Rationalists have tried in various ways to explain away this stupendous miracle. Some say that the story is a pure concoction of St. John, else it would have been narrated by some other Evangelist. Others, that the death of Lazarus was merely feigned, a pious ruse in which Christ and Lazarus, as well as Martha and Mary were accomplices, with the object of inducing the people to accept and follow the teachings of Christ.

But we need hardly point out how absurd it is to suppose, that St. John would attempt, fifty years after the Synoptic Evangelists, to invent and put forward such a minute account of an extraordinary event till then unheard-of by the Jews. That the other Evangelists make no mention of this stupendous miracle is remarkable, but may be accounted for by the fact that prior to the history of the Passion, they confine their narratives almost entirely to what Christ said and did in Galilee. Hence they do not mention the healing of the man who had been ill for thirty-eight years (John [v. 5-9]), nor of the man born blind (John [ix.]), nor, for the same reason, the raising of Lazarus, all these miracles having occurred in Judea.

The second theory mentioned above hardly requires refutation. Even His Jewish enemies never accused Christ of fraud or deception; and in this particular instance the Jews, many of whom were hostile to Jesus (verse 46), and no doubt investigated the miracle, had not the slightest suspicion of fraud. So certain were all, even the Pharisees, that the miracle was genuine, that without attempting to deny it, they merely bethink themselves what they will do with Jesus (verses 47, 48).

43. Haec cum dixisset, voce magna clamavit: Lazare veni foras.43. When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth.
44. Et statim prodiit qui fuerat mortuus, ligatus pedes et manus institis, et facies illius sudario erat ligata. Dixit eis Iesus: Solvite eum, et sinite abire.44. And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding-bands, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him and let him go.
45. Multi ergo ex Iudaeis qui venerant ad Mariam et Martham; et viderant quae fecit Iesus, crediderunt in eum.45. Many therefore of the Jews who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.
46. Quidam autem ex ipsis abierunt ad pharisaeos, et dixerunt eis quae fecit Iesus.46. But some of them went to the Pharisees, and told them the things that Jesus had done.
47. Collegerunt ergo pontifices et pharisaei concilium et dicebant: Quid facimus, quia hic homo multa signa facit?47. The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said: What do we, for this man doth many miracles?
48. Si dimittimus eum sic, omnes credent in eum: et venient Romani, et tollent nostrum locum, et gentem.48. If we let him alone so, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come, and take away our place and nation.

48. They dreaded lest the Romans, fearing He should become king, should come and destroy their temple and nation.

49. Unus autem ex ipsis Caiphas nomine, cum esset pontifex anni illius, dixit eis: Vos nescitis quidquam.49. But one of them named Caiphas, being the high-priest that year, said to them: You know nothing.
50. Nec cogitatis quia expedit vobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo, et non tota gens pereat.50. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
51. Hoc autem a semetipso non dixit: sed cum esset pontifex anni illius, prophetavit quod Iesus moriturus erat pro gente.51. And this he spoke not of himself: but being the high-priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation.
52. Et non tantum pro gente, sed ut filios Dei, qui erant dispersi, congregaret in unum.52. And not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God, that were dispersed.

49-52. Then Caiphas, the High-priest for that year said: You know nothing, &c. Caiphas meant that Jesus should be got rid of to save the Jewish nation from incurring the anger of the Romans. The Holy Ghost, however, as St. John tells us, signified through Caiphas (as an unconscious instrument) that the death of Jesus was necessary for the eternal salvation of the Jewish people, and of all to be called to the faith who were scattered then or since among the Gentiles. Caiphas was unaware of the solemn sense of the words which he enunciated; so that the Holy Ghost speaking through a prophet may sometimes mean one [pg 205] thing, the Prophet himself something quite different. It is the common opinion, too, that even the inspired writers did not always understand the meaning of what they wrote, and in such cases the sense of Scripture is, of course, that which was intended by the Holy Ghost.

Caiphas, whom on this occasion the Holy Ghost employed to declare the necessity for man of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, was the Jewish High-priest at the time ([xi. 49], [xviii. 13]). His father-in-law, Annas, is called High-priest by St. Luke (Luke iii. 2; Acts iv. 6), from which some, as Beelen, conclude, that each filled the office of High-priest every alternate year. For this view, however, there is no historical evidence, and it seems more probable that Annas is called High-priest by St. Luke, not because he was then discharging the duties of the successor of Aaron, but because, having been High-priest, and unlawfully deposed (a.d. 14) by Valerius Gratus, the Roman Governor of Judea, he was still regarded by the Jews as the lawful High-priest.[78]

Or it may be that, as President of the Sanhedrim, a position which Annas filled, after he had been deposed from that of High-priest, he is styled ἀρχιερεύς by St. Luke. This latter is the view of Cornely, [pg 206] iii., § 76, n. 18. See Acts vii. 1; ix. 1, 2.

53. Ab illo ergo die cogitaverunt ut interficerent eum.53. From that day therefore they devised to put him to death.