Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him. 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. 48 If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, 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, and not only for the nation, 52 but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to kill him. 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, and there he remained with his disciples. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. 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.
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and many people who witnessed the miracle began to believe in him (v. 45). Some reported what Jesus had done to the Pharisees. The Sanhedrin was the supreme council of the Jews comprised of the chief priests, the Elders, and the scribes (Lk. 22:66). The Sanhedrin was under the direction of Caiaphas who was High Priest from18 AD to 36 AD. The members were perplexed as to what they should do but Caiaphas dismissed their concern and provided a solution. He warned that if Jesus became popular with the masses, the Jews could lose favor with Rome, and the Romans could come and destroy the Temple and the nation. Caiaphas’ solution was clearly expressed in his prophetic statement, “It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish (v. 50).” Jesus’ death would unify the dispersed children of God (v. 52; Jn. 10:16).
Ironically, the Jewish nation and Temple were destroyed by the Romans between 66 AD and 70 AD. The High Priest could make inspired prophetic utterances and his prophesy (vv. 52-52) was accurate. Jesus died to gather the dispersed children of God, Jews, and Gentiles alike (1 Jn. 2:2). The Sanhedrin condemned Jesus, but they did so without due process or just cause. Nicodemus had previously asked the chief priest and the Pharisees “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing (Jn. 7:51)?” The Sanhedrin’s decision to kill Jesus led to his crucifixion.
Many pilgrims went up to Jerusalem for Passover and they would go early so that they could purify themselves before the feast (Ex. 19:10-11). Jesus would also go up to Jerusalem for the Passover (Jn. 2:13) but since the chief priests and Pharisees planned to kill him (v. 53) and had issued public orders for his whereabouts to be reported to them, Jesus had withdrawn with his disciples to a small town named Ephraim located in the hill country approximately thirteen miles to the northeast of Jerusalem. The pilgrims wondered if Jesus would attend the Passover. Jesus had previously told the disciples that he was not going to the feast of Tabernacles because the Jews were trying to kill him, “You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time has not yet been fulfilled (Jn. 7:8).” The three pilgrimage feasts celebrated by the Jews were Passover, Tabernacles (Sukkot/Booths), and Pentecost (Weeks).
Almighty God, help us to have unwavering faith in your Son Jesus Christ, and to accept those you send into our lives to teach us how to draw closer to you. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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