John 11:48

11:48 The council’s deliberations unveiled their fears that everyone would believe in him. If people believed that the Messiah had come, the political implications would be threatening. The Romans viewed Jewish messiahs with suspicion, and the movement surrounding Jesus might inspire them to invade and destroy Jerusalem and its Temple.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 11:48. Οὓτω) thus, as heretofore, say they, we have left Him alone.—πάντες, all men) and indeed with good reason.—οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι, 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.]—καὶ τὸν τόπον καὶ τὸ ἔθνος, both our place and nation) Equivalent to an adage, i.e. our all, τόπος, territory.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 11:48 . ἐὰν ἀφῶμεν … ἔθνος . “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”. ἡμῶν 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. τὸν τόπον one would naturally render “our land” as co-ordinate with τὸ ἔθνος [“Land und Leute,” Luther], and probably this is the meaning; although in 2Ma 5:19 in a very similar connection ὁ τόπος means the Temple: οὐ διὰ τὸν τόπον τὸ ἔθνος , ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἔθνος τὸν τόπον ὁ Κύριος ἐξελέξατο . Others, with less warrant, think the holy city is meant.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, take away from us by force: for at that time, though the high Priest’s authority was greatly lessened and decayed, yet there was some kind of government left among the Jews.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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, τον τοπον: 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.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(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 d’être 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.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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’être.’ 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.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Romans will come upon us, in case he be admitted as our great Messias, and our King. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

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 God’s 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 Daniel’s 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 Herod’s question to the wise men in Mat 2:4), and they were very jealous of the Jews on this account, which caused Herod’s 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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If we let him alone thus, as we have been doing hitherto if we suffer him to do these things all men will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away from us, i.e. from the Sanhedrin, from the lawful rulers in all matters affecting religious order or privilege, our place the city or temple and the nation, which we rule through our subordinates and surrogates, but to accomplish which we shall prove our incompetence if we cannot keep down all insubordination and hold perilous enthusiasm in check. De Wette and Hengstenberg strongly urge that by topon was meant the temple, "the dwelling-place and seat of the whole people". (Psa_84:4 Psa_27:4; cf. Mat_23:38) Ewald, Godet, Meyer, Watkins, consider topon to be the city, the seat of all the power of the nation, spiritual and civil. The nation was a province of the Roman empire, but the hierarchy was still invested with great powers.

Vers. 48-53. The decision of the Sanhedrin.

The miracle at Bethany had still more momentous effects.

I THE MEETING OF THE SANHEDRIN. "Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What are we doing? for this Man doeth many miracles.

1. It was a conjunction of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, for the chief priests belonged to the Sadducean faction. A common danger engaged them in a common cause.

2. They frankly admitted, not only the Bethany miracle, but other miracles that Jesus did, but did not on that account recognize his Messiahship.

3. They received the success of Jesus in making converts with alarm, as likely to destroy the nation. "If we let him thus alone, all will believe on him; and the Romans will come and destroy both our place and our nation.

(1) The dread of the Roman power was always present to the Jewish mind of that generation because of the determination with which it had once and again crushed Jewish revolts.

(2) The authorities feared that if the Messiah were recognized-generally as "King of Israel" there might be a fresh rising, which would lead to the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the whole nation.

II THE DIABOLIC SUGGESTION OF CAIAPHAS. "But one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, and do not reflect that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

1. This Caiaphas was a Sadducee, and held the office of high priest from 25 till 36 of our era, and therefore during that momentous year.

2. His suggestion was purely political, and involved nothing less than the destruction of an innocent man to save the Jewish commonwealth. It was a truly diabolic suggestion; for, though the representative of God, Caiaphas holds that it is right to do evil that good may come. He does not suggest that Jesus was guilty of any crime. A perfectly innocent man was to be sacrificed for the public advantage.

3. The evil suggestion was an unconscious prophecy. "Now this he spake not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but also that he should gather together in one body the children of God that were scattered.

(1) It was the function of the high priest to announce the decision of the Most High for the benefit of the people.

(2) The declaration of Caiaphas was a prophecy in the literal sense, though he had himself no true sense of its blessed import.

(3) It was not unusual for God to make evil men the organs of prophetic communication. Caiaphas, like Balsam, declared the mind of God.

(4) The prophecy had a wider scope than the high priest imagined, for it spoke of the death of Christ as having relation to Gentiles as well as Jews. The children of God everywhere were to be gathered into one body in Christ.

III THE EFFECTS OF CAIAPHAS"S EVIL COUNSEL. "Then from that day forth they took counsel to put him to death.

1. This shows the baneful influence of evil counsel. The Sanhedrin were ready to act upon the fatal advice of the high priest. There was no longer any hesitation or irresolution among the rulers of the people.

2. But the question wan still for consideration how Jesus could be put to death without stirring up a popular tumult and bringing themselves into collision with the Roman authorities.

Selfishness blinds men to righteousness.

It is sometimes brought, as an argument against man"s intuitive perception of right, that there are always to be found those who act spontaneously and without remorse in defiance of the moral law. This argument would hold good were there no principles in man"s nature which militate against righteousness. But the fact is that selfish and sinful passions, and considerations which become evil motives, come into play in the human breast. And just as it is no valid argument against gravitation that bodies often, under other physical forces, move in contradiction to that universal law, so in the moral realm there are impulses to action which both conflict with and often overcome the conscience of right, and further, even succeed, as it were by clamor, in silencing the heavenly voice. We have a striking illustration of this complexity of human nature in the counsels and conduct of Christ"s enemies in the Jewish Sanhedrim

I THE LANGUAGE OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES IS IMPLICIT TESTIMONY BOTH TO THE INNOCENCE AND THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS. If they had possessed any information, or had even cherished any suspicion, that Jesus was in any way unworthy of confidence and respect, it" is certain that charges against his character would have been adduced, and that an effort would have been made to substantiate them. But it does not seem to have occurred to them that there was any evidence upon which they could found such charges. This goes a long way towards proving that our Lord was acknowledged to be of blameless character, and that his ministry was felt to be irreproachable and benevolent. At the same time, it was explicitly admitted that his miracles were genuine. The enemies of our Lord did not complain that he professed to wield miraculous power whilst all the time he only made a baseless boast. For the very gravamen of their consultations was that Jesus did many miracles. They, at all events, admitted that superhuman authority resided in our Lord.

II CHRIST"S ENEMIES CONSIDERED HIS MINISTRY MERELY IN THE LIGHT OF ITS CONSEQUENCES, AS THESE WOULD PROBABLY AFFECT THEIR OWN POSITION AND INTERESTS.

When men look at conduct, not in its relation to principles, but in relation to results, they are usually in danger of error and of grievous practical misdeeds. It is better to think of actions as agreeing or disagreeing with a standard, than as involving results. The reasoning of Christ"s foes was sound enough upon their own assumptions. They argued thus: Jesus works many miracles; the result of these will be the faith and adhesion of increasing numbers of the Jewish people; this will lead to popular excitement, which will give rise to tumults or, at all events, to manifestations of enthusiasm, and perhaps fanaticism; such movements will bring about the interference of the Roman authorities; and, as surely as this takes place, the Sanhedrin will be blamed for its inability to restrain the populace, the last remnants of national rule will disappear, and the subjection of Israel will be complete. It is not possible to regard this train of reasoning as motived by exalted patriotism. It was for themselves that the chief priests and rulers were concerned for themselves chiefly, if not solely. It is easy to cloak selfishness in the garb of public spirit and love of country. The discerning and just mind can see through such hypocritical pretences.

III CONSIDERATIONS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE OFTEN LOST WHEN THE CONSIDERATIONS OF SELFISHNESS AND AMBITION TAKE POSSESSION OF THE SOUL. After all said and done, Jesus was one single Person; his enemies were many. He was lowly in the world"s esteem, and they were the dignified leaders and rulers of the people. He had no force to back him at least, none that they were cognizant of and they had their own armed men to support them, and could command the troops of the Roman procurator. Such being the case, why should they scruple to oppose Jesus by fraud and by violence? Nothing prevented save the sense of justice; and this they silenced and stifled. Accordingly their decision was taken, their plans were laid, and in due time were executed, under the influence of selfish fears, it is all too true to human nature. Let self be lost sight of, and then justice, equity, fairness, may prevail. But let self be made prominent, and alas! how often will the right be sacrificed as of no account! A lesson this as to the importance of cherishing a high standard of morality; and a lesson, too, of the proneness from which we all suffer to give heed to the counsels of interest and of personal advancement. Let all men beware lest, beginning with indulging foolish views of the importance of personal aims, they end by "crucifying the Son of God afresh. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All men will believe - And receive him as the Messiah. And this will give such umbrage to the Roman that they will come and subvert both our place - Temple; and nation - Both our Church and state. Were they really afraid of this? Or was it a fair colour only? Certainly it was no more. For they could not but know, that he that raised the dead was able to conquer the Romans.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

48. The Romans will come. Their idea was that if the nation followed Jesus there would be rebellion against the Roman authority, and the Romans would, as a result, destroy Jerusalem, the temple, and their ecclesiastical authority. This was done a generation later by the Romans, but what led to it was the rejection of Christ, not his reception.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

48. ἐλεύσονται οἱ Ῥωμ. An unconscious prophecy (comp. Joh 11:50, Joh 7:35, Joh 19:19) of what their own policy would produce. They do not inquire whether He is or is not the Messiah: they look solely to the consequences of admitting that He is.

ἡμῶν κ. τ. τόπον κ. τ. ἔθνος. ‘Ημῶν is very emphatic and does not depend on ἀροῦσιν: it belongs to both substantives; both our place and our nation. ‘Place’ is perhaps best understood of Jerusalem, the seat of the Sanhedrin, and the abode of most 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’être.’ 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. For ἔθνος of the Jews comp. Joh 11:50.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 ἐλεύσονται would in that case be provoked.

τὸν τόπον, not, the temple (sc. ἅγιον, Act 6:13. Act 6:2 Macc. 5:19 hardly applies, being the place which the Lord chose to put His Name there, not ὁ τόπος ἡμῶν) 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 ἡμῶν 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.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48. The Jewish leaders were anxious lest the growing fame of Jesus should suggest to those who were being convinced of His claims, that He was the national Deliverer of their expectation (cf. 6:15); and that thus a rebellion should break out, which would call down stern punishment from their Roman rulers. It was, indeed, the charge preferred against Him before Pilate that He claimed to be the “King of the Jews” (cf. 18:33f.).

ἐὰν ἀφῶμεν αὐτὸν οὕτως κτλ., “if we let Him go thus,” i.e. without intervening and curbing His activities, “every one will believe in Him” (cf. v. 45).

καὶ ἐλεύσονται οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι. This has a verbal resemblance to the LXX of Dan 11:30 καὶ ἥξουσι Ῥωμαῖοι, but there is no allusion here to that passage. “Romans” are not mentioned by the Synoptists (cf. 19:20).

καὶ ἀροῦσιν ἡμῶν καὶ τὸν τόπον καὶ τὸ ἔθνος. The position of ἡμῶν is emphatic. “They will suppress our place and our nation.” ὁ τόπος seems to mean the Holy Place, i.e. the Temple, with which the chief priests were specially concerned. Cf. 4:20 and Mat 24:15, Act 6:13, Act 6:14, 21:28. At 2 Macc. 5:19 the τόπος is the Temple, and the fortunes of the τόπος and the ἔθνος are associated, as they are here.

The apprehension attributed in this verse to the Jewish leaders, of the destruction of the Temple and the nation, might, no doubt, be regarded as a prophecy after the event, for Jerusalem had fallen twenty years or more before the Fourth Gospel was written. But, on the other hand, there is an antecedent probability that such anxieties must always have been present. during the first century, to the minds of the chief priests, who were well aware that any Messianic rebellion would be sternly repressed by their Roman masters.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Place and nation [τον τοπον και το εθνος] . 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.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.