Один только Иоанн рассказывает эту историю. Рассказывает же для того, чтобы научить нас не соблазняться, если какая-нибудь болезнь постигнет людей усердных и боголюбезных. Ибо Лазарь был друг Христов, однако же и он был болен. Нужно знать и то, что сия Мария, помазавшая Господа миром, не была ни блудница, упоминаемая у евангелиста Луки (7, 37-50), ни женщина, упоминаемая у евангелиста Матфея (26, 7), но иная, не блудница, но честная, боголюбезная и усердная. Ибо она заботилась о принятии Христа и служила Ему, как сам Иоанн потом (12, 2) свидетельствует. Господь о ней же свидетельствует, что она избрала благую часть, как замечает евангелист Лука (10, 42). Сестры сии были так чудны и достопочтенны, что и Лазарь сделался известным более из-за них. Ибо Лазарь, сказано, был из Вифании, из селения Марии и Марфы. Почему же они посылают звать Иисуса, а не идут к Нему сами, подобно сотнику и цареву мужу? Потому, что они крепко надеялись на Христа, потому что они были слабые женщины и не прилично было им выходить из дому, потому что и они одержимы были скорбью и заняты были заботою около брата. А что они сделали так не по небрежению, это оказывается из последующего, ибо они оказывают Христу великую честь и уважение и приносят твердую молитву. "Вот, кого Ты любишь". Говорят так для того, чтобы именем дружбы вернее преклонить Господа к состраданию. Такое выражение сих жен обнаруживает и некоторую веру их. Они так уверены в величии силы Господней, что для них удивительно, как болезнь коснулась человека, любимого Им. Ибо удивительным как-то представляется, что болен тот, кого Ты, Господи, любишь.

     Иисус, услышав то, сказал: эта болезнь не к смерти, но к славе Божией, да прославится чрез нее Сын Божий. Иисус же любил Марфу и сестру ее и Лазаря. Когда же услышал, что он болен, то пробыл два дня на том месте, где находился. 

Поелику Иисус намеревался пробыть на том месте два дня, то и говорит, что "эта болезнь не к смерти", хотя она послужила к смерти; говорит для того, чтобы обнадежить вестников и преподать им как бы некоторое утешение, чтобы они не настаивали и не тужили. Для сего-то и говорит: "Эта болезнь не к смерти". И иначе. Если внимательно всмотришься, то болезнь сия не была к смерти, - такой, какою умирают многие, то есть к смерти долговременной, - но - привременной и продолжавшейся четыре дня. Поелику же на четвертый день Лазарь воскрес, то, взирая на конец дела, мы говорим: сия болезнь не к смерти. "Но к славе Божией, да прославится чрез нее Сын Божий". Видишь ли, у Отца и у Сына одна слава. Ибо, сказав: "К славе Божией", прибавил: "да прославится Сын Божий", ибо слава Бога, то есть Отца, ничем не разнится от славы Сына. Следовательно, и Сын есть собственно и истинно Бог так же, как и Отец, ибо у кого одна слава, у тех одно и Существо. Да постыдятся ариане и сего изречения. "Да прославится". Это понимай не как причину, а как событие и окончание дела (о чем мы и говорили не раз). Ибо не для того Лазарь был болен, чтобы прославился Бог, но с Лазарем случилась болезнь, а Господь обратил ее к славе Божией. "Пробыл два дня" для того, чтобы Лазарь умер, чтобы никто не мог сказать, что с ним был крепкий сон, изнеможение и исступление, а не смерть. Посему-то Господь и остается столько времени, что началось уже разложение, и сама сестра говорит, что "уже смердит" (ст. 39).

     После этого сказал ученикам: пойдем опять в Иудею. Ученики сказали Ему: Равви! давно ли Иудеи искали побить Тебя камнями, и Ты опять идешь туда? Иисус отвечал: не двенадцать ли часов во дне? кто ходит днем, тот не спотыкается, потому что видит свет мира сего; а кто ходит ночью, спотыкается, потому что нет света с ним. 

In other cases, the Lord never expressed in advance where He intended to go, but only here He declares ahead, it seems, because His disciples were very afraid to go to Judea. He announces ahead that they should not be troubled by the surprise if He suddenly led them to a country to which they were afraid to go.

Or to put it another way: if he who sees this light does not stumble, how much more will he who is with Me stumble, unless he himself leaves Me behind. Wherefore ye also, abiding with Me, the True Light, fear in vain. Others understand by "day" the time before suffering, and by "night" the time of suffering. And so, he says, as long as the "day" passes, that is, before the time of suffering has come, you will not stumble, for you will not meet with persecution from the Jews, nor any other trouble. And when the "night" comes, that is, My sufferings, then you will be confused and gathered together in one house for fear of the Jews. From that time on, you will experience sorrows and illnesses, and many angers and troubles. When I, the Light, no longer live with you bodily, the night of sorrows will pass you by.

