These things said he: and after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
he saith.
John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
John 15:13-15 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends…
Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
sleepeth.
John 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
awake.
John 11:43,44 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth…
John 5:25-29 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live…
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
He told them
Jesus is addressing His disciples, who often struggled to understand His teachings and actions. This moment is a teaching opportunity, as Jesus prepares them for the miracle they are about to witness. The disciples' understanding of Jesus' mission and identity is gradually being revealed through His words and actions.
Our friend Lazarus
Lazarus is identified as a friend, indicating a personal relationship between him and Jesus. This personal connection highlights Jesus' humanity and His capacity for friendship and love. Lazarus, along with his sisters Mary and Martha, were known to be close to Jesus, as seen in other Gospel accounts. This relationship sets the stage for the emotional depth of the miracle that follows.
has fallen asleep
The use of "fallen asleep" is a euphemism for death, common in both Jewish and early Christian contexts. This metaphor reflects the belief in the temporary nature of death for believers, as sleep implies an eventual awakening. This language is consistent with other scriptural references, such as 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, where Paul uses similar terminology to describe the death of believers.
but I am going there
Jesus' decision to go to Bethany, despite the danger posed by the Jewish leaders, underscores His commitment to His mission and His love for Lazarus. This journey is significant, as it takes place shortly before His final entry into Jerusalem, marking the beginning of the events leading to His crucifixion. Jesus' willingness to face danger for the sake of His friend foreshadows His ultimate sacrifice for humanity.
to wake him up
This phrase indicates Jesus' intention to raise Lazarus from the dead, demonstrating His power over life and death. The act of "waking up" Lazarus serves as a powerful sign of Jesus' divine authority and prefigures His own resurrection. This miracle is a pivotal moment in the Gospel of John, as it leads to increased belief among some and heightened opposition from others, ultimately contributing to the decision to arrest and crucify Jesus.
Jesus had just finished teaching the disciples that walking in the light of God’s will keeps a person from stumbling (John 11:9-10). His words about daylight and purpose anchor everything that follows. The Lord acts with precision, never rushed or late—an echo of Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for every purpose under heaven.” What He is about to do with Lazarus flows straight out of that unbroken divine timetable.
• Jesus draws His followers into His plans, just as He later promises, “I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
• He speaks plainly, reinforcing the pattern seen in Mark 4:34 where He explains all things privately to the disciples. The clarity underscores His authority and their need to trust Him even when details stretch their understanding.
• By saying “our friend,” the Lord identifies with Lazarus and with the disciples at the same time. Friendship with Christ is covenantal, illustrated again in John 15:13-14 where He lays down His life for His friends.
• This relationship is personal and literal; Bethany’s household is not a parable but a historical family beloved by Jesus (John 11:5). The warmth points to Proverbs 18:24, “There is a friend who stays closer than a brother.”
• Scripture often describes death for believers as sleep—a temporary state before bodily resurrection. Stephen “fell asleep” in Acts 7:60; Paul writes, “God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
• Jesus is not using euphemism to soften reality; He is revealing heaven’s perspective. Physical death is real yet impermanent, anticipating Daniel 12:2: “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.”
• The trip to Bethany is deliberate. Earlier He said, “Let us go back to Judea” (John 11:7), despite threats against His life. Courage and compassion intertwine, fulfilling the mission statement of Luke 19:10, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
• His movement also builds the disciples’ faith: “For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe” (John 11:15). Every step is calculated for God’s glory and their growth.
• Jesus means literal resurrection. He will soon declare, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). Earlier miracles preview this power: Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:41-42) and the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:14-15).
• Raising Lazarus prefigures the universal promise, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). It also foreshadows His own empty tomb and the future awakening of all who belong to Him (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
Jesus’ statement in John 11:11 threads together timing, revelation, friendship, the true nature of death, purposeful mission, and resurrection power. He speaks out of perfect knowledge and unwavering love, turning a grave into a staging ground for glory and demonstrating that, in His hands, death is only sleep awaiting His waking voice.
(11) Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.--Better, Our friend Lazarus is fallen asleep. They had probably understood the words of John 11:4 to express that the illness was not mortal, and that Lazarus would recover. They have seen, therefore, no reason for facing the danger of Judaea (John 11:7-8). He now supplies that reason, and for the first time speaks of going to the family at Bethany.His words "our friend" gently remind them that Lazarus was their friend as well as His, for they as well as He had probably been welcome guests in the well-known house.
The fact of our Lord's knowledge of the death of Lazarus is stated by St. John without any explanation. Prom his point of view it could need none. He who needed not that any should testify of man, because of His own self-knowledge of what was in man (John 2:25), needed not that any should testify of what had passed in the chamber of His friend.
For the idea of sleep as the image of death, comp. Notes on John 8:51, Matthew 9:24, and 1Thessalonians 4:14. It is not unfrequent in other passages of both the Old and New Testaments, and, from the time of Homer downwards, poets have spoken of sleep and death as twin-sisters. . . .
Verse 11. - These things spake he, and probably many more words expository of the vast principle of service which he here propounded; and after this (for μετὰ τοῦτο implies a break, during which the disciples pondered his words) he saith, Our friend Lazarus; implying that Lazarus was well known to the disciples, and that the Lord classes himself here, in wondrous condescension, with them. He elsewhere speaks of the twelve as his "friends" (John 15:14, 15, where he made it a higher designation than δοῦλοι; see also Luke 12:4). John the Baptist also calls himself "the Bridegroom's friend" (John 3:29). Though Lazarus had passed into the region of the unknown and unseen, he was still" our friend." Hath fallen asleep. Meyer says that Jesus knew this by "spiritual far-seeing;" and Godet thinks that he knew it by supernatural process, and had known it all along. It does not require much beyond what we know to have occurred in thousands of instances, for our Lord to have perceived that his friend had died - had, as he said, "fallen asleep," in that new sense in which Jesus was teaching men to look on death. But I go, that I may awake him out of sleep (ἐξυπνίσω is a late Greek word; cf. Acts 16:27). Wunsche says the Talmud often speaks of a rabbi's death under the form of" sleep" ('Moed. K.,' fol. 28, a; cf. Matthew 9:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:14). Homer spoke of death and sleep as "twin sisters," Christ's power and consciousness of power to awake Lazarus from sleep gives, however, to his use of the image a new meaning. It is not the eternal sleep of the Greek and Roman poets.