Just as Nicodemus (John 3:4) and the woman (4:11) misunderstood Jesus, so now His disciples take Him literally when He is speaking figuratively (11:12).

In another example of Jesus' perfect knowledge, Jesus knows Lazarus is dead (v. 14), but refers to him as being asleep (v. 11). He also refers to the little 12-year-old girl in Mark 5:39 as being asleep, even though the mourners had arrived and knew a dead body when they saw one.

Lazarus was certainly dead. When Jesus arrives at Bethany, he had been dead for four days (John 11:39). However, the Christian conviction about death is that it is temporary. The English word for a burial place, cemetery, literally means ″a place of sleep″. Death is as temporary as sleep. All will be raised from the dead at the general resurrection, to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

For those trusting in Jesus, death will be followed by an intermediate state, more present with the Lord than now (Philippians 1:21) and yet not final, for we will receive our glorified bodies at the second coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16). When we accompany Christ at His return, we will receive our new resurrection bodies. His resurrection is the guarantee of our own (Acts 17:31; 1 Corinthians 15:20).

Lazarus has died and Jesus says He is glad He wasn't there when Lazarus died (vv. 14-15). Jesus knows that what He is about to do will bring glory to God (v. 4). Now He is glad for the sake of the disciples, ″that you may believe″ (see John 11:42, 45, 48). They already believe, but their faith will now have a content and depth which it did not have before.

Thomas, unusually, takes the lead and his gloomy words (v. 16) are prophetic. The way to life is via death (see John 12:24).