Yohanes 11:47-53

11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees ¹  called the council ²  together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 11:48 If we allow him to go on in this way, ³  everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary ⁴  and our nation.”

11:49 Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, ⁵  “You know nothing at all! 11:50 You do not realize ⁶  that it is more to your advantage to have one man ⁷  die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” ⁸  11:51 (Now he did not say this on his own, ⁹  but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation, ¹⁰  11:52 and not for the Jewish nation ¹¹  only, ¹²  but to gather together ¹³  into one the children of God who are scattered.) ¹⁴  11:53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.

Yohanes 18:13-14

18:13 They ¹⁵  brought him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁶  18:14 (Now it was Caiaphas who had advised ¹⁷  the Jewish leaders ¹⁸  that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.) ¹⁹ 

Yohanes 18:24

18:24 Then Annas sent him, still tied up, ²⁰  to Caiaphas the high priest. ²¹ 

Yohanes 18:28

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

18:28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. ²²  (Now it was very early morning.) ²³  They ²⁴  did not go into the governor’s residence ²⁵  so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.

[11:47]  ¹ tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.

[11:47]  ² tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.

[11:48]  ³ tn Grk “If we let him do thus.”

[11:48]  ⁴ tn Or “holy place”; Grk “our place” (a reference to the temple in Jerusalem).

[11:49]  ⁵ tn Grk “said to them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[11:50]  ⁶ tn Or “you are not considering.”

[11:50]  ⁷ tn Although it is possible to argue that ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") 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, outo" Jo anqrwpo") has as its referent a specific individual, Jesus, and it was felt this connection should be maintained.

[11:50]  ⁸ 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.

[11:51]  ⁹ tn Grk “say this from himself.”

[11:51]  ¹⁰ tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).

[11:52]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.

[11:52]  ¹² 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.

[11:52]  ¹³ tn Grk “that he might gather together.”

[11:52]  ¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “up, and brought.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[18:13]  ¹⁶ sn Jesus was taken first to Annas. Only the Gospel of John mentions this pretrial hearing before Annas, and that Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who is said to be high priest in that year. Caiaphas is also mentioned as being high priest in John 11:49. But in 18:15, 16, 19, and 22 Annas is called high priest. Annas is also referred to as high priest by Luke in Acts 4:6. Many scholars have dismissed these references as mistakes on the part of both Luke and John, but as mentioned above, John 11:49 and 18:13 indicate that John knew that Caiaphas was high priest in the year that Jesus was crucified. This has led others to suggest that Annas and Caiaphas shared the high priesthood, but there is no historical evidence to support this view. Annas had been high priest from a.d. 6 to a.d. 15 when he was deposed by the Roman prefect Valerius Gratus (according to Josephus, Ant. 18.2.2 [18.34]). His five sons all eventually became high priests. The family was noted for its greed, wealth, and power. There are a number of ways the references in both Luke and John to Annas being high priest may be explained. Some Jews may have refused to recognize the changes in high priests effected by the Roman authorities, since according to the Torah the high priesthood was a lifetime office (Num 25:13). Another possibility is that it was simply customary to retain the title after a person had left the office as a courtesy, much as retired ambassadors are referred to as “Mr. Ambassador” or ex-presidents as “Mr. President.” Finally, the use of the title by Luke and John may simply be a reflection of the real power behind the high priesthood of the time: Although Annas no longer technically held the office, he may well have managed to control those relatives of his who did hold it from behind the scenes. In fact this seems most probable and would also explain why Jesus was brought to him immediately after his arrest for a sort of “pretrial hearing” before being sent on to the entire Sanhedrin.

[18:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “counseled.”

[18:14]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, specifically members of the Sanhedrin (see John 11:49-50). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12.

[18:14]  ¹⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:24]  ²⁰ tn Or “still bound.”

[18:24]  ²¹ sn Where was Caiaphas the high priest located? Did he have a separate palace, or was he somewhere else with the Sanhedrin? Since Augustine (4th century) a number of scholars have proposed that Annas and Caiaphas resided in different wings of the same palace, which were bound together by a common courtyard through which Jesus would have been led as he was taken from Annas to Caiaphas. This seems a reasonable explanation, although there is no conclusive evidence.

[18:28]  ²² tn Grk “to the praetorium.”

[18:28]  sn The permanent residence of the Roman governor of Palestine was in Caesarea (Acts 23:35). The governor had a residence in Jerusalem which he normally occupied only during principal feasts or in times of political unrest. The location of this building in Jerusalem is uncertain, but is probably one of two locations: either (1) the fortress or tower of Antonia, on the east hill north of the temple area, which is the traditional location of the Roman praetorium since the 12th century, or (2) the palace of Herod on the west hill near the present Jaffa Gate. According to Philo (Embassy 38 [299]) Pilate had some golden shields hung there, and according to Josephus (J. W. 2.14.8 [2.301], 2.15.5 [2.328]) the later Roman governor Florus stayed there.

[18:28]  ²³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:28]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:28]  ²⁵ tn Grk “into the praetorium.”