![]() Also, by the fourth day in Israel’s hot climate, advanced decay would be destroying the body and the stench would have been overwhelming. On the fourth day, the spirit left the body and went to Sheol or Hades, and there was no hope for life without a miracle. It was well-known in Israel 2,000 years ago that someone deceased could come back to life during this 3-day period but not afterwards. Jewish mysticism teaches that a deceased person’s spirit remains around the body for up to three days after death before departing. A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John (p. “It is a proverb in the Talmud and the Targum, that corruption sets in the third day after death” (Tholuck after Wetstein). There was something different about Jesus raising Lazarus and what stands out is he had been dead and buried for four days. The Jewish leaders didn’t seek to kill the other people Jesus raised from the dead, nor did the others appear to draw the large crowds. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. Unlike others that Jesus had raised from the dead, the Jewish leaders sought to kill Lazarus: This essentially indicated that Martha wasn’t expecting Jesus to bring Lazarus back to life after he was dead for so long. Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” (John 11:39, ESV) ![]() ![]() Jesus had brought people back to life after dying (Matthew 9:25 Mark 5:41-42 Luke 7:14-15), but in these cases, as with the Old Testament prophets, it was soon after they died.Īre there other details in John’s account indicating something special about four days? There is Martha’s reply after Jesus asked for he stone to be rolled away: ![]() And, John specifically points out that Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived. As you pointed out John’s account specifically gives the details that, if Jesus would have left as soon as the messengers came, Lazarus would have been dead for two days when Jesus arrived. ![]()
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