John Calvin Commentary John 11:4

"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." — John 11:4 (ASV)

Now Jesus, having heard this, said, This sickness is not to death. He intended by this reply to free his disciples from anxiety, so that they might not misunderstand when they saw him showing so little concern about the danger of his friend. Therefore, so that they might not be alarmed about the life of Lazarus, he declares that the disease is not deadly and even promises that it will be a further opportunity to promote his own glory. Though Lazarus died, yet as Christ soon afterward restored him to life, he now declares, looking to this result, that the disease is not to death.

But for the glory of God. This clause is not contrasted with death as if it were an argument that would always hold. For we know that, even though the reprobate die, the glory of God is displayed no less strikingly in their destruction than in the salvation of believers.

But Christ strictly meant, in this passage, the glory of God that was connected with his office. The power of God, displayed in the miracles of Christ, was not intended to strike terror but was kind and gentle.

When he says that there is no danger of death because he intends to display in it his own glory and the glory of his Father, we should inquire for what purpose and with what intention he was sent by the Father: namely, to save and not to destroy.

For the glory, of God, that the Son of God may be glorified. This expression is highly emphatic, for we learn from it that God wishes to be acknowledged in the person of his Son in such a way that all the reverence he requires to be given to his own majesty may be ascribed to the Son. Thus, we were told previously,

He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father,
(John 5:23).

It is in vain for Muslims and Jews, therefore, to pretend to worship God, for they blaspheme against Christ and even attempt, in this manner, to rob God of himself.