Footnotes

1. John 11:49 tn Grk “said to them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
2. John 11:50 tn Or “you are not considering.”
3. John 11:50 tn Although it is possible to argue that ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) should be translated “person” here since it is not necessarily masculinity that is in view in Caiaphas’ statement, “man” was retained in the translation because in 11:47 “this man” (οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, outos ho anthrōpos) has as its referent a specific individual, Jesus, and it was felt this connection should be maintained.
4. John 11:50 sn In his own mind Caiaphas was no doubt giving voice to a common-sense statement of political expediency. Yet he was unconsciously echoing a saying of Jesus himself (cf. Mark 10:45). Caiaphas was right; the death of Jesus would save the nation from destruction. Yet Caiaphas could not suspect that Jesus would die, not in place of the political nation Israel, but on behalf of the true people of God; and he would save them, not from physical destruction, but from eternal destruction (cf. 3:16-17). The understanding of Caiaphas’ words in a sense that Caiaphas could not possibly have imagined at the time he uttered them serves as a clear example of the way in which the author understood that words and actions could be invested retrospectively with a meaning not consciously intended or understood by those present at the time.
5. John 11:51 tn Grk “say this from himself.”
6. John 11:51 tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).
7. John 11:52 tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.
8. John 11:52 sn The author in his comment expands the prophecy to include the Gentiles (not for the Jewish nation only), a confirmation that the Fourth Gospel was directed, at least partly, to a Gentile audience. There are echoes of Pauline concepts here (particularly Eph 2:11-22) in the stress on the unity of Jew and Gentile.
9. John 11:52 tn Grk “that he might gather together.”
10. John 11:52 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.