independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
The illness reported and the deliberate delay 11:1–16
vv. 1–6 — the message from Bethany and the two-day stay
1
Ἦν δέ τις ἀσθενῶν,independent — periphrastic imperfect — the illness as ongoing state; a new narrative unit opens
Λάζαρος ἀπὸ Βηθανίας, ἐκ τῆς κώμης Μαρίας καὶ Μάρθας τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτῆς.phrase modifier — apposition — name, village, family; Eleazar, 'God has helped,' ironically apt
2
ἦν δὲ Μαριὰμ ἡ ἀλείψασα τὸν κύριον μύρῳindependent — narrator's aside — proleptic cross-reference to the anointing not yet narrated (12:1–8)
καὶ ἐκμάξασα τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς,participial — coordinate substantival participle — the gesture of extravagant devotion
ἧς ὁ ἀδελφὸς Λάζαρος ἠσθένει.relative — the relative circles back to Lazarus — imperfect ἠσθένει recaps v. 1
3
ἀπέστειλαν οὖν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσαι·independent — the plot begins — ἀποστέλλω, the commission verb
Κύριε, ἴδε ὃν φιλεῖς ἀσθενεῖ.content — no request made — Jesus' φιλία is itself the petition; φιλέω here, ἀγαπάω in v. 5
4
ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦςparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on εἶπεν
εἶπεν·independent — the reframing pronouncement
Αὕτη ἡ ἀσθένεια οὐκ ἔστιν πρὸς θάνατον ἀλλ᾿ ὑπὲρ τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ,content — the illness reframed (cf. 9:3) — Lazarus will die, yet death is not its telos
ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ δι᾿ αὐτῆς.purpose — in John glorification is the cross-and-resurrection complex (12:23) — this sign triggers it
5
ἠγάπα δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν Μάρθαν καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον.independent — narrator's aside — stative imperfect ἠγάπα set down before the delay, so the delay cannot be read as indifference
6
ὡς οὖν ἤκουσενconditional — temporal ὡς (typed cnd; no temporal key) — leans on ἔμεινεν
ὅτι ἀσθενεῖ,content — the fifth ἀσθεν- word in six verses
τότε μὲν ἔμεινεν ἐν ᾧ ἦν τόπῳ δύο ἡμέρας.independent — the scandalous paradox — because he loved (v. 5), he stayed; the delay serves the divine timetable
vv. 7–10 — the return to Judea and the daylight parable
7
ἔπειτα μετὰ τοῦτο λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς·independent — historic present λέγει — double temporal marker ends the delay
Ἄγωμεν εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν πάλιν.content — hortatory Ἄγωμεν — back into the region of the stoning (10:31, 39)
8
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταί·independent — historic present — the alarmed objection
Ῥαββί, νῦν ἐζήτουν σε λιθάσαι οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι,content — νῦν + conative imperfect — the threat of 10:31, 39 still warm
καὶ πάλιν ὑπάγεις ἐκεῖ;content — incredulous question — the καί almost adversative
9
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς·independent — the reply-frame for the parable
Οὐχὶ δώδεκα ὧραί εἰσιν τῆς ἡμέρας;content — rhetorical question expecting yes — the day's fixed span: the divine schedule cannot be shortened
ἐάν τις περιπατῇ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ,conditional — protasis inside quoted speech — leans on προσκόπτει
οὐ προσκόπτει,content — the apodosis — gnomic present
ὅτι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου τούτου βλέπει·cause — natural daylight — but the light-of-the-world echo (8:12; 9:5) sounds beneath it
10
ἐὰν δέ τις περιπατῇ ἐν τῇ νυκτί,conditional — the antithetical protasis — leans on προσκόπτει; νύξ, the sphere of Nicodemus (3:2) and Judas (13:30)
προσκόπτει,content — the negative apodosis
ὅτι τὸ φῶς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ.cause — the shift from external daylight to light within — the parable turns inward
vv. 11–16 — sleep, death, and Thomas' resolve
