John Chapter 11

vs 41

Away rolls the stone, and Jesus puts on some street theatre for the benefit of those around him. I say this, because apparently he has already prayed to God, and is just thanking him for listening. You'll note that Lazarus hasn't come out yet, so there is no indication that he's going to be ok.

One thing I will point out though - there is no record of a terrible smell. Martha has already said that if you move the stone, there will be a death stench in there. But apparently, there isn't. Why do I bring this up?

I mention it because some people might want to claim that Lazarus wasn't really dead, and that the inadequate medical training of people back then meant that they buried Lazarus while he was still alive. And this, supposedly, would account for the lack of smell - he never really died, so there is no stench of rotting death.

Well I think that, in some small insignificant way, this shows that God takes care of the little things as well as the big ones, and that when he does something, he can completely reverse what should have been. When God brings you back to life, he doesn't just work with the bits that are left. He completely regenerates you. And he can also reverse the negative effects of rotting, rigor-mortis and smelliness.

Now that makes science and history fundamentally questionable, because if God can "go back in time" as it were and change what were reportable physical instances, as well as final results, then record-keeping and cause-and-effect fall down.

vs 42

Jesus, like I said, is putting on a little show. He knows God hears him, but he wants everyone else to see what has just happened and to attribute it to God. It has happened so quickly, after all.

vs 43

Which is the natural thing to say if your friend is dead but has returned to life and is yet still in his tomb.

vs 44

Lazarus came out re-enacting a scene from the Mummy because thats what they did to corpses back then. How we treat our dead separates us from the animals, apparently. Although, ants are very particular about what they do with their dead. But we never seem to attribute it to some sort of myrmecine religious experience.

vs 45

I mean, seriously. If you just saw someone come back to life after being in the tomb for 4 days, that's pretty awesome.

vs 46

Oh, come on! How lame are you to go and dob on Jesus for bringing his friend back to life. You guys suck.

vs 47

The Pharisees and chief priests are having a bit of a confidence problem. Jesus is a bigger man than them, and they feel small.

vs 48

But see, the Sanhedrin were not just bothered about the fact that Jesus had different ideas to them, but also that it could end in Roman military action and the stripping of their current freedoms. So they were not being completely selfish (they were being fairly selfish) but they were also worried that, as a fraud, Jesus would cause more trouble that he was worth.

vs 49

The high priest had other ideas, though.

vs 50

It might sound like Ciaphas knows what he's talking about. He doesn't. He thinks that if they kill Jesus, they will save Israel. Boy, aren't they going to be in for a surprise.