John 11:4

4. is not unto death] i.e. is not to have death as its final result. Christ foresaw both the death and the resurrection, and (as so often) uttered words which His disciples did not understand at the time, but recognised in their proper meaning after what He indicated had taken place. Comp. Joh_2:22, Joh_12:16, Joh_21:23.

might be glorified] In two ways; because the miracle (1) would lead many to believe that He was the Messiah; (2) would bring about His death. ‘Being glorified’ is a frequent expression in this Gospel for Christ’s Death regarded as the mode of His return to glory (Joh_7:39, Joh_12:16; Joh_12:23, Joh_13:31-32); and this glorification of the Son involves the glory of the Father (Joh_5:23, Joh_10:30; Joh_10:38). Comp. Joh_9:3; in the Divine counsels the purpose of the man’s blindness and of Lazarus’ sickness is the glory of God.

We ought perhaps to connect the special meaning of ‘glorified’ with the first clause: ‘This sickness is to have for its final issue, not the temporal death of an individual, but the eternal life of all mankind.’

It is worth noting that both the first and the last of the seven miracles of the ministry recorded by S. John are declared to be manifestations of glory (Joh_2:11, Joh_11:4; Joh_11:40) and confirmations of faith (Joh_2:11, Joh_11:15).

thereby] Both in the English and in the Greek this is ambiguous: it may refer either to the sickness or the glory. The former is correct.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:4 Jesus’ response paralleled his words about the man born blind (9:1-5). Jesus already knew that Lazarus was dead (11:14); he was talking about Lazarus’ resurrection (11:43), which would bring glory to God.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 11:4. Εἶπεν, He said) It is worthy of being observed, by what method Jesus prepared His disciples, and the sisters of Lazarus and the people, for beholding with profit the greatest of miracles.—αὐτή, this) i.e. This sickness is consonant with love.—πρὸς θάνατον, unto death) whereby [not unto death, in the sense that thereby] the sisters should lose their brother. So the Septuag. εἰς θάνατον, 2Ki 20:1 [i.e. Βασιλ. Δ. Joh 20:1, Hezekiah was sick εἰς θάνατον].—ὑπέρ, for) The glory of God and the glory of the Son of God is one and the same glory.—ἵνα δοξασθῇ, that He may be glorified) The result was truly so. The raising again of Lazarus is so powerful an argument for the truth of Christianity, that Spinoza said, that, if he could believe it, he would cast away his whole system. And yet the following considerations demonstrate the reality of the death and of the resurrection of Lazarus: 1) The deliberate delay of Jesus, who was then at a distance away; 2) His informing His disciples of the death, and foretelling as to the resurrection; 3) The variety and multitude of the witnesses who were present; 4) The faith that followed in consequence, on the part of very many Jews, who were by no means credulous, and the perversity of the rest; Joh 11:46, etc., “They went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done;” [Joh 11:53] “They took counsel together to put Him to death.”—διʼ αὐτῆς, by it) by this sickness Jesus was glorified, inasmuch as many forthwith acknowledged Him as the Son of God; Joh 11:45, “Many which had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him;” and the rest of the Jews determined to kill Him, Joh 11:46, etc.; and it was thereby He was about to enter into glory.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 11:4 . Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν . “And Jesus when He heard said,” i.e. , to His disciples. It was not the reply sent to the sisters. “This illness is not to death,” πρὸς θάνατον , death is not the end towards which it is making. But that Jesus knew that death had already taken place (Joh 11:6 and Joh 11:17 ) or was imminent is evident from the following clause, but He knew what He would do (Joh 6:6 ) and that death was not to be the final result of this illness. The illness and death were ὑπὲρ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ , for the sake of glorifying God ( cf. Joh 9:3 ), “gloriae divinae illustrandae causa,” Winer, p. 479. This is further explained in the clause “that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it,” i.e. , by means of this illness; cf. Joh 13:31 . “In two ways; because the miracle (1) would lead many to believe that He was the Messiah; (2) would bring about His death. Δοξάζεσθαι is a frequent expression of this Gospel for Christ’s death regarded as the mode of His return to glory (Joh 7:39 , Joh 12:16 , Joh 13:31 ), and this glorification of the Son involves the glory of the Father (Joh 5:23 , Joh 10:30-38 ).” Plummer, Bengel.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. εἶπεν. Not ἀπεκρίθη: His words are not a mere answer to the message, but a lesson to the Apostles also.

οὐκ ἔστιν πρὸς θ. Is not to have death as its final result: for ‘He Himself knew what He would do’ (Joh 6:6). Christ foresaw both the death and the resurrection, and (as so often) uttered words which His disciples did not understand at the time, but recognised in their proper meaning after what He indicated had taken place. Comp. Joh 2:22, Joh 12:16, Joh 21:23.