11
ταῦτα εἶπεν,independent — the parable closed off
καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο λέγει αὐτοῖς·independent — historic present — the turn from figure to disclosure
Λάζαρος ὁ φίλος ἡμῶν κεκοίμηται·content — the sleep-euphemism — perfect κεκοίμηται, the settled state; ὁ φίλος answers φιλεῖς (v. 3)
ἀλλὰ πορεύομαιcontent — futuristic present — the departure already underway
ἵνα ἐξυπνίσω αὐτόν.purpose — ἐξυπνίζω, NT hapax — the wake-up word sustains the sleep figure
12
εἶπαν οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτῷ·independent — the misunderstanding-frame
Κύριε, εἰ κεκοίμηται,conditional — first-class protasis inside speech — leans on σωθήσεται; they repeat Jesus' word literally
σωθήσεται.content — σῴζω as medical 'recover' — with the deeper salvation-sense sounding beneath, unheard by the speakers
13
εἰρήκει δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς περὶ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ·independent — narrator's aside — pluperfect εἰρήκει; the decoding technique of 2:21; 7:39; 12:33
ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἔδοξανindependent — the narrator names the cognitive error
ὅτι περὶ τῆς κοιμήσεως τοῦ ὕπνου λέγει.content — κοίμησις, only here in the NT — natural sleep, the literal reading corrected
14
τότε οὖν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς παρρησίᾳ·independent — παρρησίᾳ — the veiled figure abandoned for plain speech (cf. 16:25, 29)
Λάζαρος ἀπέθανεν,content — the stark aorist — two words undo the euphemism
15
καὶ χαίρω δι᾿ ὑμᾶς,content — the shocking joy — glad of an absence that let death run its course
ἵνα πιστεύσητε,purpose — ingressive aorist — the sign's telos is the disciples' deepened faith (cf. vv. 4, 42)
ὅτι οὐκ ἤμην ἐκεῖ·cause — the ground of the joy — the absence was deliberate (v. 6)
ἀλλὰ ἄγωμεν πρὸς αὐτόν.content — the hortatory of v. 7 resumed — deliberation closed
16
εἶπεν οὖν Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος τοῖς συμμαθηταῖς·independent — συμμαθηταῖς, NT hapax; John always glosses the Aramaic Toma with Greek Δίδυμος
Ἄγωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς,content — Thomas takes up Jesus' own Ἄγωμεν — gloomy courage
ἵνα ἀποθάνωμεν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ.purpose — the resolve to die with him — half despair, half devotion; the chapter's first passion-shadow
Martha meets Jesus — the resurrection and the life 11:17–27
vv. 17–19 — four days dead; the mourners gathered
17
Ἐλθὼν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦςparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on εὗρεν
εὗρεν αὐτὸν τέσσαρας ἤδη ἡμέρας ἔχοντα ἐν τῷ μνημείῳ.independent — four days — beyond the popular three-day lingering of the soul: the death is incontestable
18
ἦν δὲ ἡ Βηθανία ἐγγὺς τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ὡς ἀπὸ σταδίων δεκαπέντε.independent — narrator's geographical aside — two miles; near enough to supply the crowd of witnesses
19
πολλοὶ δὲ ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐληλύθεισαν πρὸς τὴν Μάρθαν καὶ Μαριὰμindependent — pluperfect — the mourners already in place before Jesus arrives; the future witnesses assembled
ἵνα παραμυθήσωνται αὐτὰς περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ.purpose — παραμυθέομαι — the conventional condolence visit
vv. 20–27 — the dialogue: reproach, promise, declaration, confession
20
ἡ οὖν Μάρθα ὡς ἤκουσενconditional — temporal ὡς (typed cnd; no temporal key) — leans on ὑπήντησεν
ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἔρχεταιcontent — the present retained in indirect speech — he is coming now
ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ·independent — Martha's energetic going-out — she initiates the dialogue
Μαριὰμ δὲ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ ἐκαθέζετο.independent — the contrastive imperfect — the posture of mourning; the sisters diverge as in Luke 10:38–42
