The Meaning of John 11:32 Explained

John 11:32

KJV: Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

YLT: Mary, therefore, when she came where Jesus was, having seen him, fell at his feet, saying to him, 'Sir, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died;'

Darby: Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, seeing him, fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

ASV: Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then  when  Mary  was come  where  Jesus  was,  and saw  him,  she fell down  at  his  feet,  saying  unto him,  Lord,  if  thou hadst been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died. 

What does John 11:32 Mean?

Context Summary

John 11:28-35 - The Sympathy Of Jesus
It is not to be wondered at that the sisters and their friends wept as they stood beside the grave; but why did Jesus weep? He knew what He had come to do. He had come for the express purpose of turning their tears into joy. He wept for human frailty-that man's life is an handbreadth and his years as a tale that is told. He wept in sympathy with human sorrow, because He realized that the scene in which He was taking part was a sample of myriads more. He groaned, as in John 11:33, r.v., as He beheld the evidences of death's grim power. Death had entered the world with man's sin, and Jesus felt the wrongfulness of Satan's usurpation. The anarchy that had invaded human life stirred His soul to its lowest depths. The wrong under which man bled wrought in Him an anger which was without sin. He still stands among our groups of mourners, touched with the feeling of their sorrow, but they are not tears of weak sentiment, but of a noble pathos that hastens to help with a divine sufficiency. It has also been suggested that Jesus wept because He was calling a soul back from the land of glory to sojourn once more in the garments of mortality. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 11

1  Jesus raises Lazarus, four days buried
45  Many Jews believe
47  The high priests and Pharisees gather a council against Jesus
49  Caiaphas prophesies
54  Jesus hides himself
55  At the Passover they enquire after him, and lay wait for him

Greek Commentary for John 11:32

Fell down at his feet [επεσεν αυτου προς τους ποδας]
Second aorist active of πιπτω — piptō to fall. Note unusual position of αυτου — autou This impulsive act like Mary. She said precisely what Martha had said to Jesus (John 11:21). But she said no more, only wept (John 11:33). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 11:32

John 11:15 That I was not there []
Bengel's comment is beautiful and characteristic. “It accords beautifully with divine propriety that we read of no one having died while the Prince of life was present. If you suppose that death could not, in the presence of Jesus, have assailed Lazarus, the language of the two sisters, John 11:21, John 11:32, attains loftier meaning; and the Lord's joy at His own absence is explained.” [source]
John 11:21 Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died [Κυριε ει ης ωδε ουκ αν απετανεν ο αδελπος μου]
Condition of the second class with ης — ei and the imperfect ειμι — ēs (no aorist of αν — eimi to be) in the condition and αποτνησκω — an with the second aorist active indicative of ης — apothnēskō Mary (John 11:32) uses these identical words to Jesus. Clearly they had said so to each other with wistful longing if not with a bit of reproach for his delay. But they used ηλτες — ēs not εγενου — ēlthes or egenou But busy, practical Martha comes to the point. [source]
John 11:37 Could not this man [ουκ εδυνατο ουτος]
Imperfect middle of δυναμαι — dunamai They do not say δυναται — dunatai (can, present middle indicative). But clearly the opening of the blind man‘s eyes (chapter 9) had made a lasting impression on some of these Jews, for it was done three months ago. Have caused that this man also should not die First aorist active infinitive of ποιεω — poieō with ινα — hina like the Latin facere ut (sub-final use, Robertson, Grammar, p. 985), with the second aorist active subjunctive αποτανηι — apothanēi and negative μη — mē These Jews share the view expressed by Martha (John 11:21) and Mary (John 11:32) that Jesus could have prevented the death of Lazarus. [source]
John 4:49 Sir [Κυριε]
See John 1:38. Come down Second aorist active imperative, tense and tone of urgency. Ερε μψ χιλδ διε — Ere my child die Regular idiom with πριν — prin in positive clause, second aorist active infinitive of αποτνησκω — apothnēskō and accusative of general reference, “before dying as to my child.” Bengel notes that he only thought Jesus had power before death as even Martha and Mary felt at first (John 11:21, John 11:32). But the father‘s heart goes out to Jesus. [source]

What do the individual words in John 11:32 mean?

- Therefore Mary when she came to where was Jesus having seen Him fell of Him at the feet saying to Him Lord if You had been here not - of me would have died the brother
οὖν Μαριὰμ ὡς ἦλθεν ὅπου ἦν Ἰησοῦς ἰδοῦσα αὐτὸν ἔπεσεν αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς πόδας λέγουσα αὐτῷ Κύριε εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἄν μου ἀπέθανεν ἀδελφός

  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Μαριὰμ  Mary 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: Μαρία 
Sense: Mary the mother of Jesus.
ἦλθεν  she  came 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ὅπου  to  where 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὅπου  
Sense: where, whereas.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
ἰδοῦσα  having  seen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
ἔπεσεν  fell 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: πίπτω 
Sense: to descend from a higher place to a lower.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
πρὸς  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: πρός  
Sense: to the advantage of.
πόδας  feet 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: πούς  
Sense: a foot, both of men or beast.
λέγουσα  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
αὐτῷ  to  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Κύριε  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
ἦς  You  had  been 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ὧδε  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὧδε  
Sense: here, to this place, etc.
ἄν  - 
Parse: Particle
Root: ἄν  
Sense: has no exact English equivalent, see definitions under AV.
μου  of  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
ἀπέθανεν  would  have  died 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀποθνῄσκω  
Sense: to die.
ἀδελφός  brother 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.