all my friends and rejoice with them. I am the bread of life. Homily on the Resurrection of Lazarus.
The Old Testament Fathers Are Christ’s Children.
Irenaeus: If he is not the God of the dead but of the living, yet was called the God of the fathers who were sleeping, they do undoubtedly live to God and have not passed out of existence, since they are children of the resurrection. But our Lord is himself the resurrection, as he himself declares, “I am the resurrection and the life.” But the fathers are his children, for it is said by the prophet: “In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons.” Christ himself, therefore, together with the Father, is the God of the living who spoke to Moses and who was also made known to the fathers. Against Heresies 4.5.2.
Christ as Pledge of Our Resurrection Foreshadowed in Old Testament.
Apostolic Constitutions: For the almighty God himself will raise us up through our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his infallible promise, and grant us a resurrection with all those that have slept from the beginning of the world. And we shall then be such as we now are in our present form, without any defect or corruption. For we shall rise incorruptible: whether we die at sea, or are scattered on the earth or are torn to pieces by wild beasts and birds, he will raise us by his own power. For the whole world is held together by the hand of God. . . . This resurrection was not believed by the Jews, when of old they said, “Our bones are withered, and we are gone.” To whom God answered and said, “Behold, I open your graves and will bring you out of them. And I will put my Spirit into you, and you shall live: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it and will do it.” And he says by Isaiah: “The dead shall rise, and those that are in the graves shall be raised up. And those that rest in the earth shall rejoice, for the dew which is from you shall be healing to them.” There are indeed many and various things said concerning the resurrection, and concerning the continuance of the righteous in glory and concerning the punishment of the ungodly, their fall, rejection, condemnation, shame, “eternal fire and endless worm.” Now in order to show that it was in his power, if it had pleased him, that all men and women should be immortal, he provided the examples of Enoch and Elijah, who he did not allow to have any experience of death. Or if it had pleased him in every generation to raise those that died, that this also he was able to do he has made evident by himself and by others as when he raised the widow’s son by Elijah and the Shunammite’s son by Elisha. But we are persuaded that death is not a retribution of punishment, because even the saints have undergone it. In fact, even the Lord of the saints, Jesus Christ, the life of those who believe and the resurrection of the dead, [experienced it]. . . . For it is he who raised Lazarus when he had been in the grave four days, and Jairus’s daughter and the widow’s son. It is he who raised himself by the command of the Father in the space of three days who is the pledge of our resurrection. For he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 5.1.7.
11:26a Believers Die, Yet Live
Why Do We Not Trust Christ’s Words?
Romanus Melodus: Taking pity on the tears of Mary and Martha, Thou hast said to them: “He will be resurrected and he will rise up Saying, ‘Thou art the Life and Resurrection.’” In considering the tomb and those in the tomb, we weep, But we should not; for we do not know whence they have come, And where they are now, and who has them. They have come from temporal life, released from its sorrows; They are at peace, waiting for the receiving of divine light. The Lover of man has them in His charge, and He has divested them of their temporal clothing In order that He may clothe them with an eternal body. Why, then, do we weep in vain? Why do we not trust Christ, as He cries: “He who believes on me shall not perish, For even if he knows corruption, after that corruption, He will be resurrected and he will rise up Saying, ‘Thou art the Life and the Resurrection’”? The man of faith always has power for whatever he wishes, Since he possesses a faith which lends strength to all things; From it, he gains power from Christ for whatever he asks. This faith is a great possession; if a man have it, he has control of everything. Mary and Martha had it and were renowned for it. Kontakion on the Raising of Lazarus 14.1-2.
Believers Are Always Alive.
Methodius: Here he says believers live; they never die. Their bodies die but are brought back to life again. On the Resurrection 3.21.6.
Faith Is the Life of the Soul.
Augustine: What does this mean? “He who believes in me, though he were dead.” Just as Lazarus is dead, “yet shall he live,” for he is not the God of the dead but of the living. Such was the answer he gave the Jews concerning their fathers, long ago dead, that is, concerning Abraham and Isaac and Jacob: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob: He is not the God of the dead but of the living. For all live unto him.” Believe then, and though you were dead, yet shall you live; but if you do not believe, even while you are alive you are dead. Let us prove this also by the fact that if you do not believe, though you live you are dead. To one who was delaying to follow him and saying, “Let me first go and bury my father,” the Lord said, “Let the dead bury their dead. But come and follow me.” There was there a dead man needing to be buried, there were there also dead people to bury the dead: the one was dead in the flesh, the others in soul. And how does death come to the soul? When faith is wanting. How does death come to the body? When the soul is wanting. For faith is the life of the soul. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.15.
Living in the Hope of the Resurrection.
