John 11:48 (DBY)

Passage

If we let him thus alone, all will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.

Nearby Context

John 11:46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

John 11:47 The chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man does many signs.

John 11:48 If we let him thus alone, all will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.

John 11:49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, Ye know nothing

John 11:50 nor consider that it is profitable for you that one man die for the people, and not that the whole nation perish.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "alone", "believe", "romans", "come", "take", "away", and "both". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "alone", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 47's "The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees..." into verse 49's "But a certain one of them Caiaphas...", so "thus" and "alone" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thus" and "alone" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.