Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 11:28-37

"And when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Teacher is her, and calleth thee. And she, when she heard it, arose quickly, and went unto him. (Now Jesus was not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met him.) The Jews then who were with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going unto the tomb to weep there. Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews [also] weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him! But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die?" — John 11:28-37 (ASV)

1. The Evangelist, after describing Martha, now describes Mary.

He mentions three things:

1. How she was called.
2. Her meeting with Christ, at as soon as she heard this.
3. The devotion she showed Him, at when Mary therefore came to where Jesus was... she fell down at his feet.

2. Mary was called by Martha, who had been consoled and instructed by Christ and did not want her sister to miss such consolation. When she had said these things—her previous words to the Lord—she went, and called her sister Mary quietly, saying: the Master has come and calls for you.

From this, two problems arise. The first concerns what is meant by quietly, for quiet is nothing other than the privation of speech and sound. It would not be possible to call someone quietly.

Augustine says the Evangelist omitted a detail from his account for the sake of brevity, for perhaps our Lord did tell Martha to call her. She called her sister quietly: the words of the wise heard in quiet (Ecclesiastes 9:17). She did this because a number of Jews were with her sister, as has been said. Perhaps there were some among them who did not like Jesus, would have left, or, if they had heard what Martha said, would not have followed her.

As for the mystical sense, we may understand that one calls upon Christ more efficaciously in quiet or in private: in quietness and in trust will be your strength (Isaiah 30:15).

3. There is a problem with her saying, the Master has come and calls for you. This seems to be false, because our Lord did not tell Martha to call Mary.

I answer that Augustine suggests the Evangelist, for the sake of brevity, allows us to understand what is missing in his own narrative, for perhaps the Lord had told Martha to call her. However, others say that Martha considered the very presence of Christ as a call. Martha was thinking: if He is here, it would be inexcusable for one not to go to meet Him.

4. Next, at as soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and came to him, the Evangelist describes Mary going to meet Christ.

He describes three things about this:

1. He mentions her promptness.
2. The place where she meets Christ, at for Jesus had not yet come into the town.
3. Those who came with her, at the Jews therefore, who were with her in the house... followed her.

5. Mary went to Christ promptly, not delaying on account of her sorrow or hesitating because of those who were with her. But as soon as she heard this, she rose quickly from the house where she was and came to him, Jesus. It is clear from this that Martha would not have arrived before Mary if Mary had been immediately told of Jesus’ coming.

Furthermore, this provides us with the example that we are not to delay when called to Christ: do not delay to turn to the Lord, nor postpone it from day to day ; I will hear him as a teacher (Isaiah 50:4).

6. Mary meets Christ at the same place where Martha had spoken to Him, at for Jesus had not yet come into the town, but he was still in the place where Martha had met him. The Evangelist mentions this so that we do not think Mary’s trip was unnecessary, for Christ could have reached her village just as quickly as Martha did. But Christ remained where He was so as not to appear to be thrusting Himself into a miracle. Yet once He is asked and prompted, He does perform a miracle, once they realize that Lazarus is dead, and so the miracle cannot be denied.

We can also understand from this that when we wish to have the advantage of Christ, we should go to meet Him and not wait until He accommodates Himself to us. Rather, we should accommodate ourselves to Him: they will turn to you, but you will not turn to them (Jeremiah 15:19).

7. Those who followed Mary are described when the Evangelist says, the Jews therefore, who were with her in the house... followed her. The reason they followed her is given when he says they thought, she goes to the tomb to weep there. They thought her action was inspired by her grief, since they had not heard what Martha had said to her. This was a commendable thing for the Jews to do: do not cease consoling those who weep . Still, that they did follow Mary was an effect of divine providence. As Augustine says, it was so that with all these people present when Lazarus was raised, this great miracle of raising one who had been dead for four days would have many witnesses.

8. Then when he says, when Mary therefore came to where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, we see Mary’s devotion to Jesus.

We see two things:

1. The devotion she showed by her actions.
2. The devotion she showed by her words, at Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not be dead.

