Church Fathers Commentary John 11:11-16

"These things spake he: and after this he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus is fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. The disciples therefore said unto him, Lord, if he is fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death: but they thought that he spake of taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus therefore said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said unto his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him." — John 11:11-16 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: After comforting His disciples in one way, He comforts them in another by telling them they were not going to Jerusalem, but to Bethany. After saying this, He told them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. It was as if to say, “I am not going to dispute with the Jews again, but to awaken our friend.” He calls him “our friend,” He says, to show how strongly they were obligated to go.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It was true that Lazarus was sleeping. To our Lord, he was sleeping; but to men, who could not raise him again, he was dead. Our Lord awoke him from his grave with as much ease as you would awaken a sleeper from his bed. He calls him “asleep,” then, with reference to His own power, just as the Apostle says, But I would not have you to be ignorant, concerning them which are asleep.

He says “asleep” because He is speaking of their future resurrection. But just as it matters to those who sleep and wake daily what they see in their dreams—some pleasant, others painful—so it is in death. Everyone sleeps and rises again with his own account to give.

St. John Chrysostom: The disciples, however, wished to prevent Him from going to Judea. His disciples said, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. They reasoned that sleep is a good sign in sickness, and therefore, if he was sleeping, there was no need to go and awaken him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The disciples replied according to their own understanding. Jesus spoke of Lazarus’s death, but they thought He had spoken of taking rest in sleep.

St. John Chrysostom: But if anyone says that the disciples must have known our Lord meant Lazarus’s death when He said He would “awake him”—because it would have been absurd to go such a distance merely to wake someone from sleep—we answer that our Lord’s words were a kind of enigma to the disciples, as was often the case.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He then declared His meaning openly: Then said Jesus to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

St. John Chrysostom: But here He does not add, “I go that I may awake him.” He did not wish to anticipate the miracle by talking about it beforehand, which is a hint for us to shun vainglory and abstain from empty promises.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Jesus had been sent for 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?

Theophylact of Ohrid: Some have understood this passage this way. He says, “I rejoice for your sakes, for if I had been there, I would have only cured a sick man, which is a lesser sign of power. But since he has died in My absence, you will now see that I can raise even a dead, decaying body, and your faith will be strengthened.”

St. John Chrysostom: All the disciples dreaded the Jews, and especially Thomas. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, to his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

But he who was now the weakest and most unbelieving of all the disciples afterward became stronger than any of them. And he who did not dare to go to Bethany later traveled over the whole earth, in the midst of those who wished for his death, with an indomitable spirit.

The Venerable Bede: The disciples, checked by our Lord’s answer, no longer dared to oppose Him. And Thomas, more forward than the rest, says, Let us also go, that we may die with him. What an appearance of firmness! He speaks as if he could really do what he said, unmindful, like Peter, of his own frailty.