It's not all about doubt - Pr. Kruse

We can have faith in the Risen One only if we encounter Him. We can only encounter Him by following Him. Only if both things are true can we bear witness to Him and carry His light into the world. - Joseph Ratzinger

Easter Sunday was a banner day on FaceBook. It seemed that everyone had to post one of those annoying eCards about the famous, and really dumb, Billy Sunday quote: “Going to church does no more make you a Christian than standing around in a garage would make you a car,” or some such nonsense. I finally posted response to just about all instance of it saying: “But if you hung around a garage for any length of time and paid attention, tinkered a bit with the things parked there and perchance asked a few questions, standing around a garage might actually make a mechanic out of you. And if you hang around a church for any length of time  and paid attention, tinkered a bit with the things parked there and perchance asked a few questions, standing around a church might actually make a Christian out of you.” Or at least it should. 

We, the church, should pray that the Holy Spirit indeed might let the lost ones come into the realm of our influence so we might just show them how to follow and that in following they might come one day face to face with Jesus Christ. The early church, and I mean really early, in her first week of existence, seems to have done exactly that in the case of Thomas. They kept meeting, praying, perhaps doing other things they had seen Jesus do and even greater things (Jn 14:12) all the while confidant that Jesus would show up again and lay Thomas’ doubts to rest. Their patience was rewarded.

A quick rewind:

14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” What would happen if you stood around a church in the 21st century? A way, a truth, and a life, would somehow be evident. The question is: “Would they constitute the heart of Jesus?” I think that was the intent behind Billy Sunday’s horrible logic. Maybe he hated churches, I don’t know. Sometimes I do hate them myself. But, what if you hung around a church for any length of time and paid attention, tinkered a bit with the things parked there and perchance asked a few questions, standing around a church might actually make a mechanic out of you? Or worse?

Thomas can be a good lesson for us, not because he doubted and in our desperation to be useful we want to save him by our own power and strength. This is not so much about Thomas as it is about the body of Christ and the people of God, as community and as individuals. To be Christ to others we must actually “be Christ,” first. How is that project going? 

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” If he is the way, then I have to follow whatever that may entail even if that means in the words of Thomas: “Let us go die with him.” (Jn 11:16) If he is the truth then what he has taught me must be what I speak and I do well to not speculate overly much about other truthesees that offer themselves not because I am incurious but because I have been called to this truth and no other. If he is the life, then a peculiar way of living is laid out for me and I have no authority or reason to live another. 

This story of Thomas is not so only about his doubts. He is a challenge to our faith. These things written for us are there so that we may continue to have faith. (I am favoring the textual variant in 20:31 that makes the sentence read: “These things are written so that you will continue to have faith.”) They are written that I might know the way, that I may know the truth, and that with these I might have and continue to have life. The Thomases of the world await. They would see Jesus. (Jn12:21)

The Readings for Easter Sunday 2014

First Reading: Acts 10:34–43

³⁴Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality,  ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.  ³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all.  ³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:  ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  ³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree;  ⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,  ⁴¹not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.  ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1–4

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,  ³for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  ⁴When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Gospel: Matthew 28:1–10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.  ²And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.  ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.  ⁴For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.  ⁵But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.  ⁶He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you."  ⁸So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.  ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

he Greek Text of Matthew 28 - Pr. Fourman

Matthew 28:1-10

Almost every verb in this account is aorist.  For those who disremember, the aorist tense is the standard tense used for telling a story in Koine’ Greek. The ordinary distinction between this tense and the active is between actions considered single undivided events and actions that portray a continuous events, i.e. events with continued or ongoing impact and significance..

v 1 Ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων gen. plural“late on [the evening of] the Sabbath”  a genitive of time, our understanding of the Hebrew clock is skewed; this would have been at the last possible moment of the Sabbath day (Sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) so we are talking midnight Saturday night.  τῇ ἐπιφωσκούσῃ εἰς μίαν σαββάτων “it being close to dawn of the Sabbath”