21
εἶπεν οὖν ἡ Μάρθα πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν·independent — the first movement of the dialogue
Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδεconditional — second-class contrary-to-fact protasis — leans on the apodosis; Mary will repeat it word for word (v. 32)
οὐκ ἂν ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀδελφός μου.content — reproach that is also faith — his presence would have barred death
22
ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν οἶδαcontent — ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν — the lament turns forward
ὅτι ὅσα ἂν αἰτήσῃ τὸν θεόν, δώσει σοι ὁ θεός.content — open-ended trust — she does not name the resurrection she dares not ask for
23
λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the dialogue quickens
Ἀναστήσεται ὁ ἀδελφός σου.content — deliberately ambiguous future — last-day resurrection or this hour's resuscitation
24
λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ Μάρθα·independent — historic present — the orthodox reply
Οἶδαcontent — the formal confession-opener, repeated from v. 22
ὅτι ἀναστήσεται ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ.content — Dan 12:2 orthodoxy — the eschatological horizon Jesus is about to redraw
25
εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — the frame for the chapter's summit
Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή·content — the sixth predicate ἐγώ εἰμι — not the giver of resurrection but the resurrection in person
ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ,content — suspended subject (casus pendens) — resumed by ζήσεται
κἂν ἀποθάνῃ,conditional — concessive protasis (καὶ ἐάν) — physical death conceded as real, leaning on ζήσεται
ζήσεται·content — the future limb — death does not end the believer's life
26
καὶ πᾶς ὁ ζῶν καὶ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.content — the present limb — οὐ μή, the strongest denial: never unto the age (8:51; 10:28)
πιστεύεις τοῦτο;content — the declaration turned into a personal demand
27
λέγει αὐτῷ·independent — historic present — the confession
Ναί, κύριε·content — verbless assent before the credo
ἐγὼ πεπίστευκαcontent — emphatic ἐγώ + perfect — faith arrived at and standing
ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐρχόμενος.content — the triple title matching 20:31 almost verbatim — Martha speaks the Gospel's own purpose-statement
Mary and the weeping 11:28–37
vv. 28–32 — Mary summoned, followed, at his feet
28
Καὶ τοῦτο εἰποῦσαparticipial — preposed aorist participle — leans on ἀπῆλθεν
ἀπῆλθενindependent — Martha turns messenger
καὶ ἐφώνησεν Μαριὰμ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς λάθρᾳindependent — λάθρᾳ — out of the mourners' hearing; φωνέω, the Shepherd's calling-verb (10:3)
εἰποῦσα·participial — the speech-participle framing the summons
Ὁ διδάσκαλος πάρεστινcontent — ὁ διδάσκαλος — the intimates' title for Jesus (1:38; 20:16)
καὶ φωνεῖ σε.content — the personal summons — the sheep called by name
29
ἐκείνη δὲ ὡς ἤκουσεν,conditional — temporal ὡς (typed cnd) — leans on ἠγέρθη
ἠγέρθη ταχὺindependent — ἐγείρω — the rising-verb of the resurrection chapter, in miniature
καὶ ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτόν.independent — imperfect — Mary pictured in motion
30
οὔπω δὲ ἐληλύθει ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὴν κώμην,independent — narrator's spatial aside — pluperfect; the scene stays outside Bethany
ἀλλ᾿ ἦν ἔτι ἐν τῷ τόπῳindependent — the meeting-point held — so the mourners must follow Mary out
ὅπου ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ ἡ Μάρθα.relative — ὑπαντάω repeated from v. 20 — the same spot
31
οἱ οὖν Ἰουδαῖοι οἱ ὄντες μετ᾿ αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ καὶ παραμυθούμενοι αὐτήν,participial — the fronted subject with its attributive participles — leans on ἠκολούθησαν
