John 11:45-57
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Session of the Sanhedrin. 45 Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.(A) 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.(B) 48 If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come[a] and take away both our land and our nation.” 49 (C)But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year,[b] said to them, “You know nothing, 50 nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.[c] 53 So from that day on they planned to kill him.(D)
54 So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim,[d] and there he remained with his disciples.
The Last Passover. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify[e] themselves.(E) 56 They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?” 57 For the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should inform them, so that they might arrest him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 11:48 The Romans will come: Johannine irony; this is precisely what happened after Jesus’ death.
- 11:49 That year: emphasizes the conjunction of the office and the year. Actually, Caiaphas was high priest A.D. 18–36. The Jews attributed a gift of prophecy, sometimes unconscious, to the high priest.
- 11:52 Dispersed children of God: perhaps the “other sheep” of Jn 10:16.
- 11:54 Ephraim is usually located about twelve miles northeast of Jerusalem, where the mountains descend into the Jordan valley.
- 11:55 Purify: prescriptions for purity were based on Ex 19:10–11, 15; Nm 9:6–14; 2 Chr 30:1–3, 15–18.
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