John 11:14 (LSB)

Passage

So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

Nearby Context

John 11:12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be saved from his sickness.”

John 11:13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of actual sleep.

John 11:14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

John 11:15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”

John 11:16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "said", "plainly", "lazarus", and "dead". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Now Jesus had spoken of his death..." into verse 15's "and I am glad for your sakes...", so "jesus" and "said" 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 "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.