The Seventh Sign:

raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-54)

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

January 10, 2010

 

I.  Introduction

A.  Please turn to John 11:1. 

B.  While you are turning....  In an article titled "The Rise of Christophobia," blogger Barbara Kay complains:

            It is now a commonplace under our governing rubric of multiculturalism to worry about discrimination against any and all religions except Christianity.  The irony is, of course, that actual hate speech and actions directed against other religions are extremely rare, while Christianity is considered fair game for criticism and even denigration.  In short, Islamophobia is a no-no, but Christophobia is a yes-yes.

            A fascinating case of Christophobia is detailed in the March, 2009, edition of the monthly arts review, The New Criterion. In their Notes & Comments section, the editors chronicle a cautionary tale that recalls in its implications the Nazi book-burnings of works by Jewish writers in the 1930s.  The story begins in 2006 with a contract signed between George Thomas Kurian, an experienced encyclopedist of high repute, with the eminent English academic publishing house, Wiley-Blackwell to produce a multi-volume "Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization."

            For two years Kurian toiled at this massive task with the help of almost 400 contributors.  Over and above the 4,000 entries, covering everything from Bach to Transubstantiation, the reader is introduced, according to the editor's foreword, to a "panoptic" exploration of theology and history, but also to the influence of Christianity on civilization in all its permutations: Music, law, architecture and so forth.

            Rebecca Harkin, Wiley's religion editor, was delighted with the result of Kurian's "tremendous undertaking" and said so to him in a rapturous e-mail.  The book was scheduled for publication in 2009; early feedback posted on Amazon.com was enthusiastic.  With the outlook sunny, Ms. Harkin launched her baby into the world at the November, 2008, annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion....

Four (please note: only four of many editors and the aforementioned 400 contributors) of the encyclopedia's editorial board members wrote a litany of complaints to Harkin and Kurian.  They objected to the "highly negative, even racist characterization of Islam" in the encyclopedia's introduction.  They felt Kurian's "malignant assumptions" did "nothing to advance scholarly understanding" and demanded Kurian modify his introduction "to remove the offence thrust at Islam and other religions and to moderate the tone of confrontation and polemic."

            Harkin immediately backpedaled from her initial approval to express concern about suddenly "contentious" and "problematic" textual items.  And pretty soon, criticism was no longer a question of this or that passage--it had metastasized into disapproval of the whole shebang.  Emboldened, the few saboteurs were, according to Kurian, demanding the encyclopedia be denuded of its Christian content (remember the book's name, the Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization).  They wanted excision of entries such as: "Antichrist," "Virgin Birth," "Resurrection" and "Uniqueness of Christ and Christianity."

            From the realm of the bizarre the story now passes into more chilling symbolic territory.  Kurian is suing Wiley-Blackwell, noting in an interview with the Catholic News agency that when publishing a book, "you edit the book and then publish.  You don't publish the book and then edit."  For its part, Wiley-Blackwell has halted production of the encyclopedia....  Then things got really creepy: Wiley even tried to claw back already distributed copies with a view to pulping them.  (They seem to have had second thoughts about that, but the fact that the velvet-totalitarian first thought was to eradicate evidence of a published book is bad enough.)

            Christophobics ... seem to have hit on a clever strategy for furthering the stealth jihad.  And they have avoided the negative publicity around frivolous, but chilling, libel suits against writers who speak truth to Islamism.  This method has the virtue of leaving no evidence behind for curious observers to assess....

            Christophobia, and by extension, hatred of Western civilization, is on the march.  Can you hear the sound of pulping machines?  Or is it the crackling of flames?  Whatever.  The stench of liberty decaying hangs heavy in the air we breathe today.[1]

 

Why do people fear Jesus Christ?

II.  Exposition

A.  Background

1.  Jesus' public ministry is nearing its end (John 2:1-12:36a).

2.  We are outside of Judea and are called back by Lazarus' death.

3.  We are studying Jesus' seventh sign in John's gospel.

4.  We have four main divisions:

a.  The request of the sisters (John 11:1-16)

b.  The reliance of the sisters on Jesus (John 11:17-37)

c.  The resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:38-44)

d.  The responses to Lazarus' resurrection (John 11:45-53)

B.  Exposition: The seventh sign: raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-54)

1.  The request of the sisters (John 11:1-16)

a.  Lazarus' illness (John 11:1-4)

                ¹ Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  ² It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  ³ So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  ⁴ But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it" (John 11:1-4).