ἦλθεν Μαριὰμ ἡ  Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη Μαρία θεωρῆσαι τὸν τάφον aorist infinitive active , “Mary of Magdala and the other Mary saw the tomb”  literally “they came in order to look at the tomb” an aorist implies past action with  present and future implications.  That is, they were not aware in the moment of the importance of seeing the tomb as it was.

v 2 καὶ ἰδοὺ σεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας ἄγγελος γὰρ Κυρίου καταβὰς

ἐξ οὐρανοῦ  active aorist participle “and they saw a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord [coming] from heaven” - 

καὶ προσελθὼν ἀπεκύλισεν τὸν λίθον καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ. 

The stone was “rolled away” (another aorist) and the angel was sitting on it, i.e. the stone, so their attention was not on the empty tomb, but on the stone to its side.

v 3 ἀστραπὴ “a flash of lightning/a sudden brightness” in the Old Testament blinding light accompanies a theophany; e.g. the burning bush or the pillar of fire of the Exodus.

ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ λευκὸν ὡς χιών. “and his clothing was snow white” - grammatically the phrase modifies the brightness, a clear reference back to the transfiguration – one of those Greek phrases that lead some scholars to conclude the transfiguration was itself a misplace resurrection story.

v 4 ἐσείσθησαν καὶ ἐγενήθησαν aorist passive; the guards “trembled and became” like dead men.  Again, to prostrate oneself in fear and trembling is an appropriate human response to a theophany.  One wonders why the two Marys were immune?  Perhaps wonder or grief overcame fear?

Μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὑμεῖς· an imperative “fear not” while this serves the same as an assurance, it is more like a king demanding one of his servants to stand up!  The fear of the unknown is replaced by the fear of authority (and in this case the trust that is implied).

v 5 οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον ζητεῖτε· present tense “for I know that you seek Jesus, the one that they crucified”  We often do not realize that the first case against the resurrection was one of mistaken identity.  They arrested/killed/buried the wrong man.  And Jesus was a fairly common name for that time.  So this is not just any Jesus, it is the one that they seek and the one that they crucified.  So this is not just formulaic, it lays to rest the first of their primal fears, that they are in the wrong place or that someone has taken the body away.

v 6 οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε·ἠγέρθη γὰρ aorist indicative “he is not here, he is risen” 

καθὼς εἶπεν·aorst active indicative expressing intent “just as he told you”

δεῦτε ἴδετε τὸν τόπον ὅπου ἔκειτο. An idiom “behold the place where they laid him” i.e. come and see for yourselves.  Seeing is believing.

v 7 καὶ ταχὺ πορευθεῖσαι participle “go quickly [and] having gone”

εἴπατε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι Ἠγέρθη ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν, “And say to his disciples that “He is risen from the dead…”  thus begins the first part of the earliest Christian witness.

And this is the second; καὶ ἰδοὺ προάγει ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν

ἐκεῖ αὐτὸν ὄψεσθε.ἰδοὺ εἶπον ὑμῖν.” “Behold he is going before you into Galilee, and you will see him there.” – another idiom,. “You will ‘really, really’ see him there!

v 8 μνημείου - a ταθον” (v 1) is a generic burial place, like our cemeteries.  But a μνεμειον is an actual mausoleum, a specific site.  So the first verse moves from a general area to a specific identifiable location with a ‘grave stone’.  Come and see, stay and visit; Matthew is inviting his readers to go to the place, it is still around.

ἀπελθοῦσαι  “having gone out” i.e. after they had left, and ταχὺ “quickly” μετὰ φόβου καὶ χαρᾶς μεγάλης “with fear and great joy” which curiously echoes Luke’s account of the shepherd’s visit to the manger.

ἔδραμον  “They ran”

ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς  “they announced to the disciples” now becoming themselves the “messengers” or angels of God’s good news

v 9 Ὡς δὲ ἐπορεύοντο ἀπαγγεῖλαι  aorist imperfect, “as they were going to announce” i.e. while they were on the way but before they had the chance…

Ἰησοῦς ὑπήντησεν αὐταῖς “Jesus met them”

λέγων Χαίρετε. “and said to them “grace”

ἐκράτησαν αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας καὶ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ. “they fell at his feet and worshipped him” – another response to a theophany, this is echoed later in 28 when, on the mountain in Galilee, the disciples do the same.  But this is not so much a statement of faith as a practice of the time.  Remember there is ‘fear and trembling” here but ‘doubt’ later.

V 10 Μὴ φοβεῖσθε· “fear not” – Jesus repeats the command of the angel and also repeats the command to go to Galilee.  The difference is now in the address as it moves from the generic μαθετεσ “disciple” to the specific and more intimate τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου “my brothers”.  Jesus may be beyond death but he is  not beyond expressing affection and care.

I want to see Jesus - Pr. Kruse

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. — Paul of Tarsus

Matthew 28:1-10 and other suspicious texts

I like Matthew’s resurrection story, maybe even better than Luke’s, certainly more than Mark’s, and on most given days more than John’s. How can you not? Angels, real angels, the kind that show up with earthquake and cause skilled soldiers to wet their kilts and fall into a paralyzed stupor — give me that. The Angels not the soldiers that is. Ya, there are angel in the other gospels but they are merely there to make a humble announcement. Mark goes so far as to say: a young man in white. Some angel! And John don’t even have any angels, with or without earthquake. 

You see, I want to know the resurrection, not the confused dance that Jesus’ faction does when it is discovered that the grave is empty. Knowing all that he had taught them they do not use what they have heard to make sense of the time. All the reports of their exploits leave me cold. So the beloved disciple runs faster than Peter — big deal. (John) So he defers to Peter the honor to see the empty grave first — so, etiquette matters; got it. (John) So someone gets to meet him first — duh! So there are two angels and not just one — what is this a math lesson. (Luke) So they run away scared and keep their mouths shut — one word: Lutherans. (Mark)

I have grown tired of all the speculation about he frail humans involved. Why did the beloved disciple believe by just seeing the empty tomb? Why was Mary there and why did Jesus have to call her twice? Why did the three women decide to not say nothing to nobody? Why did they bother to go to the tomb when they knew they had no way to get in? Why does Thomas get to touch him but Mary must not? Why does Mary go to the tomb at dark? I have heard it all worked over and analyzed 100 times over and much of it is neat, but I just don’t care anymore.

No, give me angels. They are simple. God sends them and they do what they are told and proclaim what they have heard. Ask them to wreak havoc at the tomb and you can consider it done. It must have been quite the sight. 

But it would not have been the sight of the resurrection itself either. Like Thomas, I am thinking that the ultimate question in our hearts, conscious or unconscious, is: But how did it happen and what did it look like? And, yes, I want to gaze at it. 

After all, Jesus is not reanimated like Lazarus. No, Jesus can now sometimes be recognized and sometimes not. Is he the same one? Or is he merely someone who looks like him? (Jn 9) He now shows up without warning and in locked rooms at that. (Jn 20) He moves around at will and we know not where he will be manifest next. (Jn 3:8) He shows up suddenly and brings his own breakfast. (Jn 21) Not only that, no one knows where he got it. (Jn 4:32, 6:1-15) He is recognized at his bidding, not at the choice of the mortal laying eyes on him. (Lk 24:13-35; Jn 20:16) But he carries in him the very marks of the sacrifice. (Jn 20:27-28)

I am left with a book. A book and a very, very imperfect people. We might be the ones called out, but we are a ragged bunch. Not even the angels or the prophets can tell me more about the resurrection. (I Pt 1:10-12) What do I do? 

They call it “Faith,” for a reason. The resurrection is kept in safe in heaven for you, (1 Pt 1:4)  and its power will be revealed not by me or you  but by God, at the last day. (1 Pt 1:5)

The glory is that the resurrection gives glimpse into a future only God can offer. More than a glimpse, it is a promise. Angel and prophet can work on behalf of the promise, but they cannot make the promise. Ecclesia, the called out, can witness to it, but she cannot make it. All the witnesses to the risen Jesus cannot raise him from the dead or raise me from the dead. They can merely tell. And perchance, they can kindle my curiosity, my longing,  and in that longing, faith dwells and reaches up to God.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. — Jesus Christ, the Risen one

The Readings for April 6, 2014, the Fifth Sunday in Lent A

First Reading: Ezekiel 37:1–14

The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  ²He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.  ³He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."  ⁴Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.  ⁵Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  ⁶I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD."

⁷So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  ⁸I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.  ⁹Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."  ¹⁰I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

¹¹Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.'  ¹²Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  ¹³And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.  ¹⁴I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD."

Second Reading: Romans 8:6–11

⁶To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  ⁷For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law — indeed it cannot,  ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Gospel: John 11:1–45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  ²Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.  ³So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."  ⁴But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  ⁵Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,  ⁶after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  ⁸The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"  ⁹Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.  ¹⁰But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them."  ¹¹After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him."  ¹²The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right."  ¹³Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.  ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  ¹⁵For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."  ¹⁶Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

¹⁷When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away,  ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother.  ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home.  ²¹Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  ²²But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him."  ²³Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  ²⁴Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."  ²⁵Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,  ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"  ²⁷She said to him, "Yes, Lord, 4, the one coming into the world."

²⁸When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."  ²⁹And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him.  ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.  ³¹The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there.  ³²When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  ³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.  ³⁴He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."  ³⁵Jesus began to weep.  ³⁶So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"  ³⁷But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

³⁸Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  ³⁹Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days."  ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me.  ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me."  ⁴³When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

The Text in Greek: John 11 - Pr. Fourman

John 11:1-44

v1 Λαζαρος "Lazarus" - Greek form of the Hebrew "Eleazar" - "God helps."

ασθενων (ασθενεω) pres. part. "was sick”.

v2 η δε Μαριαμ "this Mary" – an idiom; and it was this Mary- η αλειψασα (αλειπω) aor. part. " the same one who anointed. - probably proleptic, ie., John is referring to a past event which is still future as far as the story is concerned (12:1-8) a clear redactive edit.

v3 απεστειλαν ....... λεγουσαι "sent word" – a Semiticism.

ιδε (οραω) aor. imp. behold, look. to reinforce the urgency of the message; the first of MANY uses of this word in this story (and throughout John)

ο}ν φιλεις "the one you love" – another idiom; "your dear friend”

v4 ακουσας (ακουω) aor. part. "When he heard this" - best treated as temporal; "When Jesus received the message", another word used often in this story/John.  The Greek that is used in the remainder of this passage is another idiom, meaning, roughly “this is not as big a deal as you might think” or in American English; “this illness is no problem”

v8 υπαγεις (υπαγω) pres. "you are going back" - expressing intention, "you intend/plan to go back".

v9 της ημερας (α) gen. "[twelve hours] of daylight" another idiom; ‘we have plenty of time’.  This stand in apposition to the “you must work while it is day ebfoer that night comes….” From earlier in John, more in the vein of Matthew 6 “Do not worry….”

v11 ο φιλος ημων "our dear friend" κεκοιμηται (κοιμαω) perf. pas. "has fallen asleep" – which is, of course, what one does at night (see previous verse) This is a euphemism for death taken up by Paul. The idea is that we are not aware of the passage of time, just as when we sleep, we are in the keeping of God, beyond time as He is

εξυπνισω (εξυπνιζω) aor. subj. "wake [him] up" so if sleep m eans death, to eb awakened means life.  But what kind of life?  Are we watching the pilot for the Walking Dead?

v12 σωθησεται (σωζω) fut. pas. "he will get better" literally “he will be saved/healed”. The disciples have taken Jesus' "asleep" literally, understanding Lazarus is in recovery mode i.e. sleeping off his illness.

v13 της κοιμησεως του υπνου "natural sleep" - a tricky phrase.

v15 πιστευσητε (πιστευω) aor. subj. "you may believe/be in faith" - The aorist possibly identifies the commencement of faith, this sentence is a little messy. It literally reads "and I rejoice because of you, in order that you might believe that because I was not there ......" Like I said, a little messy, it tries, I think, to convey the idea that Jesus is happy that he refrained from tending to Lazarus' need since the miracle he will now perform will serve to encourage faith in his disciples.  Or not?!

v16 ο λεγομενος (λεγω) pres. pas/mid. part. "(called [Didymus]) literally "whose nickname was Twin".  Why the nickname?  Perhaps it was the way he was known in the time of the telling of this story.

τοις συμμαθηταις (ης ου) dat. "to the rest of the disciples" - Thomas is speaking for all the disciples.  Later, in chapter 20, in his doubt he speaks for us!

v17 ελθων (ερχομαι) aor. part. "on his arrival" for John, the word “come” serves the equivalent of “immediately” in Mark. 

εχοντα (εχω) pres. part. "had already been [in the tomb]" Lazarus has been buried for four days. The mention of four days serves to underline the fact that Lazarus is dead, given the commonly held belief that the soul remained with the body three days.

v18 εγγυς + gen. "near/at hand from [Jerusalem]" - [Bethany was] near [Jerusalem].

σταδιων δεκαπεντε "two miles" - fifteen stadia/3 kilometers – this serves to explain why so many Jews are present with Martha and Mary.

v19 εληλυθεισαν (ερχομαι) pluperf. "had come" - a past event with present ramifications, ie. the Jews had come to Mary and Martha and were still there.

v20 ηκουσεν (ακουω) aor. "heard" – idiom, the sense of "got wind of the news.".

εκαθεζετο (καθεζομαι) imperf. "[Mary] stayed [at home]" – literally ‘sat’, the implication is that Mary, with Martha, had become aware of Jesus' arrival, but remained at home. "Sitting" is a proper position for mourning and so it is likely John is saying that Mary was unaware of Jesus' arrival, since she was at home taking her turn as the family representative in the public grieving.

v22 οιδα perf. "I know" - extensive perfect. Martha knows and therefore believes.  (I do not think that word means what you think it means…)

v23 αναστησεται (ανιστημι) fut. "will rise again" - The teaching  moment here is for Martha and for us as eavesdroppers on this little drama.  Martha understands Jesus' words as a reference to the resurrection of the dead on the last day. Jesus is referring to something far less powerful (resuscitation) and far more important (Lazarus’ return) to her ‘here and now’ - this is not ‘pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye’.

v25 η αναστασις (ις εως) "the resurrection" - "I myself am resurrection and life", Jesus causes the dead to rise and it is he who gives life. Jesus wields the power of God. This is a strong Messianic claim.

και η ζων"and the life" (omitted in some manuscripts). It is easy to explain why the phrase would be added, but not why it would be omitted. 

ο πιστευων (πιστευω) pres. part. "he who believes" - The present tense is durative, "everyone who continues to have faith ", rather than just descriptive.

v26 ο ζων (ζαω) pres. part. "whoever lives" a substantive limiting πας, "everyone". This is likely referring to resurrection life, to that life beyond death when they ου μη + subj. "[will] never [die]" – an emphatic negation.

v27 εγω "I" - emphatic πεπιστευκα (πιστευω) perf. "I believe" - carries the sense of a past believing in the Messiah that continues.

ο υιος του θεου "the Son of God" - in the mouth of anyone but Jesus can range in meaning from little more than a godly person to someone close to God, or, commonly, the title for the messiah.

v28 ειπουσα (λεγω) aor. part. "after she said [this]" temporal.