ἵνα δοξασθῇ. In two ways; because the miracle (1) would lead many to believe that He was the Messiah; (2) would bring about His death. Δοξάζεσθαι is a frequent expression of this Gospel for Christ’s Death regarded as the mode of His return to glory (Joh 7:39, Joh 12:16; Joh 12:23, Joh 13:31-32); and this glorification of the Son involves the glory of the Father (Joh 5:23, Joh 10:30; Joh 10:38). Comp. Joh 9:3; in the Divine counsels the purpose of the man’s blindness and of Lazarus’ sickness is the glory of God.

We ought perhaps to connect the special meaning of ‘glorified’ with the first clause: ‘This sickness is to have for its final issue, not the temporal death of an individual, but the eternal life of all mankind.’

It is worth noting that both the first and the last of the seven miracles of the ministry recorded by S. John are declared to be manifestations of glory (Joh 2:11, Joh 11:4; Joh 11:40) and confirmations of faith (Joh 2:11, Joh 11:15).

δι’ αὐτῆς, i.e. διὰ τ. ἀσθενείας, not διὰ τ. δόξης τ. Θεοῦ.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. αὕτη ἡ ἀσθένεια οὐκ ἔστιν πρὸς θάνατον. This was the comment of Jesus when the tidings of Lazarus’ illness reached Him. It was not a direct reply to the sisters’ message, and we do not know if it was reported to them (v. 40).

The constr. πρὸς θάνατον is unusual, occurring again in the N.T. only at 1Jn 5:16 ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον, and in the LXX at 4 Macc. 14:4, 17:1, while εἰς θάνατον is common (cf. 2Ki 20:1, where it is said of Hezekiah that he was sick εἰς θάνατον). If a distinction is to be drawn between the two constructions, perhaps “this sickness is not πρὸς θάνατον” is more reassuring than “this sickness is not εἰς θάνατον.” The latter would mean that the sickness would not have death as its final issue; the former ought to mean that the sick person is not in danger at all, that his sickness is not “dangerous,” as we would put it. Consequently the meaning that the disciples inevitably took from the words of Jesus was that Lazarus was not dead at the time of speaking, and further that Jesus was convinced he would recover. No doubt, the evangelist means his readers to understand that this was not the real meaning of Jesus’ words (see v. 11). But it is strange that he should translate them by using πρός instead of εἰς; for, in fact, Lazarus’ sickness was πρὸς θάνατον, although it might plausibly be argued that it was not εἰς θάνατον, as death was not the final issue.

Jesus adds that this illness had come upon Lazarus ὑπὲρ τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ, “on behalf of God’s glory,” i.e. in order that the glory and power of God might be revealed. The attempt to give ὑπέρ a semi-sacrificial sense here, as if the sickness were a voluntary offering by Lazarus, is fanciful ὑπέρ is used exactly as in 1:30, 10:11, “on behalf of.” The issue of the sickness and death of Lazarus was the revelation of the glory of God, as exhibited in his miraculous resuscitation. The miracle was more than a “wonder”; it was a “sign” of ἡ δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ. And so Martha was reminded, when it was over, that she had been told that she would see this glory (v. 40).

The glory of God was exhibited through the person and works of Jesus; this sickness, with its issue, had for its purpose ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, that He might be honoured by this revelation of His Father (cf. 8:54 ἔστιν ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ δοξάζων με). We have seen (on 7:39) that the supreme “glorification” of Jesus is identified by Jn. with the Passion and its sequel, and it has been thought by some that this too is the reference in the present passage. If so, ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ would mean here that the final cause of Lazarus’ sickness was that it might lead up to the Passion by making public the power of Jesus and thereby bringing the hostility of his enemies to a crisis (Westcott). But this is over subtle. The true parallel to 11:4b is 8:54. This revelation of “the glory of God” was that the Son might be honoured or “glorified” by so signal a mark of His Father’s favour as the power to raise a dead man would exhibit. As in the O.T., “the glory of God” is the visible manifestation of His presence. See also on 9:3, 10:25, 14:13; and cf. 17:1.

