After two days Jesus says let’s go back to Judea. Once again we have no window into a period of time in Jesus’s life. What’s going on? Is he teaching lessons? Resting? Playing cards? All we get is this enigmatic announcement. He might have said nothing for two straight days for all we know and now he stands up and says “let’s go.” Is it significant that he doesn’t initially tell them the exact destination but only says Judea? Maybe. Probably. Judea is dangerous, going there to raise a man from the dead is ridiculous. I could see how God might be getting them moving before he unloads the Lazarus bit. It’s hard to keep in mind on this side of events how scary and disorienting it would be to follow a man who incites so much hatred that people want to kill him. The disciples were probably enjoying their respite away from stuff like that. It’s no wonder the first thing they think about is their own skin (they remind Jesus about his skin but it’s the same thing). They aren’t worried about Lazarus dying they’re worried about dying themselves, and not from illness but from violence.
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