λαθρα adv. "aside" – i.e. privately she says to her sister that the teacher παρεστιν (παρειμι) pres. "is present and is calling for you", ESV.

v29 ταχυ adv. "[she] sprung to her feet", an idiom – there was a clear urgency in her going, she had something to say..

v31 παραμυθουμενοι (παραμυθεω) pres. part. "comforting" adverbial, possibly modal, expressing the manner in which the Jews were with Mary, 

v33 κλαιουσαν (κλαιω) pres. part. "weeping" τους συνελθοντας (συνερχομαι) aor. part. "[the Jews] who had came along with her saw"

ενεβριμησατο (εμβριμαομαι) aor. mid. "deeply moved" - is often used to express deep feelings of anger, although translators usually soften it to "groan", "sigh", or worse "terribly upset". This is an agricultural word meaning the noise a horse makes when it snorts.

τω/ πνευματι (α ατος) dat. "in spirit" – idiom, at his core – in his gut i.e. pissed off.

εταραξεν (ταρασσω) aor. "troubled" visibly distressed?

τεθεικατε (τιθημι) perf. "[where] have you laid [him]?"

v35 εδακρυσεν (δακρυω) "wept" - a hapax legomenon. Mary wails ( as is normal for Jewish funerals) but Jesus sheds a tear.

v37 ο ανοιξας (ανοιγω) aor. part. "he who opened" serves as a substantive, introducing a substantival construction standing in apposition το ουτος, "this one." some may have interpreted Jesus' tears as a sign of frustration. He gives sight to the blind so why couldn't he ποιησαι (ποιεω) aor. inf. "have kept" – literally to do - the infinitive completes the verb "was [not] able to save Lazarus.  John often calls Jesus acts “ποιεω” – deeds/works

v38 εμβριμωμενος εν εαυτω as above, "deeply moved" - angry within himself. Note how "in himself" replaces "spirit" from v33.

σπηλαιον (ον) "a cave" the common shape of a grave was a vertical shaft, but it is unclear whether John intends this word to describe such a hole.  Today in Bethany it is a vertical shaft tomb you can visit. 

λιθος (ος) "stone" - used to keep animals away from the corpse.

v39 αρατε (αιρω) aor. imp. "take away [the stone]" – the aorist implies immediacy, now!

του τετελευτηκοτος (τελευταω) gen. perf. part. "[the sister] of the dead man" (doesn’t say which one, we often assume it was practical Martha but here is no reason to believe it was not Mary).

τεταρταιος adj. "four days" - on the fourth day. 

οζει (οζω) "there is a bad odor" The usual anointing of the body would not cover the smell of decomposition. This observation serves to underline the fact that Lazarus was indeed dead.

v41 ηρεν τους οφθαλμους ανω "[Jesus] looked up

ευχαριστω (ευχαριστω) pres. "I thank" - continuous action of thanking, central to prayer, but interestingly, the request itself is not recorded.

ηκουσας (ακουω) aor. "you have heard" aorist indicates that we may be dealing with a particular prayer, past or present, that is unrecorded. Is the prayer, "Lazarus, come out"? Such language is typical of Jesus healings, said prayerfully under God. So, Jesus gives thanks prior to his faith-act so that "they may believe that you sent me."

v42 ηδειν (οιδα) pluperf. "knew" - Jesus was well aware the Father would act.

v43 εκραυγασεν (κραυγαζω) "called" a forceful command by Jesus.

φωνη/ (η) dat. "in a [loud] voice".

δευρο εξω "come out” the literal translation is; "Here! Outside! Now!"

v44 ο τεθνηκως (θνησκω) perf. part. "the dead man" – commanding the wind and the waves was pretty keen, commanding the dead, AWESOME! Lazarus died and is dead [but now walks].

δεδεμενος (dew) perf. part. "wrapped" the one having had bound feet came out." "Bound" reflects the common meaning of this verb, but the so called "with strips of linen" is actually κειριαις, "with sheets", which carries the image of Lon Chaney doing his Mummy's thing so "draped over" is better. 

v45 οι ελθοντες (ερχομαι) aor. part. "who had come" stands in apposition to the "Jews" who are now standing around with no role - they don’t need to mourn any more.  

