John 11:39 (DBY)

Passage

Jesus says, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead, says to him, Lord, he stinks already, for he is four days [there].

Nearby Context

John 11:37 And some of them said, Could not this [man], who has opened the eyes of the blind [man], have caused that this [man] also should not have died?

John 11:38 Jesus therefore, again deeply moved in himself, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

John 11:39 Jesus says, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead, says to him, Lord, he stinks already, for he is four days [there].

John 11:40 Jesus says to her, Did I not say to thee, that if thou shouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

John 11:41 They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifted up his eyes on high and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "says", "take", "away", "stone", "martha", "sister", and "dead". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "says", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "Jesus therefore again deeply moved in himself..." into verse 40's "Jesus says to her Did I not...", so "jesus" and "says" 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 "says" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.