     Having said this, he said to them afterwards: Lazarus, our friend has fallen asleep; but I am going to wake him up. His disciples said, "Lord! if he fell asleep, he will recover. Jesus spoke of his death; but they thought that He was speaking of ordinary sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead: and I rejoice for you that I was not there, that you might believe; but let us go to him. Then Thomas, otherwise called the Twin, said to the disciples, "Let us go and die with Him." 

Since the disciples of the Lord were afraid to go into Judea, He said to them, "The Jews sought to stone Me because I refuted them and rebuked them." But now I do not go to rebuke them, but to visit my friend. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid. I am not going after what I went for before, to expect danger from the Jews, but I am going to wake up a friend. The disciples, wishing to keep Him from going there, say: It is enough if He has fallen asleep; if he has fallen asleep, he will recover; therefore we do not need to walk, for there is no need. Although the Lord, speaking of Lazarus, added "My friend" to show the need to be there, the disciples assert that His visit is not necessary, since he can recover from falling asleep. Even more, they say, Thy Coming is not only unnecessary, but also harmful to one's friend. For if sleep, as we think, serves for his recovery, and You go and wake him, then You will prevent him from recovering. Therefore, there is no need to go and wake up, for this is harmful. The Lord, seeing that His disciples still do not understand Him, directly says that Lazarus "died." Why did He first express Himself not directly, but covertly, calling death "sleep"? For many reasons. First, out of humility, for he did not want to appear boastful, but secretly called the resurrection a wake-up from sleep. How would He have used this expression if He had not called death a dream? And that this is just, that is, that He expressed Himself secretly out of humility, is evident from what follows. For having said that Lazarus "died," the Lord did not add: "I will go and raise him up." Do you see how He did not want to boast in words of what He intended to confirm by His very deeds? At the same time, the Lord teaches us not to be hasty in our promises. For if at the request of the centurion (for the healing of his servant) the Lord made a promise, saying: "I will come and heal him" (Matt. 8:5-6), He said this in order to reveal his faith. So, this is the first reason why the Lord called death sleep. The other is to show us that all death is sleep and rest. The third is that although the death of Lazarus was death for others, it was no more than a dream for Jesus Himself, since He intended to resurrect him. As it is easy for us to awaken a sleeping man, so, and a thousand times more, it is convenient for Him to raise up the dead. "I rejoice," he says, "for you," that you can henceforth be more convinced of My divine dignity from the fact that I have not been there and am far away from there, but I tell you first that death followed in Bethany, and I say this, not basing myself on hearing, but as God, Himself seeing what happened at a great distance. Some of the Lord's words, "I rejoice for you," were understood to mean that I was not there, this will serve to strengthen you in the faith. For if I had been there, I would have healed the sick. That would be a miracle, but it would show little of My power. And now that I was not there, and the death of Lazarus followed, and I will go and raise him up, you must be strengthened in your faith in Me. For you will see that I am able to do what I have not yet revealed, namely, to recreate and raise up the dead, who are already decomposed and give off a rotten smell. When the Lord said this and proved to His disciples the necessity of His march into Judea, then Thomas, who feared more than others, said: "Let us go and we will die with Him." For these words do not express cheerfulness, but fear and faint-heartedness. In order to stop the other fellow disciples, he reminds them of death and deliberately adds: "Let us die," saying, as it were: "And we, fools, fools, and not caring about our salvation and life, let us go to die with Him." Let Him value His life dearly; Therefore must we also be imprudent? Such speeches are befitting a fearful person. But look at him afterwards. He, like an apostle, was slain for the truth. The grace of God has so "strengthened" him that the words of the Apostle Paul can be applied to him: "Our ability is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5), and "not I, but grace" (1 Corinthians 15:10). And Origen says of Thomas something like a dream, Thomas, he says, having learned the prophecies about Christ and having understood that He would descend with His soul into hell for the liberation of souls, when He heard that the Lord was coming to awaken Lazarus, He thought that He could awaken him, that is, free his soul, only if He Himself laid down the body and descended into hell. Therefore, as a sincere disciple of Christ, who does not wish to lag behind his Teacher in this as well, he advises his fellow disciples and himself volunteers to lay down their bodies in order to descend into hell together with Jesus, who, according to his understanding, will lay down His soul in order to free the soul of a friend from hell. Such a ridiculous explanation I have applied to shame those who extol all that is Origen's. For such an explanation of the sage is not manifest idle talk and a real dream? And I ask you to note that although Lazarus died, the Lord nevertheless said: "We go to him," as if to a living one. For for Christ, as God, Lazarus himself was alive.