Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 11:17

"So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already." — John 11:17 (ASV)

Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

So that he was probably dead as soon as the messengers arrived to tell the Saviour that he was ill.

Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

You know that, in the East, they have to bury the dead almost immediately because of the heat of the climate; so that Lazarus was, not long after he was dead, put away in the family vault.