 

1)  "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha."

a)  John explained that Lazarus of Bethany was ill. 

i)  Lazarus is the Gk. form of the Aram. La'zār, a shortened form of the Heb. 'El'āzār ("God has helped [me]").[2] 

ii)  This was not Lazarus, the beggar, in Luke's parable (Luke 16:20, 23 ff.).  This Lazarus was affluent (John 12:1-8). 

b)  He explained that he referred to the other Bethany, the village of Mary and Martha near Jerusalem, not the Bethany where John the Baptist ministered (John 1:28). 

i)  Mary (Gk. Maria) is the common Heb. name Miryām.[3] 

ii)  This Mary is not Mary Magdalene, nor is she the sinful woman that anointed Jesus' feet.[4]    The sinful woman anointed Jesus' feet at a Pharisee's house in Capernaum (Luke 7:36-50); Mary anointed Jesus' feet in Bethany in Lazarus' house (John 12:3-8). 

iii)  Martha is the Aram. Mārtā' ("lady").[5] 

iv)  Köstenberger notes that "the names Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were discovered in ossuary inscriptions in a tomb near Bethany in 1873."[6]

2)  "It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick."

a)  John further identified Mary as the Mary who anointed Jesus with ointment. 

b)  He then pointed out that Lazarus was her brother.

3)  "'So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.'"

a)  The sisters sent word to Jesus about Lazarus' illness as a subtle way to ask Jesus to come and heal him. 

b)  The Gk. word translated "love" (phileō) means to "consider someone a friend­."[7]

4)  "But when Jesus heard this, He said, 'This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.'"

a)  Jesus indicated that the sickness was going to result not in death, but in the glory of God through the Son of God. 

b)  In John, Jesus' glorification involves His death, burial, and resurrection.[8]

b.  Lazarus' death (John 11:5-16)

            ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  ⁶ So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.  ⁷ Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  ⁸ The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?"  ⁹ Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  ¹⁰ But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  ¹¹ This He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep."  ¹² The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."  ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.  ¹⁴ So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him."  ¹⁶ Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him" (John 11:5-16).

 

1)  "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."

a)  In order to explain Jesus' delay, John commented that Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. 

b)  The Gk. word translated "loved" (agapaō) in this context means "to have a warm regard for and interest in another, cherish, have affection for."[9] 

c)  Williams translates, "Now Jesus held in loving esteem Martha and her sister and Lazarus" (NTLP).

2)  "So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was."

a)  In an apparent paradox, Jesus waited two days before leaving. 

b)  Jesus' action was hard to understand, but John wanted us to know that it is based on love.

c)  God's dealings with us are sometimes hard to understand, but we need to know that they are based on love.

3)  "Then after this He said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.'  The disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?'"

a)  After the delay, Jesus proposed returning to Judea.

b)  The disciples were incredulous since the recent attempts to stone Jesus were still fresh on their minds. 

c)  As usual in John, the term "the Jews" means "the Jewish religious authorities."[10]

4)  "Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.'"

a)  Jesus replied by means of a parable that there are twelve hours in a day, and those who walk in daylight do not stumble or make missteps. 

b)  The term "light of this world" had a double meaning, both daylight and Jesus Himself (John 1:9). 

c)  The Lord was saying that the disciples did not need to fear a misstep while He was with them.

5)  "But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

a)  However, walking in the night does cause stumbling. 

b)  Jesus will say later, "For a little while longer the Light is among you.  Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes" (John 12:35). 

c)  Jesus was referring to the time when He would be taken away from them.

6)  "This He said, and after that He said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.'"

a)  Jesus said that Lazarus had fallen asleep and that He was going to wake him up. 

b)  "Fallen asleep" is a common euphemism for death (Matt 27:52; Mark 5:39; Acts 7:60).

7)  "The disciples then said to Him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.'"

a)  As usual, the disciples did not get it; they thought that Jesus referred to literal sleep. 

b)  They saw that as a hopeful sign that Lazarus would recover.

8)  "Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.  So Jesus then said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.'"

a)  John explained that Jesus had spoken of death, not literal sleep.

b)  Therefore, Jesus stated plainly that Lazarus was dead.

c)  Jesus said that Lazarus' death was a benefit for the disciples because it would result in a increase of faith.

9)  "Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.'"

a)  Thomas with his gloomy outlook thought that the trip to Judea would result in Jesus' death and theirs with Him.

b)  Thomas is the Aram. t'ômā' ("twin").[11]

2.  The reliance of the sisters on Jesus (John 11:17-37)

a.  Martha's faith (John 11:17-27)

                ¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.  ²⁰ Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.  ²¹ Martha then said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  ²² Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  ²³ Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  ²⁴ Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."  ²⁵ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.  Do you believe this?"  ²⁷ She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world" (John 11:17-27).

