Friends of Lazarus came for his funeral. The event was not like ours only lasting a couple of hours. The funerals of that day lasted for days. The mourners knew Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days, because they had been part of the burial process. So when they saw Lazarus come hopping out of that tomb, they believed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah (John 11:45).
Some of them went immediately to the Pharisees to tell them what Jesus had done. Perhaps they thought the Pharisees had to believe if they knew what had happened. But the Pharisees were more interested in their political positions of power and Jesus was getting in their way. They decided to get serious about having him murdered (John 11:48, 53).
The people needed a savior, but the Pharisees needed the approval of the Romans. So the needs of the people to whom they were responsible to minister were easily set aside in favor of maintaining power.
It is a good reminder to examine our own motives in our service to others.
