John 11:47-57

⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ⁸"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this Man performing many miraculous signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." ⁴⁹Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰You do not realize that it is better for you that one Man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." ⁵¹He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵²and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³So from that day on they plotted to take His life. ⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead He withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples. ⁵⁵When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't He coming to the Feast at all?" ⁵⁷But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest Him.

Just as Jesus’ signs and teachings increase, so does the opposition of the Pharisees. At this point, the Jewish leaders have had enough. They do not even care any more whether or not the miracle was done on the Sabbath. They just know that, if Jesus continues doing these miraculous signs, which they fully acknowledge that He is doing, more and more people will believe on Him, and, consequently, fewer and fewer will still be in subjection to them. Specifically, the Romans will notice an uprising and take away the local governing authority that the Jewish leaders had. It was time to stop threatening; they needed to actually do away Jesus for the sake of “their” nation. Their irrational blindness is plain to see, and by asking, “What are we accomplishing?” they are accusing themselves of sloth or idleness or laziness in this matter. They actually have the audacity to think they can stop Jesus from accomplishing the will of God. Even more ironically, their selfish actions effectively accomplish the will of God (Psalm 2:4,12; Romans 9:17-24), which we also see from Caiaphas’ prophecy.

The high priest, Caiaphas, made a remarkable statement, for God used him to give a true prophecy that was completely foreign to what he actually meant. Caiaphas ignored Proverbs 17:15 “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent – the Lord detests them both.” This in itself is an amazing example of how God uses the wicked designs of evil men to accomplish His own holy purposes. We see this truth displayed very clearly in the example of Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 50:20); but the most outstanding example of all is the case of Jesus’ crucifixion (Acts 2:22-24). It is fitting, therefore, that even in the events leading up to Christ’s death, God is using the wicked instruments of crucifixion for His good purpose. This is the principle of concurrence, where one word, thought, or deed is brought to pass by two actors, namely God and man, with two distinct purposes, God’s for good and man’s for evil. Caiaphas said that it is better for the people that one man die than that they all perish. He was thinking that Jesus should die before He stirred up all the people to a riot, which would have led to the Romans coming to destroy the nation; but God meant that Jesus would die to bring the people to God – and not just the Jewish people, but also His people from every nation (Revelation 5:9). Jesus has sheep from the Jewish fold and sheep from the Gentiles; and He must bring all of them together, by His death, so that there is one fold and one shepherd (John 10:16; Ephesians 1:10; 2:11-22). (The construction of v51-52 is parallel to that of 1 John 2:2, which we noted in looking at John 3:36. We better understand the one passage by comparing it with the other.)

The chapter concludes with a brief description of the situation. Jesus is not showing Himself in public, because the Jews are trying to kill Him; and even commanding that anyone who knows where He is must report to them, so that they can arrest Him. But the Passover was drawing near – and this Passover will be Jesus’ final celebration in His earthly life. People were beginning to gather in Jerusalem for the pre-Feast ceremonial cleansing. The fame of Jesus was diffused extensively through the whole of Judea; for they who assemble in the temple area, from whatever region of the country they come, are eager to seek Him and converse with one another concerning Him. While they seek Him to se what He’ll do next, they discover that the tyrannical leadership prevents Him from appearing openly. The stage is now set. Soon, they will witness and participate in His final public appearance, when He offers Himself as the sacrificial Passover Lamb of God, which, of course, is the very reason that He came to earth.