Church Fathers Commentary John 11:1-5

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." — John 11:1-5 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: After our Lord had departed to the other side of the Jordan, it happened that Lazarus fell sick: A certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany. In some copies, the copulative conjunction precedes this to mark the connection with the preceding words. Lazarus means “helped.” Of all the dead whom our Lord raised, he was helped the most, for he had lain dead for four days when our Lord raised him to life.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The resurrection of Lazarus is spoken of more than any of our Lord’s other miracles. But if we keep in mind who He was who performed this miracle, we will feel not so much wonder as delight. He who made the man, raised the man; and it is a greater thing to create a man than to revive him. Lazarus was sick at Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. The place was near Jerusalem.

Alcuin of York: And as there were many women with this name, He distinguishes her by her well-known act: It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

St. John Chrysostom: First, we are to observe that this was not the harlot mentioned in Luke, but a virtuous woman who treated our Lord with marked reverence.

St. Augustine of Hippo: John here confirms the passage in Luke, where this is said to have taken place in the house of a Pharisee named Simon. Mary had therefore done this act on a previous occasion. That she did it again at Bethany is not mentioned in the narrative of Luke but is in the other three Gospels.

A cruel sickness had seized Lazarus; a wasting fever was eating away the body of the wretched man day by day. His two sisters sat sorrowful at his bedside, continually grieving for the sick young man. Therefore, his sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.”

They did not say, “Come and heal.” They dared not say, “Speak the word there, and it shall be done here.” They only said, “Behold, he whom you love is sick.” It was as if to say, “It is enough that you know. You are not one to love someone and then desert them.”

St. John Chrysostom: They hoped to arouse Christ’s pity with these words, since they still thought of Him as only a man. Like the centurion and the nobleman, they sent a message rather than going to Christ themselves. This was partly from their great faith in Him, for they knew Him intimately, and partly because their sorrow kept them at home.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This was also because they were women, and it was not proper for them to leave their home if they could avoid it. Great devotion and faith are expressed in the words, “Behold, he whom you love is sick.” Their idea of our Lord’s power was such that they were surprised that someone He loved could be seized with sickness.

St. Augustine of Hippo: When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not to death.” For this death itself was not leading to final death, but was to provide an opportunity for a miracle, by which people might be brought to believe in Christ and so escape true death.

It was for the glory of God. In this, observe that our Lord implies He is God, thus confounding the heretics who say that the Son is not God. For the glory of what God? Listen to what follows: “that the Son of God might be glorified by it” (that is, by that sickness).

St. John Chrysostom: Here, the word “that” signifies not the cause, but the result. The sickness arose from natural causes, but He used it for the glory of God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He is sick, they are sorrowful, all are beloved. For this reason they had hope, because they were beloved by Him Who is the Comforter of the sorrowful and the Healer of the sick.

St. John Chrysostom: In this, the Evangelist instructs us not to be sad if sickness ever befalls good people and friends of God.