This is the 3rd recorded resurrection done by Jesus:

a.  Jairus' daughter,
b.  Son of a widow from Nain, and
c.  Lazarus of our text.

Neither of the previous 2 had been buried, and certainly not for 4 days. This miracle will destroy the Sadducees' Resurrection Doctrine (unbelief). Also another teaching of theirs that they will be unable to employ to question the validity of this resurrection is that the spirit remained within the body's vicinity for 3 days before finally departing, hence Jesus waited 4 days for undeniable proof of Lazarus' death. In addition, with the many from Jerusalem present at his death and subsequent burial, people from the class of their rulers, there can be no refuting their witness. Therefore, there can be no question that this is His greatest work to date. Whether the family knew of the earlier resurrections for their own present hope, it is not known.

As seen here, Jesus is clearly:

a.  In CONTROL of the Crowd,
b.  In COMMAND of His Full Faculties,
c.  In COMMUNION with The Father, and
d.  In CONTACT with and CONTROL of His Creation.

This is not an act of a man who has succumbed to the emotional pressures of a grieving crowd, nor is it the work of a "Samaritan with a devil," as accused.

And John is saying, this is also not the "spirit Christ" of the Gnostic belief standing at this dead man's tomb as an apparitional aeon. This is both the Son of man whose spirit groaned within Him, weeping real human tears, and the Son of God who composed Himself to command His creation. He is the Word made Flesh, who both feels the pain of humans as human, and possesses and performs the power of God as God, in order to lift all from their human suffering to a restored intimacy with God and with each other. He is the Resurrection and Life!

Jesus now does in time (on earth) what He has already seen the Father do in Heaven, which reveals that His statement of 11:41, "HAST HEARD ME," indicates an earlier Heavenly consultation and commission.

Death cringes and relinquishes control over its captive at the very command of Christ.

NOTICE:
He doesn't have to perform a side show, do a dance, burn incense, chant some unintelligible utterance, or follow some mysterious mystic ritual before death will release its clutches and give up its prize. He simply voices: "COME FORTH," or, deuro exo in Greek meaning, "HITHER OUT!" Or in today's parental English, "OUT HERE!" -- and they come without hesitation. It is a command of complete authority, demanding exact obedience without the possibility of refusal. No verbs, only 2 adverbs: both parties know exactly what He means and nothing can be lost in interpreting the command through misunderstood action words. It is like saying to a child: "You," pointing to them, "here," pointing to the spot directly in front of you. Even in this instance, the meaning would be clear to one who did not even speak the same language, or had not yet learned to talk.

Both death and the crowd are arrested at the power of His command. They stand frozen in fright and amazement, waiting as a soldier awaits his next command from his company commander. He has to speak to them for Lazarus to be loosed. What a scene! What power! The words of an earlier scene come to mind: "Never a man spake with such power [authority]." ( Mt.28:18; Lk.4:35-36)

As in all previous captive performances, again the crowd becomes divided. The Light continues to separate the believer from the non-believer, with polarization of good and evil continuing to occur.

Here are the remnants of 7:25-26 who will always follow what others will think before deciding for themselves about Christ. Their descendants live even today. It could be argued that these, in reporting this extraordinary miracle, could be expecting to give sufficient evidence for the Pharisees to at last accept Him as their Messiah, thus sanctioning the way for them as well. To me, highly unlikely. A picture I see in His performing this climatic miracle, is the final gleaning of His own people before ending His public ministry in 11:54. (The Gentiles will later seek audience with Him.) This was not the first witness given by Jesus for their salvation, but it will be His last. He had been in Jerusalem many times before and they had not believed, but now some finally are won.

The 12th hour of that day had almost passed, and now, today, the clock has come almost full circle once again. There is, for the moment, hope to one who will believe, but no promise of when your clock, as theirs, will strike that deafening toll: "TOO LATE!"

The die had already been cast. This was their final insult. Their power and prestige was at stake. Oh that they would have learned the lesson of their ancient respected king (Hezekiah), to have been in position to recognize their final expected One, but they could not see the lessons of their past because of their present fear of losing their prestigious power (as is common to man in any day). It must be preserved at all cost. Blinded to the truth by their own pride and ambitions, they will not see to turn from their deadly course. They will choose Caesar over this rightful One. He must die; He will die!

The Council (Sanhedrin) is finally called for the official deliberation of His condemnation. Before, they acted in haste to attempt to stone Him; now they will coldly and methodically plot His death and He will finally be betrayed by one of His own followers. (5:8; 7:1,19,32,44; 8:40,59; 10:31,39) No greater conspiracy has ever been perpetrated by man upon another than upon this Man.

We are made for His glory no matter how it may be accomplished, even in our own suffering. Remember, God's will always in our lives is to whichever end He will receive the greater glory. Learn this lesson well for daily living and decision making, for this is the expressed purpose for which Jesus lived -- "Thy Will Be Done." So, when faced with, on the one hand, those tough choices, or on the other, those most often residing in the gray areas of our lives, ask yourself these series of questions:

a.  Does this glorify myself or another,
b.  Does this glorify myself or God,
c.  Does this glorify only God, and if all the choices in this question do, then
d.  Which glorifies God the greatest?

In this matter, God is usually pretty certain and identifies it most clearly for the person. What remains then is to do what is clearly shown. This is one of the best ways of discerning God's will. Obviously, it is seen that one must have a good theology and understanding of God's nature and previous revelation to biblical man, therefore, a sound background in His Word goes a long way! Immerse yourself within its pages, and there you will find the mind of God, as much as anyone may know it in one's present state.