ἰδόντες τὴν Μαριὰμparticipial — preposed participle with proleptic object — Mary drawn forward before the ὅτι clause
ὅτι ταχέως ἀνέστη καὶ ἐξῆλθεν,content — ἀνέστη: the ἀνάστασις-root echoing through the narrative
ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῇ,independent — the mourners trail Mary — providence assembling the witnesses
δόξαντεςparticipial — the mistaken inference — Johannine irony
ὅτι ὑπάγει εἰς τὸ μνημεῖονcontent — they misread her destination — and so arrive at the right one
ἵνα κλαύσῃ ἐκεῖ.purpose — κλαίω — audible wailing, the word soon set against Jesus' δακρύω (v. 35)
32
ἡ οὖν Μαριὰμ ὡς ἦλθενconditional — temporal ὡς (typed cnd) — leans on ἔπεσεν
ὅπου ἦν Ἰησοῦς,relative — the local relative
ἰδοῦσα αὐτὸνparticipial — preposed participle — the sight triggers the prostration; leans on ἔπεσεν
ἔπεσεν αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς πόδας,independent — Mary's gesture where Martha had words — at the feet she will anoint (12:3)
λέγουσα αὐτῷ·participial — the speech-participle
Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε,conditional — the sisters' shared protasis, verbatim from v. 21 — leans on the apodosis
οὐκ ἄν μου ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀδελφός.content — identical lament, but no v. 22 follows — Mary adds no forward-looking word, only weeping
vv. 33–37 — ἐνεβριμήσατο, ἐδάκρυσεν — and the crowd divided
33
Ἰησοῦς οὖν ὡς εἶδενconditional — temporal ὡς (typed cnd) — leans on ἐνεβριμήσατο
αὐτὴν κλαίουσανparticipial — supplementary participle — Mary's audible grief
καὶ τοὺς συνελθόντας αὐτῇ Ἰουδαίους κλαίοντας,participial — the mourners' κλαίειν mirroring hers — grief massed before him
ἐνεβριμήσατο τῷ πνεύματιindependent — the crux — ἐμβριμάομαι, primarily 'snort' in indignation: anger at death, at unbelief, or the surge before the miracle; left open
καὶ ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν,independent — reflexive ταράσσω — the verb of Jesus' pre-passion distress (12:27; 13:21), here willed upon himself
34
καὶ εἶπεν·independent — the emotion issues in movement toward the tomb
Ποῦ τεθείκατε αὐτόν;content — perfect τεθείκατε — laid and lying; the question moves the scene, not his knowledge
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ·independent — historic present
Κύριε, ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε.content — the 'come and see' of 1:39 reversed — now they invite him
35
ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς.independent — the shortest verse — ingressive aorist of δακρύω (NT hapax): silent tears breaking out, against the crowd's wailing κλαίω
36
ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι·independent — imperfect — the murmured commentary
Ἴδε πῶς ἐφίλει αὐτόν.content — the crowd reads the tears rightly as love — ἐφίλει, the sisters' own word (v. 3)
37
τινὲς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν εἶπαν·independent — the crowd divides — the skeptical minority
Οὐκ ἐδύνατο οὗτος ὁ ἀνοίξας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ τυφλοῦ ποιῆσαιcontent — the ch. 9 sign cited back — power conceded, its application questioned
ἵνα καὶ οὗτος μὴ ἀποθάνῃ;purpose — the question left hanging — the sign that follows is its answer
The tomb — Λάζαρε, δεῦρο ἔξω 11:38–44
vv. 38–40 — the stone and the objection
38
Ἰησοῦς οὖν πάλιν ἐμβριμώμενος ἐν ἑαυτῷparticipial — the crux resurges — πάλιν ἐμβριμώμενος, now ἐν ἑαυτῷ; the present participle leans on ἔρχεται
ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον·independent — historic present — the approach to the crisis
ἦν δὲ σπήλαιονindependent — narrator's aside — the rock-hewn chamber of Judean burial
καὶ λίθος ἐπέκειτο ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ.independent — the sealed entrance — the detail the command will address
39
λέγει ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the first command
