If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
Parallel translations
- WEB If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
- BSB If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
- ESV 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.”
- NKJV If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
- NASB If we let Him go on like this, all the people will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take over both our place and our nation.”
- NLT If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The leaders fear that Jesus' growing following will provoke Roman intervention against their nation. Self-preservation drives their hostility.
Overview
The council worries that widespread belief in Jesus will bring Roman reprisal, costing them temple and nation. Their reasoning is political and ironic, for rejecting him will not prevent the very destruction they fear. Their concern exposes hearts ruled by power and unbelief rather than truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Th 2:15–16Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
- Acts 5:28Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
- Matt 27:25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
- Zech 14:1–2Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
- Dan 9:26–27And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
- Matt 23:35–38That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
- Luke 11:52Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
- Zech 13:7–8Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
- Luke 21:20–24And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
- Luke 23:28–31But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
- Matt 22:7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
- Matt 21:40–42When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
- Deut 28:50–68A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
- Luke 8:12Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
- John 1:7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
- Luke 19:41–44And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
- Acts 5:38–40And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 11:48 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.