Bible Strands
John 11:28
After Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside to tell her, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Martha addresses her sister Mary immediately after her confession in John 11:27, before Jesus physically arrives in John 11:29. She leaves her current location to retrieve Mary and deliver a message about the Teacher's presence.
The words — ἀπῆλθεν (apēlthen) denotes a completed turning back or departure, while ἐφώνησεν (ephōnēsen) indicates a deliberate, authoritative calling. These verbs structure Martha's movement from private dialogue to public summons.
The thread — The pattern of leaving a location to meet Jesus mirrors John 11:20, and the title "Teacher" aligns with Jesus' self-identification in John 13:13. The urgent response to a divine summons parallels the call in Mark 10:49.
Why it lands — The text requires a shift from verbal acknowledgment to immediate physical response. It demands that readers recognize a personal summons and act without hesitation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
Cross-references
- John 13:13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
- Mark 10:49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man. “Take courage!” they said. “Get up! He is calling for you.”
- John 11:20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.
- John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
- 1 Thessalonians 4:17 After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
- Song of Solomon 2:8 Listen! My beloved approaches. Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.
- Zechariah 3:10 On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.’”
- Matthew 26:18 He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.’”
- Mark 14:14 and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’
- Luke 10:38 As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.