Ἄρατε τὸν λίθον.content — bald aorist imperative — men must move the stone; only he can move the dead
λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ ἀδελφὴ τοῦ τετελευτηκότος Μάρθα·independent — the narrator re-names her by the perfect τετελευτηκότος — sister of the definitively dead
Κύριε, ἤδη ὄζει,content — ὄζω, NT hapax — the confessor of v. 27 recoils before decomposition
τεταρταῖος γάρ ἐστιν.cause — τεταρταῖος — the four days of v. 17 stated from inside the grief
40
λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the recall to faith
Οὐκ εἶπόν σοιcontent — rhetorical question — pointing back to v. 4 and vv. 25–26
ὅτι ἐὰν πιστεύσῃς ὄψῃ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ;content — faith before sight — the δόξα of v. 4 promised to the believing eye
vv. 41–44 — the thanksgiving, the cry, the grave-clothes
41
ἦραν οὖν τὸν λίθον.independent — the command obeyed — the condition met
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἦρεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἄνωindependent — the prayer-posture (cf. 17:1) — αἴρω twice in one verse: the stone lifted, the eyes lifted
καὶ εἶπεν·independent — the public prayer opens
Πάτερ, εὐχαριστῶ σοιcontent — thanksgiving, not petition — the answer already settled
ὅτι ἤκουσάς μου.cause — the aorist of a hearing already accomplished — before the miracle is performed
42
ἐγὼ δὲ ᾔδεινcontent — pluperfect of οἶδα — knowledge continuous and prior
ὅτι πάντοτέ μου ἀκούεις·content — the unbroken communion of Father and Son
ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον τὸν περιεστῶτα εἶπον,content — the prayer's didactic purpose owned aloud — spoken for the bystanders
ἵνα πιστεύσωσινpurpose — the sign's telos a third time (vv. 4, 15) — now for the crowd
ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας.content — the Johannine mission-formula (17:3, 8, 21) — the content of the faith sought
43
καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼνparticipial — preposed aorist participle — the prayer closed; leans on ἐκραύγασεν
φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκραύγασεν·independent — κραυγάζω + φωνῇ μεγάλῃ — the voice the dead will hear (5:28–29)
Λάζαρε, δεῦρο ἔξω.content — the dead man called by name (10:3) — Augustine: named, lest all the dead rise
44
ἐξῆλθεν ὁ τεθνηκὼςindependent — the miracle in three unadorned words — asyndeton; the perfect participle insists: the one who had died
δεδεμένος τοὺς πόδας καὶ τὰς χεῖρας κειρίαις,participial — κειρίαι, NT hapax — the burial verified on the living body
καὶ ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ σουδαρίῳ περιεδέδετο.independent — the σουδάριον — the same word for the cloth left folded in the empty tomb (20:7): Lazarus needs unbinding, Jesus will not
λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the closing command
Λύσατε αὐτὸνcontent — the community given its part — loosing what death had tied
καὶ ἄφετε αὐτὸν ὑπάγειν.content — restoration completed to ordinary life — ὑπάγειν, the going-verb, now Lazarus' own
The council and Caiaphas 11:45–53
vv. 45–48 — the sign divides; the Sanhedrin alarmed
45
Πολλοὶ οὖν ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, οἱ ἐλθόντες πρὸς τὴν Μαριὰμ καὶ θεασάμενοι ἃ ἐποίησεν,participial — the fronted subject with its identifying participles — θεάομαι, deliberate eyewitness seeing; leans on ἐπίστευσαν
ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν·independent — ingressive aorist — the sign achieves its stated telos (vv. 4, 15, 42)
46
τινὲς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπῆλθον πρὸς τοὺς Φαρισαίουςindependent — the same sign, the opposite response — the crowd splits as at v. 37
καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖςindependent — the report that convenes the council
ἃ ἐποίησεν Ἰησοῦς.relative — verbatim echo of v. 45 — faith and betrayal share one and the same content
47
