💫WEB · John 11:6
What does John 11:6 mean?
"When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was."
— John 11:6 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”
But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”
The disciples told him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”
Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
Explanation
This verse comes in the middle of the story of Lazarus, the friend of Jesus who lived in Bethany with his sisters Mary and Martha. Word had reached Jesus that Lazarus was sick, and the sisters had sent for him, clearly hoping he would come quickly and heal their brother. Instead, John tells us plainly that upon hearing the news, Jesus deliberately stayed where he was for two more days before setting out. On the surface this seems like a strange, even troubling response from someone who loved this family deeply, as the surrounding verses make clear.
The Gospel of John was written by the apostle John, most likely toward the end of the first century, for a community of believers who needed to see clearly who Jesus was—the Son of God with power over life and death. This account of Lazarus is the climactic sign in John's Gospel, the last and greatest of the miracles John records before Jesus's own death and resurrection. Every detail in the story, including this seemingly small note about delay, serves that larger purpose. John wants his readers to understand that Jesus's actions were not accidental or reactive, but intentional and purposeful, even when they didn't make immediate sense.
Theologically, this verse reveals something important about how God's timing works. Jesus's delay was not neglect or indifference; a few verses later, John explicitly tells us that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and it was precisely because of that love, not despite it, that he waited. Jesus already knew Lazarus would die, and he intended to let that happen so that something greater than a sim
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