Only John tells this story. He tells us in order to teach us not to be offended if any illness befalls zealous and God-pleasing people. For Lazarus was a friend of Christ, yet he also was sick. It should also be known that this Mary, who anointed the Lord with myrrh, was neither the harlot mentioned in the Evangelist Luke (7:37-50), nor the woman mentioned in the Evangelist Matthew (26:7), but different, not a harlot, but honest, God-loving and zealous. For she was anxious to receive Christ and served Him, as John himself later testifies (12:2). The Lord also testifies of her that she chose the good part, as the Evangelist Luke remarks (10:42). These sisters were so wonderful and venerable that Lazarus became more famous because of them. For Lazarus, it is said, was from Bethany, from the village of Mary and Martha.

Why do they send to call for Jesus, and do not go to Him themselves, like the centurion and the king's man? Because they had strong hope in Christ, because they were weak women, and it was unseemly for them to go out of the house, because they too were obsessed with sorrow and were busy caring for their brother. And that they did not do this through negligence, it appears from what follows, for they show Christ great honor and respect, and offer firm prayer. "This is whom you love." They say this in order to incline the Lord to compassion in the name of friendship. Such an expression of these women also reveals a certain faith in them. They are so confident in the greatness of the Lord's power that they wonder how sickness has touched a man He loves. For it seems surprising that the one whom You, O Lord, love is sick.

When Jesus heard this, he said, "This sickness is not unto death, but to the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." And Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was.

Since Jesus intended to stay in that place for two days, he says that "this sickness is not unto death," although it was unto death; He speaks in order to encourage the messengers and give them, as it were, some consolation, so that they do not insist and do not strain. For this reason he says: "This sickness is not unto death." And it is different. If you look closely, you will see that this illness did not lead to death, such as many die, that is, to a long-term death, but temporary and lasting four days. And since on the fourth day Lazarus rose again, then, looking at the end of the matter, we say: this sickness is not unto death. "But to the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." You see, the Father and the Son have the same glory. For, having said, "To the glory of God," he added, "That the Son of God may be glorified," for the glory of God, that is, of the Father, differs in no way from the glory of the Son. Consequently, the Son is properly and truly God, just as the Father, for he who has one glory has one Being. Let the Arians be ashamed of this saying. "Let him be glorified." Understand this not as a cause, but as an event and the end of the matter (which we have talked about more than once). For Lazarus was not sick so that God might be glorified, but Lazarus fell ill, and the Lord turned it to the glory of God.

"He stayed two days" so that Lazarus would die, so that no one could say that he had a deep sleep, exhaustion and ecstasy, and not death. For this reason the Lord remains for so long that the decay has already begun, and the sister herself says that "it stinks already" (v. 39).

And he said unto his disciples, Let us go again into Judea. The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi! how long have the Jews sought to stone Thee, and Thou art going thither again? Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" He who walks by day does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world; but he who walks at night stumbles, because there is no light with him.

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. Since they also feared for Him, because they did not yet have a perfect knowledge of Him, and feared for themselves, they said to Him, "How long have the Jews sought to stone Thee, and Thou art going there again?" The Lord encourages them and says: "As he who sees the light does not stumble, but he who walks at night stumbles, so he who does good and walks in the works of light will not suffer any misfortune, but he who does evil will suffer misfortune; therefore you need not be afraid, for we have done nothing worthy of death. 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 necessity of being there, the disciples assert that His visit is not necessary, since he can recover from falling asleep. Still more, they say, Thy coming is not only unnecessary, but also harmful to a 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 in advance 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 confirm 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, fearing more than others, said: "Let us go and die with Him." For these words do not express cheerfulness, but fear and faint-heartedness. In order to stop the rest of his 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 speaks of Thomas as something like a dream, Thomas, he says, having learned the prophecies about Christ and having understood that He would descend with the soul into hell for the liberation of souls, when he heard that the Lord was coming to wake 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: "Let us go to him," as if to a living one. For for Christ, as God, Lazarus himself was alive.

When Jesus came, he found that he had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, fifteen stades; and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them in their sorrow for their brother. And when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; Maria was sitting at home.

The Lord deliberately delayed so that Lazarus would be four days old, then went to make the miracle free from slander on all sides. Why does the Evangelist add that Bethany was fifteen stades from Jerusalem? In order to show that indeed many of the Jerusalemites came, for Bethany was not far away. The Jews comforted these women not because Christ loved them (for the Jews had already conspired to excommunicate from the synagogue the one who acknowledged Him to be Christ – John 9:22), but either because of the severity of the calamity, or because those who came were not of the wicked, from which many of them believed.

Martha only goes forward to meet her, and does not take her sister with her, because she wanted to see Him alone and tell Him about what had happened. When the Lord aroused good hope in her, then she left and called her sister. Before, she had not told Sister Mary about the coming of the Lord, in order to conceal it from those who were with her. For if Mary had heard that Jesus was coming, she would have gone immediately to meet Him, and the Jews who had come would have followed her: but Martha did not want them to know of the coming of Jesus.