Συνήγαγον οὖν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι συνέδριονindependent — the Sanhedrin assembled — priestly aristocracy and Pharisees in coalition
καὶ ἔλεγον·independent — deliberative imperfect — the hand-wringing in progress
Τί ποιοῦμεν,content — the helpless question — inaction confessed
ὅτι οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος πολλὰ σημεῖα ποιεῖ;cause — the signs conceded as real — the fear is political, not evidential
48
ἐὰν ἀφῶμεν αὐτὸν οὕτως,conditional — protasis inside the deliberation — leans on the apodosis; ἀφίημι, ironically Jesus' own release-word (v. 44)
πάντες πιστεύσουσιν εἰς αὐτόν,content — universal faith as the feared outcome — the Gospel's goal, dreaded
καὶ ἐλεύσονται οἱ Ῥωμαῖοιcontent — the Roman spectre — the irony: eliminating Jesus will not avert 70 CE
καὶ ἀροῦσιν ἡμῶν καὶ τὸν τόπον καὶ τὸ ἔθνος.content — ὁ τόπος = the Temple (Acts 6:13–14); αἴρω again — the stone-lifting verb turned to destruction
vv. 49–53 — the συμφέρει prophecy and the death-decree
49
εἷς δέ τις ἐξ αὐτῶν Καϊάφας, ἀρχιερεὺς ὢν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἐκείνου, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·independent — 'that year' — not an annual office (Caiaphas held it c. 18–36 CE) but that fateful year; the phrase returns at v. 51 and 18:13
Ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε οὐδέν,content — the contemptuous rebuke — the realist silences the hand-wringers
50
οὐδὲ λογίζεσθεcontent — λογίζομαι — cold political calculation
ὅτι συμφέρει ὑμῖνcontent — συμφέρει — the utilitarian principle the narrator will invert into atonement
ἵνα εἷς ἄνθρωπος ἀποθάνῃ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦcontent — ὑπέρ — spoken politically, heard theologically: the vicarious preposition (10:11; 15:13)
καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ ἔθνος ἀπόληται.content — ἀπόλλυμι — the μὴ ἀπόληται of 3:16 in a cynic's mouth
51
τοῦτο δὲ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ οὐκ εἶπεν,independent — narrator's aside begins — ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ, the Johannine formula for speech not self-originated (7:28; 14:10)
ἀλλὰ ἀρχιερεὺς ὢν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἐκείνου ἐπροφήτευσενindependent — unwitting prophecy — the office carries the oracle (cf. Philo, Spec. Leg. 4.191); the plotter becomes God's mouthpiece
ὅτι ἔμελλεν Ἰησοῦς ἀποθνήσκειν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἔθνους,content — ἔμελλεν — divine necessity; the political ὑπέρ re-read as substitution
52
καὶ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἔθνους μόνον,content — the narrator widens the scope — elliptical, still under the prophecy
ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ διεσκορπισμένα συναγάγῃ εἰς ἕν.purpose — Ezek 34; 37 universalized — the ingathering εἰς ἕν anticipates 10:16 and the unity prayer of ch. 17
53
ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνης οὖν τῆς ἡμέρας ἐβουλεύσαντοindependent — the point of no return — the formal resolution that makes the passion inevitable
ἵνα ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτόν.purpose — the intent of 5:18; 7:1 now official policy — the life-sign has sealed the death-decree
Withdrawal to Ephraim — the Passover watch 11:54–57
54
Ὁ οὖν Ἰησοῦς οὐκέτι παρρησίᾳ περιεπάτει ἐν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις,independent — παρρησίᾳ again (v. 14) — the open phase suspended; the daylight parable (vv. 9–10) enacted in retreat
ἀλλὰ ἀπῆλθεν ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὴν χώραν ἐγγὺς τῆς ἐρήμου, εἰς Ἐφραὶμ λεγομένην πόλιν,independent — Ephraim — likely et-Taiyibeh near Bethel, only here in the NT; the wilderness edge
κἀκεῖ ἔμεινεν μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν.independent — μένω — the abiding-verb; the strategic stay echoes the two-day ἔμεινεν of v. 6
55
