John 11:48 (YLT)

Passage

if we may let him alone thus, all will believe in him; and the Romans will come, and will take away both our place and nation.'

Nearby Context

John 11:46 but certain of them went away unto the Pharisees, and told them what Jesus did;

John 11:47 the chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees, gathered together a sanhedrim, and said, `What may we do? because this man doth many signs?

John 11:48 if we may let him alone thus, all will believe in him; and the Romans will come, and will take away both our place and nation.'

John 11:49 and a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being chief priest of that year, said to them, `Ye have not known anything,

John 11:50 nor reason that it is good for us that one man may die for the people, and not the whole nation perish.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "alone", "thus", "believe", "romans", "come", "take", "away", and "both". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "alone" and "thus", 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 "and a certain one of them Caiaphas...", so "alone" and "thus" 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 "alone" and "thus" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.