For the title “the Son of God,” see on 1:34 and 5:25. Only here and at 5:25, 10:36 is Jesus said to have used this title as descriptive of Himself.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is to say, sent for the purpose to kill him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death--to result in death.

but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby--that is, by this glory of God. (See Greek.) Remarkable language this, which from creature lips would have been intolerable. It means that the glory of GOD manifested in the resurrection of dead Lazarus would be shown to be the glory, personally and immediately, of THE SON.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. This sickness is not unto death] Not to final privation of life at this time; but a temporary death shall be now permitted, that the glory of God may appear in the miracle of his resurrection. It is very likely that this verse contains the message which Christ sent back, by the person whom the afflicted sisters had sent to him; and this, no doubt, served much to strengthen their confidence, though their faith must have been greatly exercised by the death of their brother: for when this took place, though they buried him, yet they believed, even then, probably on the ground of this message, that Jesus might raise him from the dead. See Joh 11:22.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Now Jesus, having heard this, said, This sickness is not to death. He intended by this reply to free his disciples from anxiety, that they might not take it amiss, when they saw him giving himself so little concern about the danger of his friend. That they might not be alarmed, therefore, about the life of Lazarus, he declares that the disease is not deadly, and even promises that it will be an additional occasion of promoting his own glory. Though Lazarus died, yet as Christ soon afterwards restored him to life, he now declares, looking to this result, that the disease is not to death

But for the glory of God. This clause is not contrasted with death, as if it were an argument that would always hold; for we know that, even though the reprobate die, the glory of God is not less strikingly displayed in their destruction than in the salvation of believers. But Christ strictly meant, in this passage, the glory of God, which was connected with his office. The power of God, which was displayed in the miracles of Christ, was not fitted to strike terror, but was kind and gentle. When he says that there is no danger of death, because he intends to display in it his own glory and the glory of his Father, we ought to inquire for what purpose, and with what intention, he was sent by the Father; which was, to save, and not to destroy.

For the glory, of God, that the Son of God may be glorified. This expression is highly emphatic; for we learn from it that God wishes to be acknowledged in the person of his Son in such a manner, that all the reverence which he requires to be given to his own majesty may be ascribed to the Son. Hence we were told formerly,

He who doth not honor the Son doth not honor the Father, (John 5:23.)

It is in vain for Mahometans and Jews, therefore, to pretend to worship God; for they blaspheme against Christ, and even endeavor, in this manner, to rob God of himself.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4) When Jesus heard that, he said.—These words are not simply an answer sent to the sisters, but the uttered thought which arose in our Lord’s mind as He heard that Lazarus was ill, and were spoken in the presence of the disciples who were with Him, and doubtless in that of the messengers also.

This sickness is not unto death—i.e., “will not issue in death: will not have death as its final result.” (Comp. Joh_11:11; Joh_11:14. and Joh_8:51.)

But for the glory of God—i.e., “the furtherance and accomplishment of the glory of God.”

That the Son of God might be glorified thereby.—This furtherance of the glory of God with the purpose of glorifying the Son carries us back, as all the expositors note, to the oneness of the work of the Father and Son which has been made prominent in our Lord’s words. (Comp. Joh_10:38, and references in Note there.) But the words seem to carry us forwards as well as backwards. In the next chapter (Joh_11:23) our Lord says. “The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified,” and the reference is to His death. Is that thought absent from the words here? The sickness of Lazarus would not indeed issue in death, though it would end in what men call death, and would be the immediate cause leading to the death of the Son of Man. The one would be as a sleep from which he would awake, the other should be the glorifying the Son of God, which would issue in the life of the world.

“Thereby” is probably to be interpreted “by means of the illness,” not “by means of the glory.”

This verse should be compared with Joh_9:3. Here, as there, part of the meaning is that the glory of God would be effected in the person of him upon whom the miracle would be wrought. It was a spiritual crisis in the case of the man born blind. It cannot have been otherwise in the case of Lazarus.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When Jesus heard that,.... That his friend Lazarus was sick,

he said; either to his disciples, or to the messenger or messengers that brought the account to him, and that on purpose to yield some relief to the afflicted family when it should be reported to them:

this sickness is not unto death; it was to issue in death, but not in death which was to continue, or under which Lazarus was to continue till the general resurrection; for though he should die, yet he should be so quickly restored again to life, that it scarcely deserved the name of death. The Jews distinguish between sickness and sickness; there are some that are sick, the greater part of whom are, "for life"; and there are others that are "sick", the greater part of whom are, "for death" (z), or are sick unto death, whose sickness issues in death; but this of Lazarus's was not to be unto death, at least not finally:

but for the glory of God; of his power and goodness in raising him again:

that the Son of God might be glorified thereby; that is, that his glory, as the Son of God, might be made manifest in the resurrection of him from the dead; see Joh 2:11.

(z) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 71. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

4 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.

