The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: S. John
S. Augustine says : Lazarus going forth from the sepulchre is the soul drawing back from carnal vices, but bound, that is, not yet freed from pains and troubles of the flesh, while it dwells in the body ; the face is covered with a napkin, for we cannot have full understanding of things in this life ; but it is said, “ Loose him,” for after this life the veilings are taken away, that we may see face to face.
Jesus saith unto them, Loose him and let him go . To his home. Jesus addressed this command to the Jews, that they, handling Lazarus, might as it were touch and handle with their hands the miracle that was wrought by Him, and [see] that he was raised up.
Symbolically, Christ sends sinners bound with the bands of their sins to bishops and priests, that they may be released and absolved, saying, Whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matt. xviii. 18). So also S. Augustine. “ What is it,” he says, “ to loose and let him go? What ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.”
Finally, there is no doubt (though John is silent upon it) that Lazarus rendered great thanks to Christ ; and that he dedicated his life to Him from whom he had received it. He became a disciple, a preacher, and the Bishop of Marseilles.
Ver. 45. — Then many of the Jews . . . believed on Him. For they were convinced by the evidence of the miraculous raising of Lazarus, so great and wonderful, that Jesus was a prophet, yea, more, the Messiah, as He professed.
Ver. 46. — But some of them went their ways, &c. S. Augustine doubts whether they did this with good or evil intention ; whether to announce to them that they might believe, or to betray Him that they might use severity, as says the Gloss. For they might do this with a good intention, namely, in order that the Pharisees, if they could not bring themselves to believe in Christ, should at least have a milder disposition towards Him, as Origen is of opinion. But all others think that they did it with an evil intention. Theophilus and Leontius add that they intended to accuse Christ as being sacrilegious , and even so far as that He had dug up the body of a dead person. Great then was their malice and malignity, with which they repaid Christ for so great a benefit, [inflicting on Him] so great an outrage — for a miracle blasphemy, for life death; since they denounced Him to the Pharisees to be condemned to the cross.
Ver. 47. — Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, &c.
What do we? (What does it behove us to do? Syriac, What shall we do ?)
For this man doeth many miracles. It behoved them to be convinced by so many signs and miracles of Jesus, and to believe Him to be Messiah, the Son of God ; but blinded by hate and envy, they say and do the contrary, and studiously avoid condescending even to name Him, but say, This man, as if He were a common and
worthless person (“ They still call Him man,” says Chrysostom, “who had received so great a proof of His Godhead ”), and consult concerning His murder, and propose to bereave of life Him who had restored life to Lazarus, and from whom they ought to seek and hope for life eternal. They did not say, “ Let us believe,” says S. Augustine, “but, lost men as they were, thought more of how they might injure
Him, and destroy Him, than of how they might consult for their own safety, that they perish not. Their foolish heart was darkened, so that they forced on the destruction, present and lasting, of themselves and their whole nation.” “ What foolishness and blindness,”
says Origen, “ that they should think themselves able to effect anything against Him whom they testify to have done many miracles, as if He were not able to deliver Himself out of their snares ! ”
Ver. 48. — If we let Him thus alone, &c. i.e., the Romans will destroy Judea and the whole Jewish race. S. Chrysostom and Theophylact by place understand Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea, and thence the whole realm. But Maldonatus understands the Temple ; for the chief priests feared that this with its victims and temporal gains should be taken from them by the Romans.
All will believe on Him. See here the genius of envy, and an effect worthy of it : the chief priests wishing to obscure the glory of Christ, display it the more, in saying that all men will believe on Him.
And the Romans shall come and take away our place and nation. Some are of opinion that they thought this, viz., If all believe on Jesus, all will depart from us, our Judaism, synagogue, and state, to Him ; and so there will be none to contend for us against the Roman attempts to subjugate us.
But others more probably, If all believe Jesus to be the King and Messiah of the Jews, they will irritate against us the Romans, the lords of Judea, because we have made for ourselves a new King and Messiah, and fallen away from Tiberius Caesar to Him ; wherefore armed men will come and take away, that is, capture, ravage, and destroy Jerusalem and Judea and the entire Jewish race and nation. So Chrysostom. “ They wished,” he says, “ to excite the people, so as to bring Him under the risk of being suspected to be a pretender to royalty ; if the Romans shall see Jesus heading throngs of people, they will suspect a pretender, and destroy the state. But what armed men and horsemen did Christ ever take about with Him ? Only envy and hate blinded them, so that they plainly erred, and reasoned wrongly. ”
Ver. 49. — And one of them named Caiaphas , being the high priest that same year ; said unto them . While the rest were consulting and not grasping the case nor finding what it was needful to do, Caiaphas as high priest proffers advice, and clearly defines the matter. It is said, high priest that year, because, although according to the law in Exodus (xxix. 29) the high priesthood ought to last for life, and after that to devolve upon the eldest son, according to the law of birth, the Roman rulers used to change the high priests frequently , either according to their own will, or for a price received from those who sought the office ( Josephus , Antiq ., lib. xviii. cap. 2). When Tiberius succeeded Augustus Caesar in the empire, “ by him,” he says, “ Valerius Gratus was sent to succeed Annius Rufus as procurator of Judea. This man deprived Ananus of the high priesthood, and appointed Ismael the son of Tabus to be high priest. He also deposed him in a little time, and transferred the honour to Eleazar the son of Ananus, the former high priest, and when he had held it for a year, Gratus deprived him of it, and assigned it to Simon the son of Camithus ; and he also having completed a year in the dignity, was made to yield it to Joseph, who was surnamed Caiaphas.”
The high priesthood was not therefore an annual office among the Jews, as S. Augustine infers from this place ; but was changed sometimes in fewer years, sometimes in more, and sometimes in the course of the same year.
Ye know nothing at all, &c. Ye, as if you were common and humble people, are foolish, ye do not understand the matter at all, ye do not grasp what it is needful to do, ye forward nothing, ye explain nothing, ye suggest no pertinent counsel; but I as high priest am enlightened by God, I set right the matter with a word, I give the best advice, and clear up the whole by saying: “It is expedient that one man, that is, Jesus, although He is accused of no crime, although He is innocent and a Prophet, and the doer of so great a miracle, should die (that is, be put to death by you) for the people, that is, so that the people because of Him should not be brought into suspicion with the Romans, nor that the Romans, because of Jesus regarded as Messiah and King of the Jews, should take away their place and nation ; and thus the entire race will not perish, but when He is taken away, will remain safe and entire.” This was therefore the impious, false, and unjust judgment of Caiaphas, that it was expedient for the safety of the people, that, though innocent, Christ should be put to death, so that the Romans might not use severity to Judea and the Jews on His account. His reasoning was, that it was better for one Jesus to die than many; it is better that one should perish, than the whole community ; i.e., why then do ye delay? why deliberate? It is not doubtful to me that it is expedient for one to die, Jesus, in place of all the Jews.