Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent (March 27, 2021) Joh 11:45-56

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

John Gill

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary—To her house, to comfort her, and that came along with her to the grave:

And had seen what he did—In raising the dead body of Lazarus, and causing him to walk, though bound in grave clothes:

Believed in him—That he was the true Messiah: such an effect the miracle had on them; so that it was a happy day for them, that they came from Jerusalem to Bethany to pay this visit.

46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

John Gill

But some of them went their way to the Pharisees—At Jerusalem, who were members of the council; so far were some of them from receiving any advantage by this miracle, that they were the more hardened, and filled with malice and envy to Christ, and made the best of their way to acquaint his most inveterate enemies:

And told them what Jesus had done—At Bethany; not to soften their minds, and bring them to entertain a good opinion of him, but to irritate them, and put them upon schemes to destroy him; thus even miracles, as well as the doctrines of the gospel, are to some the savour of death unto death, whilst to others the savour of life unto life.

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

Rashi

Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel, etc.—Heb. רוזנים, senors (seigneurs) in Old French, lords.

Take counsel—Heb. נוסדו, an expression of counsel (סוד), furt konsilez in Old French (furent conseilles), they hold counsel (see below 55:15). And what is the counsel? . . .

3 “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

Rashi

Let us burst their bonds—Deronproms lor koyongles in Old French (as in Jer 27:2). These are the bonds with which the yoke is tied.

Their cords—Heb. עבתימו, lor kordes (leur cordes) in Old French.

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord holds them in derision. PSA 2:2-4

Rashi

Laughs . . . holds . . . in derision. . . . will speak—They are meant as the present tense.

48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

Rashi

And after those weeks.

An anointed one—Heb. מָשִׁיחַ. This is purely an expression of a prince and a dignitary.

An anointed one shall be cut off—Agrippa, the king of Judea, who was ruling at the time of the destruction, shall be slain.

And shall have nothing—And shall not have. The meaning is that he shall not be.

And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy—The prince who shall come upon them. That is Titus and his armies.

And the city and the sanctuary—Lit. and the city and the Holy.

Its end shall come with a flood—Its end shall be damnation and destruction, for he will inundate the power of his kingdom through the Messiah.

And to the end there shall be wars of Gog the city will exist.

Desolations are decreed—A destruction of desolation.

27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator. DAN 9:26-27

Rashi

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week—לָרַבִּים, with many, like “and all the chief officers of (רַבֵּי) the king,” in the Book of Jeremiah (39:13).

Shall make . . . strong—Titus shall make a strong covenant with many of Israel.

For one week—He will promise them the strengthening of a covenant and peace for seven years, but within the seven years, he will abrogate his covenant.

He shall put an end to sacrifice and offering—This is what he says in the first vision (8:25): “without warning he shall destroy many.” Without warning he shall destroy them.

And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate—This is a pejorative for pagan deities. i.e., on the wing of abominations and disgusting things, he shall place the one who makes desolate, the pagan deity, which is desolate like a silent stone.

Wing—Heb. כְּנַף, an expression of height, like the wing of a flying bird.

Until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator and the ruling of the abomination shall endure until the day that the decreed end upon it is poured out, in the days of the king Messiah.

Is poured out on the desolator—Total destruction shall descend upon the image of the pagan deity and upon its worshipers.

49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.

John Gill

But one of them, Caiaphas—(See Gill on Mat 26:3; Luk 3:2; Joh 18:13).

Who was high priest that year—The high priesthood originally was not annual, but for life; but towards the close of the second temple, it came into the hands of the king, to appoint who would to be high priest; and it became venal; it was purchased with money; insomuch that they changed the priesthood once a twelve month, and every year a new high priest was made now this man being in such an high office, and a man of no conscience, and of bad principles, being a Sadducee, as seems from Act 4:6; 5:17, who denied the resurrection of the dead, and was unconcerned about a future state; and having no restraint upon him, in a bold, haughty, and blustering manner,

Said to them, “You know nothing at all”—You are a parcel of ignorant and stupid creatures, mere fools and idiots, to sit disputing and arguing, pro and con about such a fellow as this; what is to be done is obvious enough, and that is to take away this man’s life, without any more ado; it matters not what he is, nor what he does; these are things that are not to be considered, they are out of the question; would you save the nation, destroy the man; things are come to this crisis, that either his life must go, or the nation perish; and which is most expedient, requires no time to debate about.

50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

John Gill

Nor do you understand that it is better for you—Priests, Levites, Pharisees, the council, and ecclesiastical rulers of the people; who, as Caiaphas apprehended, must suffer in their characters and revenues, must quit their honourable and gainful posts and places, if Jesus went on and succeeded at this rate: wherefore it was most expedient and advantageous for them, which was the main thing to be considered in such a council, so he thought it was,

That one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish—He proceeded entirely upon this political principle, that a public good ought to be preferred to a private one; that it was no matter what the man was, whether innocent or not; common prudence, and the public safety of the nation, required him to fall a sacrifice, rather than the Romans should be exasperated and provoked to such a degree, as to threaten the utter ruin and destruction of the whole nation.

51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly. EXO 28:30

Rashi

The Urim and the Thummim—This was an inscription of the proper name of God which was placed between the folds of the breastpiece through which it would light up its words (מֵאִיר) and perfect (מְךְתַּמֵם) its words (Yoma 73b). In the second temple there was the breastpiece for it was impossible that the high priest should have lacked a garment, but that name was not within it. Because of that inscription, it was called “judgment,” as it is said, “and he shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim” (Num 27:21).

The judgment of the people of Israel—The object by means of which they are judged and admonished whether they should do a particular thing or whether they should not do it. According to the aggadic midrash (Zevachim 88b) that the breastpiece atoned for those who pervert justice—it was called “judgment” in allusion to the pardon thus given for perverse judgment.

52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

For my enemies speak concerning me;

those who watch for my life consult together PSA 71:10

Rashi

For my enemies speak concerning me—My enemies speak concerning me, and consult together and say, “God has forsaken him.” We shall not be punished because of him since he has already stumbled in sin.

Sotah 21a:14

The baraita states: Alternatively: A transgression extinguishes the merit of a commandment, but a transgression does not extinguish the merit of the law. Rav Yosef says: Rabbi Menaḥem bar Yosei interpreted this verse as it was given on Mount Sinai, and had Doeg and Ahithophel only interpreted it in this way they would not have pursued David, as it is written: “For my enemies speak concerning me . . . and say, ‘God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver’ ” (Psa 71:10-11). Doeg and Ahithophel incorrectly thought that since David had sinned, his sins had extinguished his merits and God had forsaken him.

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.” GEN 35:2

Rashi

Put away the foreign gods—Which you have in your possession from the spoil of Shechem.

Purify yourselves—From idolatry.

And change your garments—Lest you have in your possession a vestment that has been employed in idolatrous worship (Bereishit Rabbah 81:3).

56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?”