Cyprian: The apostle Paul reproaches and rebukes those who show sorrow for those who have left this world. “I would not,” he says, “like you to be ignorant, my dear brothers and sisters, about those who are sleeping, so that you feel sorrow like those who have no hope. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring those who are asleep in Jesus with him.” Those who show sorrow at the departure of their friends reveal their own lack of hope. But we who live by hope and believe in God and are convinced that Christ suffered for us and that he rose again, who remain with Christ and find our resurrection by him and in him, why should we either show reluctance when we ourselves have to depart or lament and grieve for others who depart as though they were dying forever? Christ himself, our Lord and God, tells us, “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in me, though he should die, shall live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” If we believe in Christ, let us put faith in his words and promises. Since we shall not die once and for all, let us pass into Christ in joy and confidence since we shall live and reign with him forever. On Mortality, 21.
The Grace of the General Resurrection.
Cyril of Alexandria: If anyone notices that even the saints who have received promises of life die, this is no reason for concern, since it is what naturally happens. The display of the grace [of resurrection] has been reserved until the appointed time. This grace is powerful, not partially but effectually, in the case of all, even of those saints who have died in time past and are tasting death for a short time until the general resurrection. For then, together, all will enjoy the good things. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
11:26b Do You Believe This?
Whether a Question or a Statement.
Origen: The Savior does not inquire “Do you believe this?” in ignorance as to whether Martha did or did not believe what was said. Rather, he did so in order that we, or indeed those who were then present, might learn from her answer what her disposition was. But another will say that it is not a question but a statement: “You believe this.” In this case, Martha then completes the Savior’s statement saying, Yes, Lord, and not only do I believe what you now say, but I believe now that you are the Christ, something I also believed before. And I believe that you are the Son of God who comes into the world and lives with all who believe in you. Fragment 81 on the Gospel of John.
Martha’s “Amen” on Behalf of Lazarus.
Cyril of Alexandria: Having previously explained the force of the mystery in himself and shown plainly that he is by nature life and true God, he demands assent to the faith, furnishing in this matter a model to the churches. For we should not vainly cast our words into the air when we confess the venerable mystery but rather fix the roots of the faith in heart and mind and then allow it to bear fruit in our confession. And we ought to believe without any hesitation or double-mindedness. . . . Nevertheless, it is necessary to know that we make the confession of our faith to God, although we are questioned by others, I mean those whose responsibility it is to minister in sacred things, when we say the “I believe” at the reception of holy baptism. Certainly therefore to speak falsely and to slip aside toward unbelief is a most awful thing. . . . In a certain way, as Lazarus was lying dead, the assent to the faith is demanded of the woman on his behalf. The same can be seen in the churches when a newborn child is brought either to receive the anointing of the catechumenate or to be fully initiated into the Christian faith at holy baptism. In these instances, the person who brings the child repeats aloud the “Amen” on the child’s behalf . . . something we also see in the case of Lazarus and his sister. Martha wisely and prudently sows the confession of faith first so that afterward she may reap the fruit of it. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
11:27 The Christ, the Son of God
Asked One Thing, Answers Another.
Chrysostom: Martha seems not to have understood his words, that is, she saw that he meant something great but did not see what that was. She is asked one thing and answers another. Yet for a while at least she had this in her favor, that she moderated her grief. Such was the power of the words of Christ. This is why Martha went out first and Mary followed. For their affection for their teacher did not allow them to feel their present sorrow so strongly, so that the minds of these women were truly wise as well as loving. Homilies on the Gospel of John 62.3.
Martha Confesses Christ.
Tertullian: Martha confesses him to be the Son of God, being no more astray than Peter and Nathanael, though even if she had been astray she should at once have learned [the truth]. For the Lord, for the raising up of her brother from the dead, looked up to heaven and to the Father and said, “Father”—evidently a son [speaks]—“I thank you that you hear me always: for the sake of these multitudes that stand by, I said it that they may believe that you have sent me.” Against Praxeas 23.
Belief in the Son Is Belief in the Resurrection.
Augustine: When I believed [that you were the Son of God], I believed that you were the resurrection, that you were life and that he that believes in you, though he were dead, shall live. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.15.
Overview: Tragedies such as sickness and death cause even our Lord to groan (Peter Chrysologus). When Jesus was far from the tomb, he groaned in spirit, but when he neared the tomb, the groan was compressed inward (Origen) as an indication of the turmoil he was going through inside (Cyril). He groans because that is what faith does when it sees something that has gone wrong and is not right (Augustine). Jesus then arrives at the tomb—the prison from which Lazarus will be freed (Peter Chrysologus). The stone in front of the cave, the stench of the body, all indicate there was no opportunity for deception (Hippolytus). The stench of Lazarus’s body highlights how miraculous the resurrection was (Theodore). In allegorizing concerning the stench of Lazarus—and allegorizing need not deny its historicity (Augustine)—parallels are drawn between sin and death, repentance and resurrection (Augustine). Jesus commands the stone to be removed, but Martha’s words temporarily intervene (Origen), only to give way to faith—her faith as one living that trusts Jesus on behalf of Lazarus, who is dead (Cyril). As they roll away the stone, the Storehouse of life approaches the tomb of death (Athanasius).
