publicly, for the benefit of this crowd of people standing by the grave, in order that they may see and believe for the last time that I do no miracle without Thee, and that I am the Messiah whom Thou hast sent into the world. I would have them pub- licly hear Me declare that I work this last great work as Thy Sent One, and as a last evidence that I am the Christ."
I cannot but think there is a deep meaning about the expression, " Thou hearest Me alway." (Compare John v. 30.) But I admit the difficulty of the phrase and would speak with diffidence.
It is impossible to imagine a more thorough open challenge to the attention of the Jews, than the language which preceded the raising of Lazarus. Before doing this stupendous work, our Lord proclaims that He is doing and speaking as He does to sup- ply a proof that the Father sent and commissioned Him as the Christ. Was He the " Sent One," or not? This, we must always remember, was the great question, of which He undertook to give proof. The Jews, moreover, said that He did His miracles by Beelzebub : let them hear that He did all by the power of God.
Bullinger remarks that our Lord seems to say, "The Jews do not all understand that union and communion between Me and Thee, by which we are of the same will, power, and substance. Some of them even think that I work by the power of the devil. Therefore that all may believe that I come from Thee, am sent by Thee, am Thy Son, equal to Thee, light of light, very God of very God, I use expressions of this sort."
Poole remarks: "There is a great difference between God's hearing of Christ and hearing us. Christ a*id His Father have one essence, one nature, and one will."
The following miracles were wrought by Christ without audi- ble prayer, and with only an authoritative word, Matt. viii. 3 ; ix. 6 ; Mark v. 41 ; ix. 25 ; Luke vii. 14.
Wordsworth observes : " Christ prayed to show that He was not against God, nor God against Him, and that what He did was done with God's approval."
43.— [And ivhen... cried.. .come forth.'] In this verse we have the last and crowning stage of the miracle. Attention was concentrated on the grave and our Lord. The crowd looked on with breath- less expectation ; and then, while they looked, having secured their attention, our Lord bids Lazarus come forth out of the grave. The Greek word for " He cried," is only in this place applied to any voice or utterance of our Lord. In Matt. xii. 19, it is used, where it is said of our Lord, " He shall no\ cry." Here it is evi- dent that He purposely used a very loud, piercing cry, that all around might hear and take notice.
Theophylact thinks that Jesus "cried aloud to contradict the Gentile fable that the soul remained in the tomb with the body. Therefore the soul of Lazarus is called to as if it were absent,