John 11:12
“The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.””
What does John 11:12 mean?
The disciples are trying to convince Jesus not to go back to Judea, where people have recently threatened his life. When Jesus tells them that his friend Lazarus has "fallen asleep," they take him literally, thinking Lazarus just needs rest to get better, so there's no urgent reason to make a dangerous journey. Their logic is understandable: sleep is healing, and a sleeping person who recovers is no tragedy at all. Of course, Jesus meant something far different. He was speaking of death in the gentle language people often used back then, but the disciples completely missed his meaning, revealing how much they still had to learn about recognizing what Jesus was truly saying.