 

1)  "So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days."

a)  Lazarus had been buried four days when Jesus arrived. 

i)  Jews bury on the same day as death if possible.[12] 

ii)  Lazarus probably died on the same day that the messengers left to tell Jesus of his illness. 

b)  The rabbis taught that revival was not possible after four days because the soul left after three days.[13]

2)  "Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off."

a)  Bethany was near Jerusalem at approximately two miles. 

b)  The text is literally 15 stadia, which is 9,090 feet or 1.7 miles.

3)  "And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother."

a)  Many of the Jewish religious authorities had come to console the sisters. 

b)  Theirs was a prominent family.[14]

4)  "Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house."

a)  Martha went to meet Jesus, but Mary stayed in the house. 

b)  Meeting a visitor before they entered the village was a way of showing respect. 

c)  However, Mary was still "sitting shiva," the initial seven days of mourning, and may have been unaware of Jesus' approach (see John 11:28).

5)  "Martha then said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.'"

a)  Martha professed faith that Lazarus would not have died had Jesus been there. 

b)  This is a second-class condition, i.e., if and it is not the case, "If you had been here, but you were not, then my brother would not have died, but he did."[15]

6)  "Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

a)  In spite of the difficulty that she had understanding, Martha had faith that God would do whatever Jesus asked. 

b)  Jesus reminded her of that faith in verse 41.

7)  "Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'  Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.'"

a)  Jesus answered that her brother would rise again.

b)  Martha gave a doctrinally correct pious response. 

c)  She believed in the resurrection at the end of days.[16] 

d)  However, that was not what Jesus had in mind.

8)  "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.'"

a)  In His seventh "I AM" declaration, Jesus declared that He was the resurrection and the life. 

i)  Notice the definite articles. 

ii)  The Gk. word translated "life" (zōē) refers to "transcendent life" or "supernatural life" not bios, which means "earthly life in its daily functions" or "life and activity associated w[ith] it."[17]  

b)  Jesus promised that those who believe in Him will live even if they die.  Williams translates, "will live right on, even though he dies" (NTLP).

9)  "And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.  Do you believe this?"

a)  Jesus added that believers will never experience spiritual death. 

b)  The Gk. word translated "never" is a double negative. 

c)  Wuest translates, "shall positively never die" (NTET).

10)  "She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.'"

a)  Martha confessed that she believed that Jesus was the coming Messiah, the Son of God. 

b)  The Gk. verb translated "have believed" is in the perfect tense.  This indicates that she had come to a settled belief.[18] 

c)  Martha's confession is the same as John's purpose statement, "These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31).

b.  Mary's faith (John 11:28-37)

                ²⁸ When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."  ²⁹ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.  ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.  ³¹ Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.  ³² Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  ³³ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, ³⁴ and said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  ³⁵ Jesus wept.  ³⁶ So the Jews were saying, "See how He loved him!"  ³⁷ But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?" (John 11:28-37).

 

1)  "When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, 'The Teacher is here and is calling for you.'  And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him."

a)  Martha called her sister Mary secretly. 

b)  She probably hoped to avoid the crowd.

c)  Mary responded quickly and went to meet Jesus.

2)  "Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there."

a)  Jesus was still outside of town where the graves would be.

b)  The crowd of mourners seeing her leave went with her.

3)  "Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.'"

a)  Mary said exactly the same thing that Martha did (see John 11:21).

b)  They had apparently been discussing this and trying to understand.

4)  "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled."

a)  Mary's suffering and that of the mourners disturbed Jesus. 

b)  The Gk. word translated "weeping" means "weeping audibly" (NTET).

5)  "And said, 'Where have you laid him?'  They said to Him, 'Lord, come and see.'  Jesus wept."

a)  Jesus asked where Lazarus was entombed and was directed to the tomb.

b)  Jesus cried. 

i)  In this shortest verse in the Bible, see the heart of God. 

ii)  The Gk. word translated "wept" means to "weep silently." 

(a)  Wuest translates, "Jesus burst into tears and wept silently" (NTET). 

(b)  Barclay and Williams translate it as "Jesus burst into tears" (Barclay, NTLP). 

iii)  He may also have been sad that Lazarus had to return from heaven into this life.

6)  "So the Jews were saying, 'See how He loved him!'"

a)  The crowd of mourners noted Jesus' friendship with Lazarus. 

b)  The Gk. word translated "love" (phileō) means to "consider someone a friend­."[19]

7)  "But some of them said, 'Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?'"

a)  Some of them echoed Mary (John 11:32) and Martha (John 11:21) in wondering why Jesus had not kept Lazarus from dying. 

b)  The opening of the blind man's eyes had made quite an impression (John 9).

3.  The resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:38-44)

a.  Jesus went to the tomb (John 11:38-41a).