Jesus’ eyes focus upward, taking our attention away from daily concerns to what is above (Origen). Jesus knows that the Father has already anticipated his prayer, which is why he offers a prayer of thanks rather than petition (Origen). Our Lord’s prayer also makes clear to the crowd that he never acts against the will of his Father (Chrysostom) and lets us know that those who truly pray are always heard (Origen). Christ did not need to pray (Hilary), but because they had leveled a charge of blasphemy against him, the tomb becomes a court of justice where Jesus is vindicated (Hippolytus). His prayer knocks on the doors of hell, demanding the release of Lazarus from the grip of Tartarus, who in futility appeals to heaven as the Trinity commands Lazarus to be returned (Peter Chrysologus).
Lazarus’s friend and Lord commands him to come out (Andrew). The voice longing for Lazarus frees him from his prison (Hesychius). It is a loud, singular voice that calls to his friend by name (Apollinaris). Had he not called him by name, the great power of Jesus would have summoned all those in their graves (Maximinus). The voice that speaks also spoke at creation (Athanasius), and will speak again when it calls us out of our graves at the general resurrection (Gregory of Nyssa). When Jesus raises Lazarus through prayer, he demonstrates his own power while also showing his oneness with the Father (Chrysostom).
As Lazarus is bid to come forth, so also are those with a guilty conscience (Gregory the Great, Augustine). The unbinding of the linens that bound Lazarus parallels our being unbound from the deadness of sin (Irenaeus, Origen), as the church and its ministers are charged with the task of unloosing sinners from their sins (Augustine). There are many like Lazarus trapped in their own tombs until released by the words of Jesus (Origen). The resurrection of Lazarus teaches us that death has lost its kingdom forever (Basil of Seleucia). We can now look forward to Lazarus offering the toast at the resurrection feast he has already sampled when we together with him celebrate Christ’s return (Peter Chrysologus).
11:38 Jesus Comes to the Tomb
Groaning in the Face of Death.
Peter Chrysologus: Spirit groans, so that flesh would come back to life. Life groans, so that death would be put to flight. God groans, so that humanity would rise. Pardon groans, lest the verdict be unfavorable. Christ groans as he subdues death, because one who snatches an unparalleled victory over an enemy cannot but groan. But with regard to the fact that he said that he “groaned again,” he does groan again in order to provide evidence of a twofold resurrection, since at Christ’s voice just as those dead in body are raised to life from their graves, so too those dead in faithfulness rise to a life of faith. Sermon 65.1.
Two Different Groanings of Christ.
Origen: When he was far from the tomb, he groaned in spirit. But when he comes near to the tomb, he no longer groans in spirit but compresses his groaning in himself. . . . Again he rebukes the feeling that we may learn that he has become unchangeably human like ourselves. Fragment 84 on the Gospel of John.
The Struggle Within.
Cyril of Alexandria: Here we understand the groaning as if it were the will struggling with a sort of movement according to its power, both because he rather sternly reproved his grief and [because of] the tears that were about to be shed from his grief. For, as God he, in the way of a master, reproves his humanity, looking for it to be strong in sorrowful circumstances. . . . “He groaned,” which means that through the outward action of his body he indicated his inner distress. Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
Christ Groans Because Faith Groans.
Augustine: Why did Christ trouble himself except to intimate to you how you should be troubled when you are weighed down and crushed by so great a mass of iniquity? For here you have been looking to yourself, seeing your own guilt, doing an accounting of yourself. I have done this, and God has spared me. I have committed this, and he has still stayed with me. I have heard the gospel and despised it. I have been baptized and returned again to my old habits. What am I doing? Where am I going? How shall I escape? When you speak in this way, Christ is already groaning, for your faith is groaning. In the voice of one who groans like this, the hope of that person’s rising again comes to light. If this kind of a faith is within, Christ is there too, groaning. For if there is faith in us, Christ is in us. . . . Why did he groan and trouble himself, but to intimate that the faith of one who has just cause to be displeased with himself should be, in a sense, groaning over the accusation of wicked deeds so that the habit of sinning may give way to the vehemence of penitential sorrow? Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.19.
The Cave as Prison.
