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JOHN 11:4 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 11:3John 11:5
“When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it' — Jesus reinterprets the sickness: it is not ultimately fatal or meaningless but purposeful, serving to manifest the glory of God and the glorification of the Son. The reframing of sickness as occasion for divine glory is typical of John's theology (cf. 9:3). The statement that the sickness 'will not end in death' is cryptic and ambiguous — it will not end merely in death, for there will be resurrection and glorification.

Church Fathers on John 11:4

After our Lord had departed to the other side of Jordan, it happened that Lazarus fell sick: A certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany. In some copies the copulative conjunction precedes, to mark the connection with the words preceding. Lazarus signifies helped. Of all the dead which our Lord raised, he was most helped, for he had lain dead four days, when our Lord raised him to life.

Bede · 8th century

The resurrection of Lazarus is more spoken of than any of our Lord’s miracles. But if we hear in mind who He was who wrought this miracle, we shall feel not so much of wonder; as of delight. He who made the man, raised the man; and it is a greater thing to create a man, than to revive him. Lazarus was sick at Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. The place was near Jerusalem.

Augustine · 4th century

And as there were many women of this name, He distinguishes her by her well-known act: It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick

Alcuin · 8th century
Read all 13 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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John 11:4 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy