Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 11:48
If we let him thus alone, all [men] will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
48. the Romans will come ] They do not inquire whether He is or is not the Messiah; they look solely to the consequences of admitting that He is. “The Sanhedrin, especially the Pharisaic section of it, was a national and patriotic body. It was the inheritor and guardian of the Rabbinical theories as to the Messiah. There can have been no class in the nation in which these were so inveterately ingrained, and therefore none that was so little accessible to the teaching of Jesus. It was from first to last unintelligible to them. It seemed to abandon all the national hopes and privileges, and to make it a sin to defend them. If it were successful, it seemed as if it must leave the field open to the Romans It is rarely in ancient literature that we find a highly complicated situation so well understood and described.” S. pp. 188, 189. This last remark is eminently true of the whole narrative portion of the Fourth Gospel.
our place and nation ] ‘Our’ is very emphatic; both our place and our nation. ‘Place’ is perhaps best understood of Jerusalem, the seat of the Sanhedrin, and the abode of the bulk of the hierarchy. Other interpretations are (1) the Temple, comp. 2Ma 5:19 ; (2) the whole land; so that the expression means ‘our land and people,’ which is illogical: the land may be taken from the people, or the people from the land, but how can both be taken away? (3) ‘position, raison d’tre.’ In any case the sentiment is parallel to that of Demetrius, and his fellow-craftsmen (Act 19:27). They profess to be very zealous for religion, but cannot conceal their interested motives.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
All men – That is, all men among the Jews. The whole nation.
And the Romans shall come – They were then subject to the Romans – tributary and dependent. Whatever privileges they had they held at the will of the Roman emperor. They believed, or feigned to believe, that Jesus was intending to set up a temporal kingdom. As he claimed to be the Messiah, so they supposed, of course, that he designed to be a temporal prince, and they professed to believe that this claim was, in fact, hostility to the Roman emperor. They supposed that it would involve the nation in war if he was not arrested, and that the effect would be that they would be vanquished and destroyed. It was on this charge that they at last arraigned him before Pilate, Luk 23:2-3.
Will take away – This expression means to destroy, to ruin, to overthrow, Luk 8:12; Act 6:13-14.
Our place – This probably refers to the temple, Act 6:13-14. It was called the place by way of eminence, as being the chief or principal place on earth – being the seat of the special worship of God. This place was utterly destroyed by the Romans. See the notes at Matt. 24.
And nation – The nation or people of the Jews.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 48. All men will believe on him] If we permit him to work but a few more miracles like these two last (the cure of the blind man, and the resurrection of Lazarus) he will be universally acknowledged for the Messiah; the people will proclaim him king; and the Romans, who can suffer no government here but their own, will be so irritated that they will send their armies against us, and destroy our temple, and utterly dissolve our civil and ecclesiastical existence. Thus, under the pretense of the public good, these men of blood hide their hatred against Christ, and resolve to put him to death. To get the people on their side, they must give the alarm of destruction to the nation: if this man be permitted to live, we shall be all destroyed! Their former weapons will not now avail. On the subject of keeping the Sabbath, they had been already confounded; and his last miracles were so incontestable that they could no longer cry out, He is a deceiver.
Both our place and nation.] Literally, this place, : but that the temple only is understood is dear from Ac 6:13-14; 2 Macc. 1:14; 2:18; 3:18; 5:16, 17; 10:7; where it is uniformly called the place, or the holy place, because they considered it the most glorious and excellent place in the world. When men act in opposition to God’s counsel, the very evils which they expect thereby to avoid will come upon them. They said, If we do not put Jesus to death, the Romans will destroy both our temple and nation. Now, it was because they put him to death that the Romans burnt and razed their temple to the ground, and put a final period to their political existence. See Mt 22:7; and the notes on chap. 24.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They are afraid, that if they should any longer suffer Christ to go on working miracles, he would have a great many followers, who upon the credit of his miracles would own him as the Messiah, and the effect and consequence of this would be, they should by the Romans (to whom they were already in subjection) be utterly deprived of that little liberty they indulged them. They say, the Romans would come (that is with an army) and destroy their temple, which they call their
place, their most famous place, where they met to worship God, and in which, as a token of Gods presence amongst them, they so much alerted; yea, and their
nation; that is, miserably destroy their nation, and bring it to utter ruin. Whether they really thought so or no, or only spake this as an argument to hasten the death of Christ, is not much material for us to know. There was this colour for it, the Jews were a people very prone upon all occasions to rebel, and rise up in the defence of their liberties, whenever they could get any head, to give them any countenance and conduct. They also lived in a general expectation of the Messiah, when the sceptre should be departed from Judah, (as it now was), and when Daniels seventy weeks, mentioned Joh 9:24, should be determined, which were now fulfilled; so as there was about this time a general expectation of the Messiah; of whom also it is apparent they had a false notion, and generally expected under the notion of the Messiah, not the Son of God taking human nature, and to die for their redemption, and then rise again from the dead, and ascend into heaven; but a temporal prince, who, conquering all their enemies, should deliver them from all captivities and servitudes, and restore them to their ancient liberties. This their expectation was known well enough to the Roman governors, (as appeareth by Herods question to the wise men in Mat 2:4), and they were very jealous of the Jews on this account, which caused Herods bloody act in killing the children in and about Bethlehem. So as the rulers of the Jews (according to the notion they had of the Messiah) might reasonably think, that if Jesus were taken to be the Messiah, and he went on confirming the opinion of himself by these miracles, so as people generally ran after him, the Romans would reasonably suppose they had a design to rebel, and therefore would come upon them, destroy their temple, and utterly ruin their nation. But how will they avoid this? That which they agreed upon we shall meet with Joh 11:53, they took counsel to put him to death. How they were led on to that fatal counsel we shall hear.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
If we let him thus alone,…. Going about from place to place, teaching the people, and doing such miracles:
all men will believe on him; the whole nation will receive him as the Messiah, and proclaim him their king, and yield a cheerful obedience to all his commands:
the Romans will come; against us, with their powerful armies; interpreting the setting him up as Messiah, to be an instance of rebellion against Caesar, and his government:
and take away both our place and nation; that is, will destroy the temple, their holy place, the place of their religion and worship; and their city, the place of their habitation, and lay waste their country; and take away from them that little share of power and government they had, and strip them both of their civil and religious privileges: the Persic version renders it, “they will take away our place, and make a decree against our religion”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If we let him thus alone ( ). Condition of third class with and second aorist active subjunctive of . “Suppose we leave him thus alone.” Suppose also that he keeps on raising the dead right here next door to Jerusalem!
All will believe on him ( ). Future active of . The inevitable conclusion, “all” (), not just “some” (). as now.
And the Romans will come ( ). Another inevitable result with the future middle of . Only if the people take Jesus as their political Messiah (6:15) as they had once started to do. This is a curious muddle for the rulers knew that Jesus did not claim to be a political Messiah and would not be a rival to Caesar. And yet they use this fear (their own belief about the Messiah) to stir themselves to frenzy as they will use it with Pilate later.
And take away both our place and our nation ( ). Future active of , another certain result of their inaction. Note the order here when “place” (job) is put before nation (patriotism), for all the world like modern politicians who make the fate of the country turn on their getting the jobs which they are seeking. In the course of time the Romans will come, not because of the leniency of the Sanhedrin toward Jesus, but because of the uprising against Rome led by the Zealots and they will destroy both temple and city and the Sanhedrin will lose their jobs and the nation will be scattered. Future historians will say that this fate came as punishment on the Jews for their conduct toward Jesus.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Place and nation [ ] . Place, the temple and city (Act 6:13; Act 21:28; Mt 24:15). Nation, the civil organization. See on 1Pe 2:9; Luk 2:32 In the Sanhedrim were many devoted adherents of Rome, and the rest were well aware of the weakness of the national power.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “If we let him thus alone,” (ean aphomen auton houtos) “if we let him go on like this,” performing miracles, Joh 2:10-11; Mar 2:10-11; Joh 3:2; Joh 12:19; Joh 20:30-31; and fulfilling prophecies, as He claims He has done, Isa 7:14; Mat 1:18-23; Mat 3:1-8; etc. If we do no more than we have done to stop His miracles or to silence His voice, Deu 18:15-19.
2) “All men will believe on him: (pantes pisteusousin eis auton) “All men will believe in him,” the masses will turn from us, from the program of Moses’ Law that we espouse, and receive Him, and His New Covenant order of church fellowship and service, so less formal, cold, and ceremonial than ours.
3) “And the Romans will come,” (kai eleusontai hoi hromaioi) “And the Romans (Roman government) will come.” Yes, they visualized Caesar’s coming and forbidding them to further impose temple tax, synagogue tax, and other oppressive traditions upon the Jewish laity, in favor of Jesus Christ, and His followers. So long as they behaved themselves among themselves, not inciting any insurrection against Rome, Rome cared nothing about their religious differences.
4) “And take away both our place and nation.” (kai arousin hemon kai ton topon kai to ethnos) “And they will take away or remove (abolish) both our official religious places, (our jobs) and our nation.” Here is the “rub,” really; It was their official religious positions of honor that concerned them, not the glory of God. It was love for their nationality, in rebellion against God, to which their loyalty was attached, that led them to reject their own offered Redeemer and His pleas to them, Mat 23:37.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
48. If we let him alone thus. What if they do not let him alone ? In that case, as we have already said, they are fully convinced that it lies in their power to block up Christ’s path, so that he shall go no farther, provided that they earnestly strive against him. If Christ had been some impostor, their duty would have been to employ their exertions, that he might not lead away the sheep from the Lord’s flock; but by confessing his miracles, they make it sufficiently evident that they do not care much about God, whose power they so boldly and disdainfully despise.
The Romans will come. They cloak their wickedness by a plausible disguise, their zeal for the public good. The fear that chiefly distressed them was, that their tyranny would be destroyed; but they pretend to be anxious about the temple and worship of God, about the name of the nation, and about the condition of the people. And what is the object of all this? For they do not appear to seek pretences of this nature in order to deceive. They are not haranguing the people, but are holding in secrecy a private consultation among themselves. Being all aware that they are guilty of the same treachery, why do they not openly bring forward their plans and opinions? It is because impiety, though gross and manifest, is almost always accompanied by hypocrisy, and thus wraps itself in indirect evasions or subterfuges, so as to deceive under the semblance of virtue. Their chief design undoubtedly was, to hold out some appearance of gravity, moderation, and prudence, so as to practice imposition upon others; but it may readily be believed that, when they pretended to have just ground for persecuting Christ, they were themselves deceived by that poor disguise. Thus hypocrites, though their conscience reproves them within, are afterwards intoxicated by vain imaginations, so that in sinning they appear to be innocent. Yet they evidently contradict themselves; for at first they confessed that Christ did many miracles, and now they dread the Romans, as if there had not been abundantly sufficient protection in the power of God, which showed itself to be present by those miracles
The Romans will come. The Evangelist means, that the chief object of their consultation was, to guard against imminent danger. “If the Romans, ” they say, “knew that any innovation was made in public matters, there is reason to fear that they would send an army to ruin our nation, together with the temple and worship of God.” Now it is wicked to consult about guarding against dangers, which we cannot avoid, unless we choose to depart from the right path. Our first inquiry ought to be, What does God command and choose to be done? By this we ought to abide, whatever may be the consequence to ourselves. Those men, on the other hand, resolve that Christ shall be removed from the midst of them, that no inconvenience may arise by allowing him to proceed, as he has begun. But what if he has been sent by God? Shall they banish a prophet of God from among them, to purchase peace with the Romans ? Such are the schemes of those who do not truly and sincerely fear God. What is right and lawful gives them no concern, for their whole attention is directed to the consequences.
But the only way to deliberate in a proper and holy manner is this. First, we ought to inquire what is the will of God. Next, we ought to follow boldly whatever he enjoins, and not to be discouraged by any fear, though we were besieged by a thousand deaths; for our actions must not be moved by any gust of wind, but must be constantly regulated by the will of God alone. He who boldly despises dangers, or, at least, rising above the fear of them, sincerely obeys God, will at length have a prosperous result; for, contrary to the expectation of all, God blesses that firmness which is founded on obedience to his word. Unbelievers, on the other hand, are so far from deriving any advantage from their precautions, that, the more timorous they are, the more numerous are the snares in which they entangle themselves.
In this narrative the form and character of our own age are strikingly delineated. They who are desirous to be regarded as prudent and cautious have continually this song in their mouth: “We must consult the public tranquillity; the reformation which we attempt is not unaccompanied by many dangers.” After having raised this unfounded dislike against us, they find no better expedient than to bury Christ, for the purpose of obviating every annoyance. As if such wicked contempt of the grace of God could actually have a prosperous issue, when, in order to allay disturbances, they contrive this remedy, that the doctrine of salvation shall be abolished. On the contrary, what wicked men dread will happen; and though they may obtain what they expect, still it is a most unworthy recompense, to appease the world by offending God.
Will take away our place. It is uncertain whether they mean the temple or their country. They thought that their salvation depended on both; for, if the temple was destroyed, there would be no more sacrifices, or public worship of God, or calling on his name. If, therefore, they cared any thing about religion, they must have been anxious about the temple. It was of great importance, on the other hand, for upholding the condition of the Church, that they should not again be led away out of their own land. They still remembered the captivity into Babylon, which was an awfully severe vengeance of God. It was also a common proverb among them — which is frequently to be found in the Law — that it was in some respects a casting them off, if the Lord thrust them out of that land. Hence they conclude that, unless Christ be destroyed, the Church will not be safe.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(48) If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him.He who but a short time since had escaped from their stones and violence, and had retired to Bethany, was now within two miles of Jerusalem. One work had carried conviction to the minds of all who had seen it, though many of them were of their own party. Another such miracle in the city itself would carry conviction, they think, to the minds of all.
And the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.The dread of the Roman power must have been constantly present to the Jews of that generation. They had seen Archelaus deposed, and a Roman procurator had come to carry into effect the enrolment decreed by Augustus (Luk. 2:1). Pontius Pilate had suppressed outbreaks by violence in the Temple itself. There had been tumults in connection with the Corban money and with Barabbas. The Temple mountain was the site of the Roman fortress Antonia, and this dread power may at any moment destroy the national life, which only existed on sufferance.
The attempts to prove that our place can mean the Temple must now be given up; and if we attach a local meaning to the word we must understand it of Jerusalem. It may, however, be questioned whether the word has any local signification here. Like our words standing, and place, and position, it certainly may have a moral sense, and New Testament examples of this usage are frequent. (See Act. 1:25; Rom. 15:23; 1Co. 14:16; Heb. 12:17.) It is suggested that this sense is more in harmony with the feeling of the Pharisees. They possessed no local power; and the city could not be taken away from them more entirely than it already was. Their existence as rulers depended upon the Mosaic law and upon the services of the Temple. Round these centres they had gathered human tradition and ordinance, to which they clung because they only could interpret them, and they only could use the vast powers which were thus exercised over men. The Law had become practically an intricate system of tradition, and the Temple-service had become practically an intricate system of ritual. With this the Roman empire, following its usual policy, had not interfered, and the Jewish hierarchy had become the centre and the rulers of the national life. But in direct opposition to both of them had been the work and teaching of Christ. He had sought to establish for law and service the simplicity of their first spiritual principles. His spiritual teaching was a cutting to the very root of their whole being. If all the people believed on Him their raison dtre would be gone, and the Romans would no longer suffer an imperium in imperio, which they now allowed because it swayed the masses of the people. They would take both their position, and with it the rank which they still claimed as a nation.
The emphatic position of the word our should be noted, and also that place and nation are linked together as one complex thought attached to it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
48. The Romans come take away They profess that an acceptance of Jesus as Messiah, in dependence upon his mere peaceful miracles, would produce a common ruin. If he would be a hero-Messiah, who would call them to his counsel and lead them to victory, there would be sense in sustaining him. (See note on Joh 10:24.) But this mere teacher, selecting twelve peasants as a slender imitation of the twelve tribe-rulers, and seventy itinerants in mockery of us, the Sanhedrim, if accepted by all men, that is by the whole Jewish nation, as king Messiah, would either make us submit to foreign sway forever, or lead us to declare ourselves independent of Rome, without any warlike ability to defend us from destruction by Roman arms. Unhappy men! Had the nation accepted Jesus, Jerusalem might have stood undisturbed from that day to this. It was their own perversity that produced rebellion and self-destruction.
Take away Or destroy. Place Town or city.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
Ver. 48. The Romans shall come, &c. ] And so they did; the thing that they feared came upon them, for their inexpiable guilt in killing the Lord Jesus. Demades, when the emperor sent to his countrymen of Athens to give him divine honour, and they were loth to yield unto it, but consulted about it: Take heed, says he, you be not so busy about heavenly matters as to lose your earthly possessions. These refractory Jews lost both.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
48. ] They evidently regarded the result of ‘all believing on Him,’ as likely to be, that He would be set up as king: which would soon bring about the ruin here mentioned. Augustine (in Joan. Tract, xlix. 26) understands it differently: that, all men being persuaded by Him to peaceful lives, they would have no one to join them in revolt against the Romans; but this seems forced: for no would in that case be provoked.
, not, the temple (sc. , Act 6:13 . 2Ma 5:19 hardly applies, being the place which the Lord chose to put His Name there, not ) but our place, as in reff.: i.e. our local habitation , and our national existence . Both these literally came to pass.
Whether this fear was earnestly expressed, or only as a covert for their enmity, does not appear. The is emphatic, detecting the real cause of their anxiety. Respecting this man’s pretensions, they do not pretend to decide: all they know is that if he is to go on thus, THEIR status is gone.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 11:48 . . “If we let Him thus alone,” i.e. , if we do no more to put an end to His miracles than we are doing, “all will believe on Him; and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation”. emphatic. The raising of Lazarus and the consequent accession of adherents to Jesus made it probable that the people as a whole would attach themselves to Him as Messiah; and the consequence of the Jews choosing a king of their own would certainly be that the Romans would come and exterminate them. one would naturally render “our land” as co-ordinate with [“Land und Leute,” Luther], and probably this is the meaning; although in 2Ma 5:19 in a very similar connection means the Temple: , . Others, with less warrant, think the holy city is meant.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
our of us. Greek. hemon. Both the word and its position are emphatic. They claimed for themselves what belonged to God. Compare Mat 23:38,
your house. So the feasts of the Lord (Lev 23:2), are called in this gospel, feasts of the Jews (Joh 11:55; Joh 5:1; Joh 6:4; Joh 7:2).
place Greek. topos). No doubt the temple was meant, the centre and source of all their influence and power. The word is often so used. See Joh 4:20. Act 6:13, Act 6:14; Act 21:28, Act 21:29.
nation. Greek. ethnos. “Our” belongs to nation as well as to place. They claimed the nation which they ruled as their own (see Luk 20:14).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
48.] They evidently regarded the result of all believing on Him, as likely to be, that He would be set up as king: which would soon bring about the ruin here mentioned. Augustine (in Joan. Tract, xlix. 26) understands it differently: that, all men being persuaded by Him to peaceful lives, they would have no one to join them in revolt against the Romans; but this seems forced: for no would in that case be provoked.
, not, the temple (sc. , Act 6:13. 2Ma 5:19 hardly applies, being the place which the Lord chose to put His Name there, not ) but our place, as in reff.: i.e. our local habitation, and our national existence. Both these literally came to pass.
Whether this fear was earnestly expressed, or only as a covert for their enmity, does not appear. The is emphatic, detecting the real cause of their anxiety. Respecting this mans pretensions, they do not pretend to decide: all they know is that if he is to go on thus, THEIR status is gone.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 11:48. ) thus, as heretofore, say they, we have left Him alone.-, all men) and indeed with good reason.- , the Romans) Their supposition was, that the Romans would regard that [the adhesion of the people to Jesus] as sedition. And yet [with all their scheming] the Jews did not escape that which they dreaded: [nay, indeed they brought it upon themselves by this very course of action.-V. g.]- , both our place and nation) Equivalent to an adage, i.e. our all, , territory.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 11:48
Joh 11:48
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him:-Jesus had foretold the destruction of Jerusalem in consequence of their sins and the scattering of the Jewish nation. They connect the success of Jesus with the triumph of the Roman powers, and so to arouse one another and the people against Jesus tell that his success would be the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying away of the people as was done by Nebuchadnezzar when the people were taken into captivity into Babylon.
and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.-[Judea was a Roman province; there was a Roman governor; there was a Roman garrison located in the tower of Antonia overlooking the temple itself. So the Romans were already there. But they still had their place-there were priests with great revenues, or members of the Sanhedrin with great power. If sedition arose on account of faith in Christ they might lose their place, as they did a few years later. To take away their place, I take it, would be to destroy their ecclesiastical organization, and take away the nation would be to destroy their civil organization.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
we let: Act 5:28, Act 5:38-40
all: Joh 1:7, Luk 8:12, Luk 11:52, 1Th 2:15, 1Th 2:16
and the: Deu 28:50-68, Dan 9:26, Dan 9:27, Zec 13:7, Zec 13:8, Zec 14:1, Zec 14:2, Mat 21:40-42, Mat 22:7, Mat 23:35-38, Mat 27:25, Luk 19:41-44, Luk 21:20-24, Luk 23:28-31
Reciprocal: Num 24:24 – and shall afflict Eber Jer 42:16 – that the sword Eze 11:8 – General Dan 2:40 – the fourth Mat 2:3 – he Mat 21:16 – Hearest Mat 25:29 – shall be taken Mar 1:37 – All Luk 16:16 – and every Luk 19:39 – rebuke Joh 3:2 – for Joh 3:26 – and all Joh 7:32 – Pharisees heard Joh 11:50 – General Joh 12:11 – General Act 4:2 – grieved Act 4:16 – What Act 4:17 – let Act 5:24 – they Act 17:8 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
The Jews finally lost their place (Palestine, with Jerusalem as the capital) and nation as a governmental unit. But it was because they persecuted Jesus, and not because they allowed him to teach the people. (See Mat 23:38-39; Mat 27:25.) The first reference in the parentheses is a prediction of the desolation of Jerusalem, and the second is the rash proposition of the Jews for that very thing to happen, although they did not realize what their mad statement would mean to their people.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
[And the Romans shall come.] I could easily believe that the fathers of the Sanhedrim had either a knowledge or at least some suspicion that Jesus was the true Messiah.
I. This seems plainly intimated by the words of the vine-dressers in the parable, Mar 12:7; “This is the heir; come, let us kill him.” They knew well enough he was the heir: and it was come to this in the struggle betwixt them, Either he will inherit with his doctrine, or we will with ours: come therefore, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
II. They could not but know that Daniel’s weeks were now fully accomplished, and that the time of the Messiah’s appearing was now come. This that conflux of Jews from all nations into Jerusalem, Acts_2, doth testify, being led by Daniel’s prophecy, and the agreeableness of the time, to fix their residence there, in expectation of the Messiah now ready to be revealed. Compare also Luk 19:2.
III. When therefore they saw Jesus working miracles so very stupendous, and so worthy the character of the Messiah, and that in the very time wherein the manifestation of the Messiah had been foretold, they could not but have a strong suspicion that this was He. But then it is a wonderful thing that they should endeavour his death and destruction. What! Destroy the Messiah, the expectation and desire of that nation!
Such mischiefs could religious zeal persuade.
But it was a most irreligious religion, made up of traditions and human inventions; a strange kind of bewitchery rather than religion; that they should choose rather that the Messiah should be cut off than that religion be changed. They had been taught, or rather seduced by their traditions to believe, 1. That the kingdom of the Messiah should be administered in all imaginable pomp and worldly glory. 2. That their Judaism, or the religion properly so called, should be wonderfully promoted by him, confirmed, and made very glorious. 3. The whole nation should be redeemed from the heathen yoke. But when he, who by the force of his miracles asserted himself so far to be the Messiah, that they could not but inwardly acknowledge it, appeared notwithstanding so poor and contemptible, that nothing could be less expected or hoped for of such a one than a deliverance from their present mean and slavish state; and so distant seemed he from it, that he advised to pay tribute to Caesar, taught things contrary to what the scribes and Pharisees had principled them in, shook and seemed to abrogate the religion itself, and they had no prospect at all of better things from him; let Jesus perish, though he were the true Messiah, for any thing that they cared, rather than Judaism and their religion should be abolished.