Ver. 4. But for the glory of God] Happy Lazarus, though sick and dead, to be an instrument of glory, to be given to God. St Paul stood on tip toes (αποκαραδοκια), as it were, to see which way Christ might be most magnified in his body, whether by life or by death, Php 1:20.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This sickness is not unto death - The word “death” here is equivalent to remaining under death, Rom 6:23. “The wages of sin is death” - permanent or unchanging death, opposed to eternal life. Jesus evidently did not intend to deny that he would die. The words which he immediately adds show that he would expire, and that he would raise him up to show forth the power and glory of God. Compare Joh 11:11. Those words cannot be understood on any other supposition than that he expected to raise him up. The Saviour often used expressions similar to this to fix the attention on what he was about to say in explanation. The sense may be thus expressed: “His sickness is not fatal. It is not designed for his death, but to furnish an opportunity for a signal display of the glory of God, and to furnish a standing proof of the truth of religion. It is intended to exhibit the power of the Son of God, and to be a proof at once of the truth of his mission; of his friendship for this family; of his mild, tender, special love as a man; of his power and glory as the Messiah; and of the great doctrine that the dead will rise.

For the glory of God - That God may be honored. See Joh 9:3.

That the Son of God ... - The glory of God and of his Son is the same. That which promotes the one promotes also the other. Few things could do it more than the miracle which follows, evincing at once the lovely and tender character of Jesus as a man and a friend, and his power as the equal with God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This sickness is not unto death. This is, though he truly die, it is not designed that he remain dead. (Witham) --- This sickness is not unto death; because his death itself was not unto death, but rather to the working of a great miracle, by which men were brought to the true faith, and thus avoided an eternal death. (St. Augustine, tract. 49. in Joan.) --- Lazarus indeed died of this sickness, but he did not die as other men, to continue dead; for Jesus raised him again to the glory of God. (Sts. Cyril, Chrysostom, &c.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

God hath not sent this sickness upon Lazarus to determine his being upon the earth; or such a separation of the soul of Lazarus from his body, as there shall be no reunion of it before the general resurrection (which is our ordinary notion of death); God hath not sent this sickness for that purpose, but that he might be glorified by his Son raising him from the dead. God is glorified when his Son is glorified; and Christ is glorified when his Divine power is manifested, so as men acknowledge him to be what indeed he is.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Not unto death—For even though he died, it was not finally unto death but life. Our Lord really states an antithesis between two final ends; namely, the glory of God and Lazarus’s death. The final end should not be the latter, but the former.

The glory of God—The manifested honour to Jehovah from the miracle.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When Jesus heard (it), he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby. What message Jesus gave to these who brought him these tidings we know not; the evangelist records what he said to the bystanders. Our Lord did not mean to say that the sickness would not terminate in what men ordinarily call "death," nor that it was not a deadly disease, but that it was not pronaton . "He shall not fall a prey to death" (Meyer), The sickness is so timed that it shall conduce to the (doxa Yeou) glory of God, i.e. to the majestic appreciation of the sublime perfections of God, and that by or in it the Son of God may be glorified. Upe elsewhere in the Gospel means "sacrifice on behalf of;" so here the very suffering of Lazarus and of the sisters, and the tears of Jesus over the grave, are part of the sacrificial ministry by which the glory of God or of the Sun of God may be advanced.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God - The event of this sickness will not be death, in the usual sense of the word, a final separation of his soul and body; but a manifestation of the glorious power of God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

4. This sickness is not unto death. That is, death shall not prevail, but God shall be glorified by his rescue from death.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

4.] The only right understanding of this answer, and our Lord’s whole proceeding here is,—that He knew and foresaw all from the first,—as well the termination of Lazarus’s sickness and his being raised again, as the part which this miracle would bear in bringing about the close of His own ministry.

αὕτη ἡ ἀσθ.] “Ostendit Christus, notum sibi, quod tanquam nescienti indicabatur.” Grot. οὐκ ἔστ. πρὸς θάν.] Its result as regards Lazarus will not be death (see Mat 9:24 , and notes):—but (see ch. 2:11; 9:3) it has a higher purpose,—the glory of God;—the glorification, by its means, of the Son of God. And this δοξασθῇ—how was it accomplished? By this miracle leading to his death,—which in John’s diction is so frequently implied in that word. (It need hardly be remarked, with Olsh. and Trench, that the glorifying of the Son of God in Lazarus himself is subordinately implied. Men are not mere tools, but temples, of God.)

It is doubtful whether these words were the answer sent back to the sisters, or were said to the disciples. In either case, they evidently carried a double meaning, as again those in ver. 11.

Ver. 5 explains ὃν φιλεῖς. Observe ἠγάπα here; while we have ὃν φιλεῖς in ver. 3, where there was no possibility of misunderstanding the import: cf. note on Mat 5:46, and Trench, New Test. Synonyms, p. 45.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto death. Not to have death as its final issue.

For the glory [υπερ] . Here, as elsewhere in John, in behalf of. Canon Westcott remarks : "The sickness is regarded in a triple relation; unto, in respect of the actual result; in behalf of, in respect of the suffering born; in order that, in respect of the divine purpose."

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.