On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem…
At the end of Chapter 10, John tells us that Jesus had gone back to where John the Baptist had been baptizing near the Jordan River. While we do not know with certainty where this was, it appears likely that the place was north of the Sea of Galilee, about twenty some miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies.
If Lazarus had died about the time the news reached Jesus and his disciples, and if the walk back to Bethany was about a two day walk, then the two days that Jesus waited after hearing the news that Lazarus was ill fits with Lazarus being in the tomb for four days.
Why would this be important?
The one thing that comes to mind for me is the word, “assurance.” In this case, assurance that Lazarus was really dead. People sometimes make the argument that people who are brought back to life in Bible stories were never really dead in the first place. Such things happen, even today, where a person looks dead but later shows signs of life. But when a person has been buried in the grave for four days, nobody is going to question their deadness.
Let’s Discuss: How does the detail about Lazarus being in the tomb four days bring glory to God?
It is indisputable proof that a miracle happened, even the Pharisees know it. So much so, that they contemplate killing the raised Lazarus.
There was no doubt he was dead. There is no doubt Jesus raised him from the dead. Thus, Jesus has the power and authority to raise the dead. His doing so with Lazarus demonstrates the power of God and gives Him glory.
The other kind of assurance we can take from this story is the assurance that Jesus can do for us what he did for Lazarus.
I’m with you on this one Jeff. No matter how dead we thought we were Jesus gives us eternal life.