Peter Chrysologus: It would have sufficed for him to have said that he had come to the tomb. Why is it that the Evangelist makes special mention of the cave? Certainly it is a cave, where the devil’s thievery has lodged human beings. It is a cave where a woman’s wiles buried the man, a cave where the greediness of death imprisoned God’s handiwork. “And a stone had been placed in front of it.” The door of hard death was bolted harder still by a very hard stone. What good does weeping at a grave do since the voice of the one weeping does not penetrate such hard and thick barriers? Christians, let us weep before God for our sins, and let us not weep with the pagans before the dead who do not hear us. Sermon 65.2.
11:39 Odor of Death After Stone’s Removal
No Chance for Deception.
Hippolytus: Are you—as someone who has bestowed the kind of power on your apostles that can remove mountains—are you not able to roll away a small stone from the entrance of the cave? But he chose not to roll the stone away because the spectators did not believe. Otherwise, they might have been able to say that what he did relied on trickery and deceiving the eyes. They would say there had been an apparently dead man laid in the grave, and that [Jesus] wanted to make it look like he called and the other heard. And so now he leads them to the grave, so that after they have rolled away the stone, the foul smell might reach them and furnish them with testimony that the man was actually dead. And then, once they believe Lazarus has died, they will no longer doubt his resurrection. The Lord had already planned for this when he came. Notice what immediately follows. Martha approaches the stone and says, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead for four days.” But the ever-living one, who is fully conscious of his power, says, “I chose to learn this from you, [Martha]. In fact, repeat what you said about him, ‘By this time he stinks.’ Repeat it, proclaiming that his resurrection is real.” His death was established several times in order that the fact of his resurrection might be established. . . . He commanded the Jews to roll away the stone with their own hands, reserving for himself the greatest sign so that they might be witnesses of the sign done by him. On the Gospel of John and the Resurrection of Lazarus.
Flesh and Soul of Lazarus Are Resurrected.
Tertullian: In the case of Lazarus, which we may take as the most outstanding instance of a resurrection, the flesh lay prostrate in weakness, almost putrid in the dishonor of its decay. The flesh smelled of corruption, and yet it was as flesh that Lazarus rose again—with his soul, no doubt. But that soul was incorrupt. Nobody had wrapped it in its linen swathes. Nobody had deposited it in a grave. Nobody had yet perceived its “smell,” nobody for four days had seen it “sown.” Well, now, this entire condition, this whole end of Lazarus, is indeed what the flesh of all humanity is still experiencing, but no one’s soul is experiencing it. That substance, therefore, to which the apostle’s whole description clearly refers, of which he clearly speaks, must be both the natural (or animate) body when it is sown and the spiritual body when it is raised again. On the Resurrection of the Flesh 53.3-4.
The Stench Highlights the Extent of the Miracle.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” These words were spoken by the woman who doubted, but they also referred to the greatness of the miracle to be performed. Indeed, the more they knew that his body was putrefying and was in a state of mutation according to nature, the more the miracle to be performed for Lazarus appeared to be extraordinary. So the Lord by reproving her said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” From this it is evident that she was not free from doubts even when she had said the words mentioned above and seemed to assent to and believe them. Commentary on John 5.11.39-40.
Allegorizing Does Not Have to Deny Historicity.
Augustine: Although according to the gospel history, we hold that Lazarus was really raised to life, yet I do not doubt that his resurrection is an allegory as well. We do not, because we allegorize facts, however, lose our belief in them as facts. On Eighty-Three Varied Questions 65.
Three Deaths, Three Resurrections.
Augustine: If, then, the Lord in the greatness of his grace and mercy raises our souls to life so that we may not die forever, we may well understand that those three dead persons whom he raised in the body have some figurative significance of that resurrection of the soul that is effected by faith. He raised up the ruler of the synagogue’s daughter, while still lying in the house. He raised up the widow’s young son, while being carried outside the gates of the city. And he raised up Lazarus when four days in the grave. Let each one pay attention to his own soul: in sinning he dies; sin is the death of the soul. But sometimes sin is committed only in thought. You have felt delight in what is evil, you have assented to its commission, and you have sinned. That assent has killed you, but the death is internal because the evil thought had not yet ripened into action. The Lord intimated that he would raise such a soul to life in raising that girl who had not yet been carried out for burial but was still lying dead in the house as if sin still lay concealed. But if you have not only harbored a feeling of delight in evil but have also done the evil thing, you have, so to speak, carried the dead outside the gate: you are already outside and being carried to the tomb. Yet the Lord also raised such a person to life and restored him to his widowed mother. If you have sinned, repent, and the Lord will raise you up and restore you to your mother church. The third example of death is Lazarus. It is a horrible kind of death and is distinguished as a habit of wickedness. For it is one thing to fall into sin, another to form the habit of sinning. The one who falls into sin and immediately submits to correction will be quickly restored to life, for he is not yet entangled in the habit, he is not yet laid in the tomb. But whoever has become habituated to sin is buried and has it properly said of him, “he stinks.” For his character, like some horrible smell, begins to be of the worst repute. Such are all who are habituated to crime or abandoned in morals. You say to such a person, “Don’t act like that.” But when will you be listened to by one on whom the earth is thus heaped who is breeding corruption and pressed down with the weight of habit? And yet the power of Christ was not unequal to the task of restoring such a person to life. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.3.
