💫WEB · John 11:14
What does John 11:14 mean?
"So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead."
— John 11:14 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”
The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep.
So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead.
I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”
Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.”
So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already.
Explanation
John 11:14 records a simple but weighty moment in the story of Lazarus. After Jesus had spoken to his disciples earlier using the metaphor of sleep—saying, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awaken him"—the disciples misunderstood, thinking he meant ordinary rest that would aid recovery. So in this verse, Jesus drops the figurative language and states the truth directly: Lazarus has died. It is a moment of clarification, where Jesus moves from veiled speech to plain, unmistakable fact.
The context is found in John chapter 11, one of the most detailed narratives in the Gospel of John, written by the apostle John for an audience of believers and seekers, with the stated purpose (John 20:31) of showing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that readers might believe and have life in his name. Lazarus, along with his sisters Mary and Martha, lived in Bethany and were close friends of Jesus. When Lazarus fell ill, the sisters sent word to Jesus, expecting him to come quickly. Instead, Jesus deliberately stayed where he was two more days before setting out—not out of indifference, but so that God's glory and the Son's glory might be revealed
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.