You can't get any poorer than dead - Pr. Kruse

You can’t get any poorer than dead. — Flannery O’Conner

“If only you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died.” That is a sentence spoken often in many forms. In the 18th century (Leibniz) it became the seed question for theories of theodicy. Why are bad things happen to good people? Where is God? Why is God not . . ? 

In its own way it must also have been  a vexing question for the early church: “Why did Jesus ascend? Why did he not stay with us and alleviate our misery here below?” “Who will come to believe in Jesus the Messiah if Jesus the Messiah is not here with us and if we, his disciples, are being hounded by evil? Is not Messiah the one to bring and end to just that evil?” The answer in John seems to be that there are Jews who believe Jesus because of the miracles and there are Jews who are threatened by Jesus because of the miracles, and there are Jews who are fascinated by Jesus and believe in him, but those are called disciples. 

Martha and Mary are asking the ever difficult question: “Lord, if only you had been here . . “ Did I say question? Well, it is not in question form but it is begging the question, “Why weren’t you there for us?” It is a strange in between type of way to ask a question. It says, in effect: “Yes I have faith. I know that you could have prevented the ill that has befallen us. But you did not.” In Martha’s case the reason was obvious: He was not there. John goes on to tell us though, that he was not there on purpose. What a schmutz! She had send word to him. She had asked (prayed) him to come to her and his aid. He did not come. Why? He seems to have waited until Lazarus died before he got on his way to Bethany. He was trying to make a point by allowing death to find Lazarus and to raise him to life again. He was trying to make a point!? Really? What a dreck! 

Lazarus in the tomb is a strange analogy for discipleship. He knows Jesus, at least I am assuming they have met, since Jesus is said to have loved him to tears. Those tears (11:35) are not trivial. The fate and suffering of Lazarus, the pain of Martha and Mary, are not trivial to Jesus it would seem. He takes them into himself and expresses them in tears. The death of His beloved children is not a matter of indifference to the Father in heaven in obedience to whom Jesus has been given power over death and eternal life. (5:21, 10:28) Lazarus is one of Jesus’ “sheep,” one who knows his voice and who is said to come out when the Good Shepherd calls him. (10:3) He is the one who by his quiet waiting in the tomb clearly shows: Apart from me you can do nothing. (15:5) After all, dead people are too poor to get anything accomplished. Blessed are the poor, indeed. (Yes, I know it’s Matthew but the Beatitudes are prayed in Lent during the hours and we are praying them in our confession in Worship on Sunday in my congregation)  But, at the call of the Shepherd, the Lord, you can do all things, even rise back to life. If Lazarus can be unbound, you can be. If Lazarus can be freed from his bonds, you can be as well even if those tethers are sin and death. In that way, the glory of God is revealed in him. 

Therefore, disciple, as life in this world so in love with its own dark thoughts — and is not death a dark thought and place — comes your way quickly, harshly, and mercilessly, would you, could you say to yourself: “I embrace this because the glory of God will be revealed in this?” Even if that might mean dying twice? 

If Lazarus is an analogy for discipleship then maybe so is Martha. Only in her case, it is from the perspective of observing faith not knowing the outcome and really not being able to fathom the possibilities. She has asked him to come and prevent Lazarus’ death but he has not. He has come, but he has come late — wait, that’s not right. No, he has come in his own time and according to his own purpose. (11:4) All is now lost. — wait that is not right, but we don’t quite know that. Who knows what might be next. After all, Jesus is at work, maybe Lazarus will live again, maybe he will not. Either way, who would know best if he should or should not? Martha or Jesus? (cue the Jeopardy music)  In the conversation between the two Martha comes to the words that every disciple might need to remember in times of poverty even poverty unto death: “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

All the joy over all the answered prayers in the world really equal not even a single moment of “Faith.” Faith can say: “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God,” even if none of its prayers have been answered. Faith awaits, quietly as if stilled in the sleep of the grave for the Lord’s glory to be revealed in however the story will twist and turn right around then. When the good shepherd (10) is leading, Faith follows. It keeps its eyes on the back of the Good Shepherd’s head and hums the 23rd.