💫WEB · John 11:43
What does John 11:43 mean?
"When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”"
— John 11:43 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me.
I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”
Therefore many of the Jews, who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him.
But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done.
Explanation
John 11:43 captures the pivotal moment in the story of Lazarus's resurrection. Jesus, standing before the tomb where his friend Lazarus had lain dead for four days, cries out in a loud voice, commanding him to come out. This is not a whispered prayer or a quiet gesture; it is a public, audible, authoritative call directed at a dead man, spoken in front of a crowd of mourners, disciples, and skeptics who had gathered at Bethany.
The context leading up to this moment is essential. Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, close friends of Jesus, living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. When Lazarus fell ill, the sisters sent word to Jesus, but he delayed his arrival, arriving only after Lazarus had died and been buried four days. This delay was intentional on Jesus's part—he stated earlier in the chapter that Lazarus's death and resurrection would reveal God's glory and strengthen the disciples' faith. By the time Jesus reaches the tomb, Martha even cautions him that decomposition would have set in. The Gospel of John, traditionally attributed to the apostle John, records this account as one of seven major "signs" demonstrating Jesus's identity and mission, written to convince readers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that they might believe and have life in his name.
Theologically, this verse displays Jesus's power over death itself, foreshadowing his own resurrection and validating his earlier declaration in verse 25, "I am the resur
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