Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 11:1

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha." — John 11:1 (ASV)

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

In God's book, towns are most remarkable for saints that dwell in them. The town of Mary and her sister Martha. A day will come when a city will be more illustrious for a saint than for a Caesar – be more renowned for deeds of faith than for deeds of battle. It was the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

To many people, it may have seemed an event of no particular importance that a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, but great consequences often depend upon what appear to us to be very minor matters, and we must not despise the least of the Lord's people, nor think slightingly of anything that concerns them.

When a king or an emperor is ill, the news is published in all the papers; but when a friend of the Lord Jesus, a man named Lazarus of Bethany, was sick, that event was recorded in the Bible because of something very remarkable which was to follow that sickness.

Lazarus was a son of God, and grace makes greater distinctions than earthly rank and worldly honours ever can make.