NOTES for Joh 11:17-44

Martha went out to meet Christ, while Mary remained at home. When Martha and Mary are compared, they are often contrasted as embodiments of practicality and spirituality, although Martha too is open to the Teacher’s words, and Mary is capable of being active. This time, Martha’s qualities were manifested not only in household cares, but also in the steps she took toward Christ, which cannot be separated from her ability to listen to Him and assimilate what she heard.

Christ does not even enter the house; He goes straight to the tomb. Here the Gospel has preserved a unique testimony for us: Jesus wept. This alone is enough to understand how incompatible His image is with that of a celestial being capable of sending Lazarus to his death in order to demonstrate His own power. No, He does not want people to die; He grieves over their fate and therefore intends to free us from enslavement to evil.

He asks the people gathered at the tomb to roll away the stone. Christ, who is able to raise the dead, could have managed it Himself, but that would not have benefited the people: we cannot raise the dead, but He is not obliged to do for us what lies within our power. Genuine hope in God must not be confused with the mentality of Emelya lying on his stove.