Commentary on the Gospel According to John John Calvin (continued)
John Calvin whole course of their life is accursed by God, and vengeance is always ready to punish their presumption and their blind passions. Again, Christ here divides the day into twelve hours, according to ancient custom; for though the days are longer in summer and shorter in winter, 311 yet they had always twelve hours of the day, and twelve of the night.
John 11:11-17
John 11:11-17
11. He spoke these things, and after this he saith to them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him. 12. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleepeth, he will recover. 13. Now Jesus spoke of his death; but they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep. 14. Then Jesus, therefore, said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15. And I rejoice, on your account, that I was not there, that you may believe. But let us go to him. 16. Then Thomas, who is called Didymus, 312 said to his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 17. Jesus therefore came, and found that he had been already four days in the tomb.
11. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. Having formerly asserted that the disease was not deadly, that his disciples may not be too much distressed at seeing what they did not expect, he now informs them also that Lazarus is dead, and excites a hope of his resurrection. It is a proof of amazing ignorance, that they believe that Christ spoke about sleep; for, though it is a metaphorical form of expression, still it is so frequent and common in Scripture, that it ought to have been familiarly known to all the Jews.
12. If he sleepeth, he will recover. 313 Replying that sleep will have a salutary effect on Lazarus, they thus endeavor indirectly to dissuade Christ from going thither. And yet they do not craftily or deceitfully turn aside Christ's words to suit their own purpose, on the pretense of not understanding what he said; 314 but, thinking that he spoke about sleep, they gladly seize this opportunity of avoiding danger. Augustine, and many writers since his time, speculate about the word sleep, alleging that the reason why it is applied to death is, because it is as easy for God to raise the dead to life, as it is for us to perform the customary act of awaking those who are asleep. But that nothing of this sort came into the mind of Christ, may be inferred from the constant use of the term in Scripture; and since even profane writers usually apply this word Sleep to Death, 315 there was unquestionably no other reason why it came into use, but because a lifeless corpse lies without feeling, just as the body of a man who is in a profound sleep. Hence, also, sleep is not
311"Combien que les jours soyent plus grands en este, et plus petits en hyver." 312"Adonc Thomas, qui est a dire Gemeau;" — "then Thomas, which means Twin." 313"Il sera guairi." 314"Comme faisans semblant de n'entendre point ce que Christ dit." 315"Et mesmers veu que les autheurs profanes transferent coustumierement ce mot de Dormir a la Mort."