9. In regard to the first, notice her security and humility.

She is secure because, contrary to the leaders’ orders that no one should profess Christ, she is neither shamed by the crowd nor does she show any regard for the Jews’ mistrust of Christ. Even though some of Christ’s enemies are present, she runs to Him: the just man is bold as a lion, he will be without fear (Proverbs 28:1).

She shows her humility because she fell down at his feet, which was not said about Martha: humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you (1 Peter 5:6); let us worship at his foot stool (Psalms 132:7).

10. She shows her devotion in words when she says to Him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not be dead. For she believed that He was life, and where He was there could be no place for death: what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14). It is like saying, says Augustine: "As long as you were present with us, no sickness or infirmity dared to appear among those with whom life was a guest. O faithless fellowship! While you were still living in the world, your friend died. If a friend dies, what will an enemy suffer?"

11. Next, at Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping... groaned in the spirit and troubled himself, Christ’s feelings are presented. Christ did not answer Mary in the same way that He answered Martha; because of the crowd that was present, He did not say anything but showed His power by His actions.

First, we see Christ’s affection for Mary. Second, we see the remarks of the Jews about Christ’s affection, at the Jews therefore said: behold how he loved him.

Concerning the first, the Evangelist does three things:

1. He mentions the affection present in the heart of Christ.
2. He shows how Christ expressed it in words, at and he said: where have you laid him?
3. He shows how Christ revealed it by His tears, at and Jesus wept.

12. With regard to the first, he says, Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping.

We should note here that Christ is truly God and truly man. And so in His actions we find almost everywhere that the divine is mingled with the human, and the human with the divine. If at times something human is mentioned about Christ, something divine is immediately added. Indeed, we read of no weakness of Christ greater than His Passion, yet as He hangs on the cross, divine events are manifested: the sun is obscured, rocks are split, and the bodies of the saints that had been asleep arise. Even at His birth, as He lay in the manger, a star shines in the heavens, the angels sing His praises, and the magi and kings offer gifts. We have a similar situation here, for Christ experiences a certain weakness in His human affections, becoming disturbed over the death of Lazarus. We read, He groaned in the spirit and troubled himself.

13. In regard to this disturbance, we should note His compassion, His discernment, and His power.

There is compassion for a right reason, for one is rightly troubled by the sadness and the evils which afflict others. About this the Evangelist says, when he saw her weeping. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).

14. There is discernment, because Jesus is troubled in harmony with the judgment of reason. Thus the Evangelist says that He groaned in the spirit, that is, observing the judgment of reason. In the Scriptures, the spirit is also called the mind or reason: be renewed in the spirit of your minds (Ephesians 4:23). Sometimes these emotions of the sensitive appetite are neither evoked by the spirit nor do they preserve the moderation of reason; rather, they go against it. But this did not happen in Christ because He groaned in the spirit.

But what does it indicate to say that He groaned in spirit? It seems that it indicates anger: a king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion (Proverbs 19:12). It also seems to indicate indignation or resentment: he gnashes his teeth and melts away (Psalms 112:10).

I answer that Christ’s being deeply moved indicates a certain anger and resentment of the heart. For all anger and resentment are caused by some kind of pain and sadness. Now there are two things involved here: the one about which Christ was troubled was death, which was inflicted upon the human race on account of sin; the other, which He resented, was the cruelty of death and of the devil. Thus, just as one who wants to repel an enemy is saddened by the evils inflicted by him and indignant at the very thought of him, so too Christ was saddened and indignant.

15. There was power here because Christ troubled Himself by His own command. Sometimes such emotions arise for an inappropriate reason, as when a person rejoices over something evil or is saddened over what is good, like they who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil (Proverbs 2:14). But this was not the case with Christ; thus he says, when he saw her weeping... he troubled himself. And sometimes such emotions arise for a good reason but are not moderated by reason. So he says, He groaned in the spirit. Furthermore, although these emotions are moderated, they sometimes spring up before the judgment of reason, as when they are sudden. This was not the case with Christ either, because every movement of His sensitive appetite was according to the control and command of reason. Thus he says, He troubled himself. This was like saying: He took on this sadness by a judgment of reason.