                ³⁸ So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb.  Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  ³⁹ Jesus said, "Remove the stone."  Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days."  ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"  ⁴¹ So they removed the stone (John 11:38-41a).

 

1)  "So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb.  Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  Jesus said, 'Remove the stone.'  Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, 'Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.'"

a)  The tomb was constructed from a cave and had a stone sealing the entrance.

b)  Jesus directed that the stone be removed. 

c)  The ever-practical Martha objected that there would be a foul smell by then.

2)  "Jesus said to her, 'Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?'  So they removed the stone."

a)  Jesus reminded her to believe. 

b)  The Gk. translated "Did I not" expects the answer "yes."[20]

c)  They removed the stone.

b.  Jesus prayed (John 41b-42).

⁴¹ Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  ⁴² I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me (John 41b-42).

 

1)  Jesus thanked God the Father for hearing His prayer.

2)  Jesus acknowledged that He knew that God the Father always heard His prayers. 

3)  He said that for the benefit of those who would witness this miracle and their faith.

c.  Jesus commanded (John 11:43).

⁴³ When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43).

 

1)  Jesus cried out for Lazarus to come out. 

2)  The Gk. words translated "come forth" are literally, "Here!  Outside!"[21]  Wuest translates, "Lazarus, here, out" (NTET).

3)  Had He not specified Lazarus, He might have emptied all of the tombs. 

d.  Lazarus came forth (John 11:44)!

⁴⁴ The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go" (John 11:44).

 

1)  Lazarus came out still bound with wrappings. 

2)  Perhaps he levitated. 

3)  In any case, Jesus commanded that he be unbound.

4.  The responses to Lazarus' resurrection (John 11:45-53)

a.  Faith in Jesus (John 11:45-46)

                ⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.  ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done (John 11:45-46).

 

1)  "Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.  But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done."

2)  Some of the Jewish religious authorities that had come to console the sisters saw the miracle and believed.

3)  However, even though they believed, some still felt constrained to report to the Pharisees.

b.  Fear of Jesus (John 11:47-54)

⁴⁷ Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, "What are we doing?  For this man is performing many signs.  ⁴⁸ If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."  ⁴⁹ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish."  ⁵¹ Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.  ⁵³ So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. 

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples (John 11:47-54).

 

1)  "Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, 'What are we doing?  For this man is performing many signs.'"

a)  The priests and Pharisees called a meeting to discuss the response to Jesus' miracles. 

b)  The Gk. words translated "convened a council" (Synēgagon ... synhedrion) is literally, "synagogued a Sanhedrin." 

c)  The Sanhedrin was the supreme council of seventy led by the high priest.[22]

2)  "If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

a)  They were concerned about the Roman response if all were to believe in Jesus and follow Him as the Messiah. 

b)  Barclay translates, "The Romans will come and destroy our Temple, and it will be the end of religious and political freedom" (Barclay). 

c)  Ironically, that is exactly what happened anyway.

3)  "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all.'"

a)  The High Priest Caiaphas rudely called them all know-nothings.  Josephus commented, "The Sadducees ... are, even among themselves, rather boorish in their behavior, and in their [interaction] with their peers are as rude as to [strangers]."[23] 

b)  John noted that he was "high priest that year" both here and again in verse 51.  Although Caiaphas lasted eighteen years as high priest, the previous three held office approximately one year before being deposed by the Roman governor.[24] 

c)  Caiaphas' tomb and ossuary have been discovered in Jerusalem.[25]

4)  "Nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish."

a)  Caiaphas said that it was expedient that Jesus die rather than the whole nation perishes. 

b)  Jesus said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

5)  "Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.  And not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

a)  John explained that Caiaphas in his capacity as high priest had uttered and unwitting prophecy.

b)  John also explained that Jesus would not just die for Israel, but that Jew and Gentile would be gathered into one body. 

c)  This would have been of great interest to John's mostly Gentile audience in Asia Minor.

6)  "So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.  Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples."

a)  From that time, the Jewish religious authorities plan to kill Jesus.

b)  Because it was not yet time, Jesus temporarily retreated from Judea.  Possibly, Ephraim is the present town of Et-Taiyibeh, ancient Ophrah (Josh 18:23) or Ephron (Josh 15:9) about 12 to 15 miles NE of Jerusalem.[26]

III.  Applications

A.  What this says about Jesus Christ ... He is the resurrection and the life.

B.  What this says to us ...

1.  God's dealings with us are sometimes hard to understand, but we need to know that they are based on love.

2.  Those who trust in Him never experience spiritual death, and, even if we die physically, we go right on living.

3.  How will you react to Jesus Christ?  Faith or Christophobia?