Ἦν δὲ ἐγγὺς τὸ πάσχα τῶν Ἰουδαίων,independent — the third Johannine Passover (2:13; 6:4) — the one at which he will die; ἐγγύς echoes v. 18
καὶ ἀνέβησαν πολλοὶ εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἐκ τῆς χώρας πρὸ τοῦ πάσχαindependent — ἀναβαίνω — the pilgrimage verb; the early arrivals
ἵνα ἁγνίσωσιν ἑαυτούς.purpose — pre-feast ritual purification (Num 9:10–11) — purity sought while the death-plot stands
56
ἐζήτουν οὖν τὸν Ἰησοῦνindependent — iterative imperfect — ζητέω, the seeking-verb of both pilgrims and police (v. 8)
καὶ ἔλεγον μετ᾿ ἀλλήλων ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἑστηκότες·independent — the murmuring pilgrims in the temple courts — the scene of speculation
Τί δοκεῖ ὑμῖν;content — the deliberative opener
ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἔλθῃ εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν;content — emphatic οὐ μή — the expectation shaped by the warrant of v. 57; ch. 12 answers it
57
δεδώκεισαν δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἐντολὴνindependent — narrator's closing aside — pluperfect: the warrant already standing behind v. 56's fear
ἵνα ἐάν τις γνῷ ποῦ ἐστιν μηνύσῃ,content — μηνύω — informant language; ἐντολή, elsewhere the word for the Father's commandments, here a police order
ὅπως πιάσωσιν αὐτόν.purpose — πιάζω — the arrest-verb that failed at 7:30, 44; 10:39; the chapter of life ends with Jesus hunted
Analysis. John 11 is the seventh and climactic sign, and the layout shows a narrative spine repeatedly interrupted by speech and by the narrator. The mainline runs flush left in short strokes — the sisters send, Jesus stays, Jesus comes, Martha goes out, Mary falls, the stone is lifted, the dead man comes out — with John's historic presents (λέγει, λέγουσιν, ἔρχεται) flagged as they quicken the pace, and the two-word ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς (v. 35) standing alone at depth 0: δακρύω, the onset of silent tears, tagged against the audible κλαίω of Mary and the crowd. Speech hangs blue beneath its verbs of saying, and inside speech the chapter's conditionals lean forward, anchorless, on their apodoses: the daylight parable's twin ἐάν-protases (vv. 9–10), the disciples' εἰ κεκοίμηται (v. 12), the sisters' word-for-word shared reproach Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε (vv. 21, 32), and the concessive κἂν ἀποθάνῃ folded inside the great declaration. That declaration — Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή (v. 25), the sixth predicate 'I am' — anchors the chapter's summit, answered by Martha's triple-title confession (v. 27) that matches 20:31 almost verbatim; the layout keeps her confession, not the miracle, as the theological high point before the sign. The narrator's asides sit on the mainline as flush-left comment, each tagged: Mary identified proleptically by an anointing not yet narrated (v. 2), Jesus' love stated precisely before the scandalous two-day delay (vv. 5–6), the sleep/death decoding (v. 13), the geography that supplies the witnesses (vv. 18, 30), and above all vv. 51–52, where Caiaphas' cynical συμφέρει counsel is re-read as unwitting prophecy — one man dying ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἔθνους, and not for the nation only. Cruxes the layout names rather than settles: ἐνεβριμήσατο τῷ πνεύματι and πάλιν ἐμβριμώμενος ἐν ἑαυτῷ (vv. 33, 38) are glossed 'deeply moved' but tagged with the verb's harder register of snorting indignation — anger at death, at unbelief, or the surge of authority before the miracle, left open; ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν is tied to the pre-passion ταράσσω texts (12:27; 13:21); 'high priest that year' (vv. 49, 51) is read as 'that fateful year,' not an annual office; and the closing arrest-warrant (v. 57) is left hanging over the Passover pilgrims' question, the sign of life having set the machinery of death in motion.