51 He did not say this of himself, but being the high priest that year he said, as a prophet, that Jesus would be put to death for the nation;
Whom God has put forward as the sign of his mercy, through faith, by his blood, to make clear his righteousness when, in his pity, God let the sins of earlier times go without punishment; And to make clear his righteousness now, so that he might himself be upright, and give righteousness to him who has faith in Jesus.
Turning out of the true way, they have gone wandering in error, after the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was pleased to take payment for wrongdoing; But his wrongdoing was pointed out to him: an ass, talking with a man's voice, put a stop to the error of the prophet. These are fountains without water, and mists before a driving storm; for whom the eternal night is kept in store.
A great number will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, were we not prophets in your name, and did we not by your name send out evil spirits, and by your name do works of power? And then will I say to them, I never had knowledge of you: go from me, you workers of evil.
But it was for our sins he was wounded, and for our evil doings he was crushed: he took the punishment by which we have peace, and by his wounds we are made well. We all went wandering like sheep; going every one of us after his desire; and the Lord put on him the punishment of us all. Men were cruel to him, but he was gentle and quiet; as a lamb taken to its death, and as a sheep before those who take her wool makes no sound, so he said not a word. They took away from him help and right, and who gave a thought to his fate? for he was cut off from the land of the living: he came to his death for the sin of my people.
And the children of Israel made request to the Lord, (for the ark of the agreement of the Lord was there in those days, And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was in his place before it,) and said, Am I still to go on with the fight against the children of Benjamin my brother, or am I to give it up? And the Lord said, Go on; for tomorrow I will give him into your hands.
So now I will go back to my people: but first let me make clear to you what this people will do to your people in days to come. Then he went on with his story and said, These are the words of Balaam, the son of Beor, the words of him whose eyes are open: He says, whose ear is open to the words of God, who has knowledge of the Most High, who has seen the vision of the Ruler of all, falling down and having his eyes open: I see him, but not now: looking on him, but not near: a star will come out of Jacob, and a rod of authority out of Israel, sending destruction to the farthest limits of Moab and on the head of all the sons of Sheth. Edom will be his heritage, and he will put an end to the last of the people of Seir. And Israel will go on in strength, and Jacob will have rule over his haters. Then, turning his eyes to Amalek, he went on with his story and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his part will be destruction for ever. And looking on the Kenites he went on with his story and said, Strong is your living-place, and your secret place is safe in the rock. But still the Kenites will be wasted, till Asshur takes you away prisoner. Then he went on with his story and said, But who may keep his life when God does this? But ships will come from the direction of Kittim, troubling Asshur and troubling Eber, and like the others their fate will be destruction. Then Balaam got up and went back to his place: and Balak went away.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on John 11
Commentary on John 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
In this chapter we have the history of that illustrious miracle which Christ wrought a little before his death-the raising of Lazarus to life, which is recorded only by this evangelist; for the other three confine themselves to what Christ did in Galilee, where he resided most, and scarcely ever carried their history into Jerusalem till the passion-week: whereas John's memoirs relate chiefly to what passed at Jerusalem; this passage therefore was reserved for his pen. Some suggest that, when the other evangelists wrote, Lazarus was alive, and it would not well agree either with his safety or with his humility to have it recorded till now, when it is supposed he was dead. It is more largely recorded than any other of Christ's miracles, not only because there are many circumstances of it so very instructive and the miracle of itself so great a proof of Christ's mission, but because it was an earnest of that which was to be the crowning proof of all-Christ's own resurrection. Here is,
Jhn 11:1-16
We have in these verses,
Jhn 11:17-32
The matter being determined, that Christ will go to Judea, and his disciples with him, they address themselves to their journey; in this journey some circumstances happened which the other evangelists record, as the healing of the blind man at Jericho, and the conversion of Zaccheus. We must not reckon ourselves out of our way, while we are in the way of doing good; nor be so intent upon one good office as to neglect another.
At length, he comes near to Bethany, which is said to be about fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem, about two measured miles, v. 18. Notice is taken of this, that this miracle was in effect wrought in Jerusalem, and so was put to her score. Christ's miracles in Galilee were more numerous, but those in or near Jerusalem were more illustrious; there he healed one that had been diseased thirty-eight years, another that had been blind from his birth, and raised one that had been dead four days. To Bethany Christ came, and observe,
Jhn 11:33-44
Here we have,
Jhn 11:45-57
We have here an account of the consequences of this glorious miracle, which were as usual; to some it was a savour of life unto life, to others of death unto death.