at Jesus
did not hesitate when he recognized the call of duty as well as of
friendship. In no recorded miracle of Jesus is his power more signally set
forth, yet here more clearly than anywhere else he is represented as
dependent on his Father in his exercise of that power. The words of Jesus
at the grave (John xi. 41, 42) show that he was confident of the
resurrection of Lazarus, because he had prayed and was sure he was heard.
It may be that his delay after hearing of the sickness of his friend (xi.
6) was a time of waiting for answer, and that this explains his confidence
of safety when the time came for him to expose himself again to the
hostility of Judea. Jesus indicated not only that on this occasion he had
help from above in doing his miracles, but that it was the rule in his
life to seek such help and guidance (xi. 42). In fact, at a later time he
ascribed all his works to the Father abiding in him (John xiv. 10; compare
x. 25). The effect of the resurrection of Lazarus was such as to intensify
the determination of the leaders in Jerusalem--both Pharisees and
Sadducees--to get rid of Jesus as dangerous to the quiet of the nation
(John xi. 47-54). In this it simply served to fix a determination already
present (John vii. 25, 32; viii. 59; x. 31, 39). The miracle does not
appear in John as the cause of the apprehension of Jesus, but rather as
one influence leading to it. It was indeed the total contradiction between
Jesus and all current and cherished ideas that led to his condemnation;
the raising of Lazarus only showed that he was becoming dangerously
popular, and made the priestly leaders feel the necessity of haste. The
silence of the first three gospels concerning this event is truly
perplexing, yet it is not any more difficult of explanation, as Beyschlag
(LJ I. 495) has shown, than the silence of all four evangelists concerning
the appearance of the risen Jesus to James, or to the five hundred
brethren (I. Cor. xv. 6, 7). Room must be allowed in our conception of the
life of Jesus for many things of which no record remains, all the more,
therefore, for incidents to which but one of the gospels is witness.
Moreover, after the collapse of popularity in Galilee, the great
enthusiasm of the multitudes over Jesus when he entered Jerusalem (Luke
xix. 37-40; Mark xi. 8-10) is most easily understood if he had made some
such manifestation of power as the restoration of Lazarus.

174. After the visit to Bethany Jesus