John 11:20 (WEB)

Passage

Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house.

Nearby Context

John 11:18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away.

John 11:19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.

John 11:20 Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house.

John 11:21 Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.

John 11:22 Even now I know that, whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "martha", "heard", "jesus", "coming", "went", "mary", "stayed", and "house". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "martha" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Many of the Jews had joined the..." into verse 21's "Therefore Martha said to Jesus Lord if...", so "martha" and "heard" 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 "martha" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.