11:40 Faith Sees the Glory of God
Martha Hindered the Removal of the Stone.
Origen: But now, between the words “Take away the stone” and “therefore, they took away the stone,” the words of the dead man’s sister hindered the removal of the stone. And it would not have been taken away at all even later had not Jesus answered and said to her unbelief, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” It is good, then, that nothing intervenes between Jesus’ command and the action enjoined by his bidding. Commentary on the Gospel of John 28.17.
The Faith of One Serving to Assist Another.
Cyril of Alexandria: Faith is a truly excellent thing when it is produced from an ardent mind. It has such great power that not only is the believer healed but in fact others also can be healed besides those who believe. For instance . . . Lazarus is saved by the faith of his sister to whom the Lord said, “If you believe you shall see the glory of God,” which is like saying, “Since Lazarus, being dead, is not able to believe, you then are to fill up the faith that is lacking in him that is dead.” Commentary on the Gospel of John 7.
11:41 The Stone Removed, Jesus Lifts His Eyes in Prayer
The Storehouse of Life Approaches the Tomb of Death.
Athanasius: They took, then, the stone there from the mouth of the tomb. The whole crowd marveled, witnessing the smell of pus of Lazarus, who was decayed. He had rotted so that they were not able to approach within the tomb because of the smell of his body and its decay. But into the midst came Jesus, the storehouse that is full of life, the mouth that is full of sweet odor, the tongue that frightens death, the Mighty One in his commands, the joy of those who are sorrowful, the rising of those who have fallen, the resurrection of the dead, the assembly of the strong, the hope of the hopeless. He came and stood openly by the mouth of the tomb, with the preparations of salvation in his divine mouth. Now all of the crowd were standing and beholding and wondering what he would do in starting to raise him from the dead. Now the body was lying dead, but God himself was standing over it, looking down on him and grieving for him. Homily on the Resurrection of Lazarus.
Pay Attention to the Eyes.
Origen: We must carefully observe and examine what has been written concerning the position of Jesus’ eyes. . . . He had changed his thought from his conversation with those below and lifted it up and exalted it, bringing it in prayer to the Father who is over all. . . . The one who imitates Christ’s prayer, lifting up the eyes of his soul and bringing them up in this way from everyday concerns, memories, thoughts and intention must in this way address to God the great and heavenly words of prayer concerning great and heavenly matters. . . . If indeed God makes such a promise for those who pray in a worthy manner . . . that “while you are still speaking, I will say, ‘Here I am,’” what answer do we think our Savior and Lord would receive? Commentary on the Gospel of John 28.23-25, 39.
11:42 A Prayer of Thanks to the Father
Christ Offers Thanks.
Origen: He was about to pray for the resurrection of Lazarus when the only good God and Father anticipated his prayer and heard the words about to be spoken in his prayer. So the Savior begins by giving thanks in place of prayer in the hearing of the crowd. Commentary on the Gospel of John 28.42.
A Prayer to Demonstrate Unity of Will.
Chrysostom: Who ever prayed like Jesus did? Even before uttering any petition, he says, “I thank you that you have heard me,” demonstrating that he did not need prayer. He goes on to say, “And I knew that you always hear me,” not as though he himself were powerless but to show that his will and the Father’s are one. But then why did he pray? He says he did so “for the sake of the people standing by so that they may believe that you have sent me.”. . . All but saying, If I had been an enemy of God, what is done would not have succeeded. Homilies on the Gospel of John 64.2.
Those Who Pray Are Always Heard.
Origen: “I knew that you hear me always,” which is reported by John as said by the Lord, makes clear that those who pray are always heard. On Prayer 13.1.
Christ Did Not Need to Pray.
Hilary of Poitiers: When he was about to restore Lazarus, he prayed to the Father. But he did not need to pray. . . . “But for the benefit of the people standing nearby I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me.” He prayed then for us so that we might know that he is the Son. His prayer did not benefit himself but benefited our faith. He did not need any help, but we needed instruction. On the Trinity 10.71.
The Tomb as a Court of Justice.
Hippolytus: Because they considered it a blasphemy that he called God his Father, he used the tomb as a court of justice and set the truth as judge, while the surrounding unthankful multitude formed the witnesses, so that those who had said “You blaspheme by naming yourself in your own sense Son of God and him as your Father” were to see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears, while he as good as said to them, “I appeal to him here before you. If he is displeased because I call him Father, and it is a blasphemy as you think, he will not hear me. But if he hears me, it is certainly clear that he is actually my Father. . . . If I call the dead and he obeys my command and arises, it is not the work of a blasphemer but the command of God and of the Son of God.” That this is the meaning of the prayer and that it did not spring from any deficiency on his part is shown by his words. On the Gospel of John and the Resurrection of Lazarus.
