John 11:41

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me.

John 11:41 Meaning and Commentary

John 11:41

Then they took away the stone
"From the door of the sepulchre", as the Arabic version adds;

from the place where the dead was laid:
this clause is left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions:

and Jesus lift up his eyes;
to heaven; this is a praying gesture, as in ( John 17:1 ) ,

and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me;
which cannot refer to the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, or to any assistance given him in performing that miracle, because that as yet was not done; and when it was done, was done by his own power, as all the circumstances of it show; but it relates to everything in which he had before heard him, and was a foundation for him, as man, to believe he still would, in whatever was to come; and particularly to the present opportunity of showing his power in so remarkable a manner, and before so many witnesses.

John 11:41 In-Context

39 Jesus said, "Take ye away the stone." Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he hath been dead four days."

40 Jesus said unto her, "Said I not unto thee that if thou would believe, thou should see the glory of God?"

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me.

42 And I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but because of the people who stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me."

43 And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"