But how does this agree with the statement: he will not be sad nor troubled? (Isaiah 42:4).

I answer that this refers to a sadness which precedes the judgment of reason and is immoderate. Christ willed to be troubled and to feel sadness for three reasons.

1. To show the condition and the truth of His human nature.
2. So that by controlling His own sadness, He might teach us to moderate our own. The Stoics had taught that a wise man is never sad. But it seems very inhuman not to be sad at the death of another. However, there are some who become excessively sad over the evils which afflict their friends. Now our Lord willed to be sad in order to teach us that there are times when we should be sad, which is contrary to the opinion of the Stoics. He also preserved a certain moderation in His sadness, which is contrary to the excessively sad type. Thus the Apostle says: but we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Weep for the dead, for he lacks the light , and then it continues, weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest.
3. To tell us that we should be sad and weep for those who physically die: I am utterly spent and crushed (Psalms 38:8).

16. Then our Lord shows the emotion in His own heart by words; He says, where have you laid him?

Was our Lord really ignorant of the place where he had been buried? It seems not, for just as in His absence He knew of Lazarus’ death because of His divinity, so in the same way He knew where his tomb was. Why did He ask about something He already knew?

I answer that He did not ask as though He did not know, but upon being shown the tomb by the people, He wanted them to admit that Lazarus had died and was buried. In this way, He could prevent the miracle from being doubted.

There are also two mystical reasons for this. One is that a person who asks a question does not seem to know the things he asks about. Now, Lazarus in his tomb signifies those who are dead in their sins. And so our Lord presents Himself as ignorant of where Lazarus is to have us understand that He does not, in a way, know sinners, according to: I never knew you (Matthew 7:23); and God said to Adam, where are you? (Genesis 3:9).

The other reason is that if anyone rises from sin to the state of divine righteousness, it is due to the depths of divine predestination, the depths of which we are ignorant: for who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:34); for who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to perceive and hear his word (Jeremiah 23:18). And so our Lord, implying this, acts as one who does not know, since we also do not know this.

Thus our Lord’s question is given, and the answer of the people, when the Evangelist says, they said to him: Lord, come and see. Come, by showing mercy; and see, by giving your attention: consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins (Psalms 25:18).

17. Next, our Lord reveals His emotion with tears; the Evangelist says, and Jesus wept. Now His tears did not flow from necessity, but out of compassion and for a purpose. Christ was a well-spring of compassion, and He wept in order to show us that it is not blameworthy to weep out of compassion: my son, let your tears fall for the dead . He wept with a purpose, which was to teach us that we should weep because of sin: I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears (Psalms 6:6).

18. The Evangelist mentions the remarks that were made about Christ’s affection when he says, the Jews therefore said: behold how he loved him! He describes two groups:

1. Those who sympathize with Christ’s affection.
2. Those who doubted His previous miracle, at: but some of them said.

The Evangelist describes some sympathizing with Christ’s affection when he says, the Jews therefore said, after Christ showed His affections by His words and tears, behold how he loved him, for love is especially manifested when people are afflicted: a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). As for the mystical sense, we understand by this that God loves us even when we are sinners, for if He did not love us He would not have said: for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13). So we read: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you (Jeremiah 31:3).

19. Those who doubted His previous miracle were from the group which envied Christ. The Evangelist says, but some of them, the Jews, said: could not he who opened the eyes of the man born blind, have kept this man from dying? This was the same as saying: "If He loved him so much that He now weeps over his death, it seems that He did not want him to die, for sadness concerns things that we do not want. So, if he died against Christ’s wishes, it seems that Christ was not able to prevent his death; and all the more it seems that He could not have opened the eyes of the man born blind." Or, one could say that the Jews were speaking out of wonder or astonishment, as Elisha spoke when he said, where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? (2 Kings 2:14); and David in Lord, where is thy steadfast love of old? (Psalms 89:49).