THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN - Chapter 11 - Verse 12

Verse 12. If he sleep, he shall do well. Sleep was regarded by the Jews, in sickness, as a favourable symptom; hence it was said among them, "Sleep in sickness is a sign of recovery, because it shows that the violence of the disease has abated" (Lightfoot.) This seems to have been the meaning of the disciples. They intimated that if had this symptom, there was no need of his going into Judea to restore him.