Knocking on the Doors of Hell.
Peter Chrysologus: When Christ began to strike the doors of the underworld, to break through the gates of Tartarus, to open the entrance of death, to dissolve the old law of Gehenna, to do away with the age-old right to punish and to demand the return of Lazarus’s soul, the power of Tartarus with all its fury confronted him, brandishing the edict of the Ruler of heaven, bearing the decree of the King most high, presenting the sentence rendered by the mouth of God and in effect for so many years. And on seeing the man, [Tartarus] asked who [Christ] was, what his intentions were, what his purpose was and why all by himself he was fearlessly challenging and attacking the fearsome entrance to death. As he asked who he was, the angels serving as ministers of the resurrection answered him in the words of the prophet: “He is the King of glory,” he is “the One who is strong and mighty in battle.” But Tartarus responded, “I know that the King of glory is in charge in heaven of all the celestial powers, and the whole of creation is unable to bear his will. However, this one that I see is one of the earthlings, made out of mud, enclosed in a mortal body, and in his human condition viler than human beings, and, in short, soon to be handed over to the grave and very shortly destined to come under my jurisdiction.” But the angels persisted and kept repeating, “He is ‘the Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory,’ he is the Ruler of heaven, the Creator of the earth, the Savior of the world, the Redeemer of all, he is the one who rendered the death sentence that has you in a fury, he is about to tread on your head, crush your authority and issue his own judgment of condemnation on you, who, although ordered to seize the guilty, drag away the innocent, abduct the saints and now threaten the Son of God himself. So give back one before you are forced to release all.” Sermon 65.6.
A Futile Appeal to Heaven.
Peter Chrysologus: But Tartarus, still not believing the report he received from the customary messengers, and deploring the situation, with a complaint full of envy makes this appeal to heaven: “O Lord, even though I am the lowest of your creatures, even though I am subjected to grim servitude, I am unfailing in keeping your precepts. I am ever vigilant so that no rash innovator alter the age-old authority of your sentence. But a man has appeared, who is called Christ, bragging that he is your Son, and he reprimands your priests, he rebukes your scribes, he violates your sabbath, he abolishes your law, and he compels souls, released from the flesh and assigned now to my custody for punishment, to return to the bodies in which they had lived wickedly. “And his audacity, which is growing stronger day by day, has reached the point that he has broken the barriers of the underworld and is attempting to rescue Lazarus, already locked in our prison, already bound by our law and already subject to our authority. Either quickly come to the aid, or, once he opens the doors, you are now going to lose all those whom we have kept in custody for so long a time.” To this the Son from the bosom of his Father responds, “Father, it is just that a prison holds not the innocent but the guilty. That punishment torments the unrighteous, not the righteous. For how long for the offense of one man, on account of Adam’s guilt alone, will this executioner continue to drag down to himself with his cruel violence patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, confessors, virgins, widows, those abiding in the chastity of marriage, people of all ages and of both sexes, even little children who do not know good or evil? Father, I shall die so that all may not die. Father, I shall pay Adam’s debt so that through me those who die through Adam for the underworld may live for you. Father, because of your sentence I shall shed my blood. That is how important it is to me that your creation should return to you. May the price of my blood so dear to you be the redemption of all the dead.” To this the whole Trinity agreed and ordered Lazarus to leave, and Tartarus was commanded to obey Christ in giving back all the dead. This is why the Son proclaims, “Father, I thank you for having heard me.” The apostle bears witness that Christ is our advocate in the presence of the Father. And so, when he is seated he judges together with the Father. When he stands, he functions in the capacity of advocate. Sermon 65.6-8.
11:43 Lazarus, Come Out!
Come Out!
Andrew of Crete: Lazarus, Come out! It is the voice of the Lord, the proclamation of the king—an authoritative command. Come out! Leave corruption behind and receive the flesh of incorruption. Lazarus, Come out! Let them know that the time has come when those in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of man. Once they have heard they will come alive. Come out! The stumbling block is taken away. Come to me—I am calling you. Come out! As a friend, I am calling you; as Lord I am commanding you. . . . Come out Covered with the burial cloth so that they won’t think you were only pretending to be dead. Let them see your hands and feet bound and your face covered. Let them see if they still do not believe the miracle. Come out! Let the stench of your body prove the resurrection. Let the burial linen be undone so that they can recognize the one who was put in the tomb. Come out! Come alive and enliven! Come out of the tomb. Teach them how all creation will be enlivened in a moment when the trumpet’s voice proclaims the resurrection of the dead. Come out! Let breath appear in your nostrils, let blood pulse through your veins, let the voice sound in your larynx, let words fill your ears, let vision enlighten your eyes, let the sense of smell fill your senses, walk as nature intended as your earthly tent is enlivened by your soul. Come out! Leave behind the burial cloth and glorify the miracle. Leave the revolting stench of death and proclaim the strength of my power. I’m calling you out! Come out. I, who said, “Let there be light, let there be firmament.” Homily 8 on Lazarus.