Obj. But it is said, that what they did was through ignorance, Luk 23:34; Act 3:17; Act 13:17; 1Co 2:8.
Ans. True indeed, through ignorance of the person: for they did not know and believe the Messiah to be God as well as man; they apprehended him mere man. Though they suspected that Jesus might be the Messiah, yet did they not suspect that this Jesus was the true God.
Let it then be taken for granted, that the fathers of the Sanhedrim, under some strong conviction that this was the true Messiah, might express themselves in this manner, “All men will believe on him, and the Romans will come,” etc. And so what Caiaphas said, “It is expedient that one man should die,” etc. But where does the consequence lie in all this? “All men will believe on him”; ergo, “the Romans will come,” etc.
I. It is not altogether wide of the mark, what is commonly returned upon this question: The Romans will come against our nation, taking us for rebels to the emperor, in that, without his consent, our people have entertained this Jesus for the King Messiah.
II. Nor is it impertinent to this purpose what was the ancient observation of the Jews from that of the prophet Isaiah, Isa 10:34; Joh 11:1; “Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one — and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,” viz. That the coming of the Messiah, and the destruction of the Temple, should be upon the heels one of another.
The story is of an Arabian telling a certain Jew, while he was at plough, that the Temple was destroyed, and the Messiah was born; which I have already told at large upon Mat 2:1. But the conclusion of it is, “R. Bon saith; ‘What need we learn from an Arabian? Is it not plainly enough written, Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one? And what follows immediately? There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse.’ ”
If, therefore, the Sanhedrim suspected Jesus to be the Messiah, they might, by the same reason, from thence also gather that the destruction of the city and nation was not far off; especially when they see the people falling off from Judaism to the religion of Jesus.
III. The fathers of the Sanhedrim judge that the nation would contract hereby an unspeakable deal of guilt, such as would subject them to all those curses mentioned Deuteronomy_28; particularly that their turning off from Judaism would issue in the final overthrow of the whole nation; and if their religion should be deserted, neither the city nor the commonwealth could possibly survive it long. So rooted was the love and value they had for their wretched traditions.
Let us therefore frame their words into this paraphrase: “It does seem that this man can be no other than the true Messiah; the strange wonders he doth, speak no less. What must we do in this case? On the one hand, it were a base and unworthy part of us to kill the Messiah: but then, on the other hand, it is infinitely hazardous for us to admit him: for all men will believe on him; and then our religion is at an end; and when that is once gone, what can we look for less than that our whole nation should perish under the arms and fury of the Romans?”
“‘I beg your pardon for that,’ saith Caiaphas; ‘you know nothing, neither consider; for, be he the Messiah or be he not, it is expedient, nay, it is necessary, he should die rather than the whole nation should perish,’ ” etc.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 11:48. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe in him: and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. The fear was natural. It is true that they were already subject to the Roman power. But, with their usual policy towards tributary states, the Romans had left them their worship, temple, and religious administration, untouched. If Jesus (whom they will not recognise in His religious claims) shall be owned as Messiah, and popular tumult shall ensue, all these privileges will be taken away from them. Their fear therefore is real; their guilt lay not in a hypocritical pretence of alarm, but in their wilful blindness to the truth. There can be no doubt whatever that their words are quoted by the Evangelist as an unconscious prophecy (comp. chap. Joh 7:35, Joh 12:19, Joh 19:19, and below, Joh 11:50), or rather as a prophecy to be fulfilled in that irony of events which shall bring on them in their unbelief the very calamities they feared, while faith would have secured for them the contrasted blessings. Because the Jewish people did not believe in Jesus but rejected Him, the Romans did take away both their place and nation: had they believed they would have been established for ever in the spiritual kingdom of the Messiah.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
11:48 If we let him thus alone, all [men] will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and {h} take away both our place and nation.
(h) That is, take away from us by force: for at that time, though the high priest’s authority was greatly lessened and weakened, yet there was some type of government left among the Jews.