John 11:40 (ASV)

Passage

Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

Nearby Context

John 11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

John 11:39 Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time the body decayeth; for he hath been [dead] four days.

John 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

John 11:41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me.

John 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the multitude that standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "saith", "said", "thee", "thou", "believedst", and "shouldest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 39's "Jesus saith Take ye away the stone..." into verse 41's "So they took away the stone And...", so "jesus" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.