The Voice Longing for Lazarus.
Hesychius of Jerusalem: The voice longed for Lazarus, its call freeing up the wings of the prisoner so that he rises up from the earth. Homily 11 on St. Lazarus.
Jesus Will Call His Friends by Name at the Resurrection.
Apollinaris of Laodicea: The one whom he loved and who was his friend he calls by name so that [Lazarus] serves as a sign of the resurrection of all those who are called friends by the Lord whom the apostle says have died in the Lord. Fragments on John 75.
A Particular Example of General Resurrection Yet to Come.
Maximinus: For all the dead, most beloved, would have arisen out of their graves [on hearing] that one voice if he had not called out that single name. Therefore he spoke in particular, “Lazarus, come forth.” . . . It is also in this singular name that he called, I say, that we see in a single instance what is to be understood more generally of all in the future. Sermon 14.3.
The Same Voice Spoke at Creation.
Hippolytus: O power of the voice, arousing the four days’ dead as from sleep and bringing forth from the grave as well loosed and swiftly running the one who was bound with grave bands. Give your attention, beloved, to the voice, and you will find him to be the Word that spoke at the creation. . . . “Lazarus, come forth,” and the dead arose, and he who had reached the fourth day was equal to one who had not died at all. “Lazarus, come forth,” and the soul was drawn up from the realms below . . . and joyfully recognized its own dwelling. On the Gospel of John and the Resurrection of Lazarus.
The Sweet Odor of Paradise Invades the Stench of Death.
Athanasius: “Come forth.” See, I am standing by you. I am your Lord. You are the work of my hands. Why have you not known me, because in the beginning I myself formed Adam from the earth and gave him breath? Open your mouth yourself so that I may give you breath. Stand on your feet and receive strength for yourself. For I am the strength of the whole creation. Stretch out your hands, and I shall give them strength. For I am the straight staff. I command the foul odor to depart from you. For I am the sweet odor of the trees of paradise. Behold, the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet will be fulfilled in you, namely, “I shall open your tombs, and I shall bring you forth.” Homily on the Resurrection of Lazarus.
The Same Voice That Called Lazarus Will Call Us at the Resurrection.
Gregory of Nyssa: Here we have a man past the prime of life, a corpse, decaying, swollen, in fact, already in a state of dissolution, so that even his own relatives did not want the Lord to draw near the tomb because the decayed body enclosed there was so offensive. And yet, he is brought into life by a single call, confirming the proclamation of the resurrection, that is to say, that expectation of it as universal that we learn by a particular experience to entertain. For as in the regeneration of the universe the apostle tells us that “the Lord himself will descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,” and by a trumpet sound raise up the dead to incorruption—so now too he who is in the tomb, at the voice of command, shakes off death as if it were only sleep. He rids himself of the corruption that had come on his condition of a corpse, leaps forth from the tomb whole and sound, not even hindered as he leaves by the bonds of the grave cloths round his feet and hands. On the Making of Man 25.11.
Divine Power of the Father and Son.
Chrysostom: Why did he not say, “In the name of my Father come out”? Or why not, “Father, raise him up”? Why did he omit all these expressions and, after assuming the attitude of one praying, show by his actions his independent authority? Because this was also a mark of his wisdom: to show condescension by his words but power by his deeds. For since [the Jewish leaders] had nothing else to charge him with except that he was not of God, and since in this way they deceived many, for this reason he more than sufficiently proves this very point by what he says in a way their weakness required. For it was in his power to show in another way his agreement with the Father as well as his own dignity, but the multitude could not ascend so far. And so he simply says, “Lazarus, come forth.” Homilies on the Gospel of John 64.2.
11:44 Lazarus Comes Out and Is Unbound
The Coming Out of a Guilty Conscience.
Gregory the Great: Lazarus is bid to come forth, that is, to come forth and condemn himself with his own mouth, without excuse or reservation. In the same way, the one who lies buried in a guilty conscience may come forth out of himself by confession. Morals on the Book of Job 22.15.31.
Come Out of the Hiding of Your Sin.
