Some very interesting commentary in the death of Lazarus and the response of Thomas from various sources.
Here is the text.
John 11:1-16
11:1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 11:2And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 11:3The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 11:4But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby. 11:5Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 11:6When therefore he heard that he was sick, he abode at that time two days in the place where he was. 11:7Then after this he saith to the disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 11:8The disciples say unto him, Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? 11:9Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 11:10But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him. 11:11These things spake he: and after this he saith unto them Our friend Lazarus is fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 11:12The disciples therefore said unto him, Lord, if he is fallen asleep, he will recover. 11:13Now Jesus had spoken of his death: but they thought that he spake of taking rest in sleep. 11:14Then Jesus therefore said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 11:15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. 11:16Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said unto his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
What Various Commentary Authors Have To Say
Realizing that Jesus was determined to go back to Jerusalem, Thomas was ready to return with Him. I admire his love, but I can't say much for his faith: His love was so strong, he was willing to die for Jesus, but his faith was so weak, he was sure he would. Thomas had great devotion, but little faith. - John MacArthur
you remember they said, "Lord, why do you want to go back there? The last time you were there they tried to stone you." And he's probably saying, "Lord, it's fool-hardy for you to go back there. They're going to kill you." And so, he's saying, "Well, if He wants to go back, well, let's all go back and die with Him." In other words, "We're heading towards our death," in a sense.- Chuck Smith
Thomas means. Lazarus is already dead and they will kill Jesus (verse 8). Pessimistic courage surely. - A. T. Robertson
We read that when Thomas saw that Lazarus was dead, and that Jesus was determined, in spite of all danger, to return into Judea, he said, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." There can only be one meaning in that expression--it was the language of a despairing and desponding mind, which could see nothing but dark clouds in the picture. The very man who afterwards could not believe that his Master had risen again, and thought the news too good to be true, is just the one of the twelve who thinks that if they go back to Judea they must all die! - J C Ryle
Jesus then challenges His disciples to accompany Him as He “goes to Lazarus”205 (verse 15). We would expect Peter to be the spokesman for the disciples here, rather than “doubting Thomas” (see 20:24-28). Some have speculated that Peter is not present at this time. I am inclined to think that it is precisely because Thomas is the biggest doubter of the bunch that his words are reported here, rather than those of Peter. Peter is always the first to “step out” in action, as he does when attempting to “walk on the sea” (see Matthew 14:28-33). The words of Thomas are not, in my opinion, evidence of great faith on his part, but are words of resignation. He reluctantly agrees to accompany Jesus to Judea and urges his fellow-disciples to do likewise. I doubt that Thomas really believed they would all die, but is simply protesting taking such a risk. But if “doubting Thomas” is willing to accompany Jesus, who of the other disciples is going to raise a word in protest? If Thomas can make this trip, then anyone can. And so they do. - Bob Deffinbaugh
"Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). No wonder that he said this to his fellow-disciples rather than to the Lord. Very melancholy was his utterance. Thomas was a man who looked on the dark side of things. Lazarus is dead, Christ is going to die, let us go and die too! And this, after the Lord had said, "I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep" (John 11:11)! How difficult is it for man to enter into the thoughts of God! Christ was going to Bethany to give life. Thomas speaks only of dying. Evident is it that he had quite failed to understand what Christ had said in John 11:9. How much of unbelief there is even in a believer! And yet we must not overlook the spirit of devotion which Thomas’ words breathed: Thomas had rather die than be separated from the Savior; Though he was lacking in intelligence, he was deeply attached to the person of the Lord Jesus - A. W. Pink
let us also go, that we may die with him;
either with Lazarus, as some think, or rather with Christ; for he, and the rest of the disciples, imagined that Christ, by returning to Judea, would be in great danger of losing his life; yea, by this expression they seem to be positive in it, that it was a matter out of question with them, that he would die, should be venture there again: and therefore Thomas stirs up his fellow disciples to go along with him, and die altogether; signifying, that they should have but little comfort when he was taken from them: but both Thomas, and the rest, were differently minded, when Christ was apprehended, for they all forsook him and fled, and provided for their own safety, and left him to die alone, (Matthew 26:56) - John Gill
Let us also go, that we may die with him. That is, die with Christ. See John 11:8. They could not die with Lazarus, as some have foolishly supposed, for he was already dead. This mention of Thomas is closely connected with the thought in John 11:15. Jesus was about to work a miracle for the express purpose of inducing his disciples to believe in him, especially as to his power over death. In this despairing speech Thomas shows how little faith he had in Christ's ability to cope with death. Thomas sadly needed to witness the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, and even after seeing it, it proved insufficient to sustain his faith in the ordeal through which he was about to pass (John 20:25-29). - J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentary on John 11