Augustine: Do you wonder how it is that he came forth with his feet bound, but forget about the fact that after four days he rose from the dead? In both events it was the power of the Lord that operated and not the strength of the dead. He came forth and yet was still bound. Still in his burial shroud, he has already come outside the tomb. What does it mean? When you despise [Christ], you lie dead. . . . When you confess, you come forth. For what is to come forth, but to come out, as it were, from your hiding place and show yourself? But you cannot make this confession unless God moves you to do it, by crying with a loud voice, that is, calling you with abundant grace. But even after the dead man has come forth, he remains bound for some time, that is, he is as yet only a penitent. Then our Lord says to his ministers, “Loose him, and let him go,” that is, forgive his sins: “Whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.24.
Unbound from Sin.
Irenaeus: Concerning Lazarus, who had lain four days in the tomb: In what [body did he] rise again? In the same, no doubt, in which he had also died. For if it were not in the very same [body], then certainly he who had died did not rise again. . . . “The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth.” This was symbolic of that man who had been bound in sins. And therefore the Lord said, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Therefore, since those who were healed were made whole in those members that had in times past been afflicted, and the dead rose in the identical bodies, their limbs and bodies receiving health, so also that life that was granted by the Lord who prefigures eternal things by temporal ones shows that it is he who is himself able to extend both healing and life to his handiwork so that his words concerning its [future] resurrection may also be believed. Against Heresies 5.13.1.
The Church Unbinds.
Augustine: So someone says, “What’s the use of the church, if you can confess, and be brought back to life by the voice of the Lord and come out immediately?” “What use is the church to you as you confess—the church to which the Lord said, ‘What you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven?’” Look at Lazarus’s case. He came out, all tied up. He was already alive, by confessing, but he was not yet walking around freely, being still entangled with the bandages. So what does the church do, told as it has been, “Whatever you loose shall be loosed”? The church does what the Lord went on at once to tell the disciples, of course: “Unbind him and let him go.” Sermon 67.3.
The Land of Dead Prayer.
Origen: Now, we ought to be aware that there are some Lazaruses even now who, after they have become Jesus’ friends, have become sick and died, and as dead persons they have remained in the tomb and the land of the dead with the dead who were later made alive by Jesus’ prayer. They were summoned from the tomb to the things outside it by Jesus with his loud voice. He who trusts in Jesus comes forth wearing bonds worthy of death from his former sins and still bound around his face, so that he can neither see nor walk nor do anything because of the bonds of death until Jesus commands those who are able to loose him and let him go. Commentary on the Gospel of John 28.54.
Death Itself Cast into Affliction.
Basil of Seleucia: Lazarus appeared, resembling an impromptu trophy over death. He appeared without having left to Hades any of the burial wrappings. For, bound [in these], he came forth. His feet did not bear him, rather, grace provided him with wings. Lazarus appeared, having left Hades behind mourning. As he put an end to the grief of [his] brothers, he cast death into affliction. Seeing his kingdom destroyed and unable to prevent this, [death] lamented, crying, “What is this change in my affairs, what is this miraculous alliance of nature? The dead are returning to life, and the tombs have become wombs of the living. Alas, for these misfortunes! Even the tombs are faithless to me with regard to the dead, and the dead, although putrefying, are leaping out. They are all dancing in their swathing bands, mocking my laugh. Still mourned, they are going up toward those that mourn them. By showing themselves, they undo the tragedy, leaving me an heir to grief. Who is it who teaches the dead to challenge death? Who is it who is enlisting the deceased against death? Who is the One who teaches the dead to challenge death? Who is the One whose voice the prisons underground cannot support? Who is the One before whom the tombs tremble? He merely speaks, and I am not able to hold on to those whom I have in my power. Oh, in vain was I entrusted with a kingdom! Oh, in vain was I confident in an angry God!” Homily on Lazarus 11-12.
Lazarus’s Sip of the Resurrection.
Peter Chrysologus: Pray, brothers, that we who have taken a sip of the resurrection with Lazarus offering the toast at Christ’s return may merit drinking the whole draft of the universal resurrection. Sermon 65.9.
11:45-46 Many Believed in Jesus
Reactions of the Jews After the Miracle.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: The Jews, who were present, had different opinions about what had happened. Some believed in him because of the miracle, which he had performed. Others, on the contrary, were so far away from believing that they went to denounce him to the Pharisees, as if he had dared do something unlawful. But even what they did out of hatred and evil desire still contributed to making the accomplished miracle well known to everyone. Commentary on John 5.11.44.
The Announcement Produces Jealousy in Pharisees.
Origen: The text has a certain ambiguity. Were those who went to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus had done—were they from those many Jews who saw the things that he had done and believed in him and wished to win over those who were hostile to him by the announcement about Lazarus? Or were they the others not among the many who believed who, since what had happened did not bring about faith in Jesus, intended as much as possible to stir up the wicked jealousy in the Pharisees against him by the announcement about Lazarus? The Evangelist seems to me to be leaning toward this latter meaning. Commentary on the Gospel of John 28.77-78.
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