Section 94

Section 94
RETIRING BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN'S DECREE
Jerusalem and Ephraim in Judea
JOHN 11:47-54

Summary: Upon heading about the raising of Lazarus, the response of the Pharisees and leaders was to call a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

"What are we going to do about Jesus?" the Jews ask each other. "If we don't stop Him, the Romans will come down to quell a potential insurrection and we'll lose our place." You see, for the Pharisees, the ministry was simply a platform for personal prestige and power. Thus, they weren't concerned about God being in His rightful place. They were only concerned about losing their place." -John Courson

Such a good point here by Ryle:

"This is a marvelous admission. Even our Lord's worst enemies confess that our Lord did miracles, and many miracles. Can we doubt that they would have denied the truth of His miracles, if they could? But they do not seem to have attempted it. They were too many, too public, and too thoroughly witnessed for them to dare to deny them. How, in the face of this fact, modern infidels and skeptics can talk of our Lord's miracles as being impostures and delusions, they would do well to explain! If the Pharisees who lived in our Lord's time, and who moved heaven and earth to oppose His progress, never dared to dispute the fact that He worked miracles, it is absurd to begin denying His miracles now, after eighteen centuries have passed away."

"The Romans dreaded the power acquired by permanent office, and often exchanged one high priest for another. Hence the expression, being high priest that year. By his vote Caiaphas may be said to have appointed and sacrificed his victim, who in that memorable year was to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. See Dan_9:24; Dan_9:27.
Caiaphas professed to fear that Jesus would presently gain such an ascendency over the people as to lead a revolt against Rome, which would cause a deluge of blood in which the whole nation would perish. Therefore he recommended that they should compass the death of Jesus. But, as the evangelist puts it, he spoke more widely and truly than he knew, because the death of Jesus is gathering into one the children of God who are scattered abroad-that is, the heathen who were living up to their light, as in Joh_10:16 -that of the twain He might make one new man."  F.B. Meyer

"So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 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.” John 11:47-48

"The course of Jesus seemed to undermine Judaism, and to leave it a prey to the innovations of Rome. It is uncertain what is meant by the noun "place." Meyer says it refers to Jerusalem; Luecke to the temple; while Bengel says that place and nation are a proverbial expression, meaning "our all;" but the Greek language furnishes no example of such proverbial use. It is more likely that place refers to their seats in the Sanhedrin, which they would be likely to lose if the influence of Jesus became, as they feared, the dominant power. They feared then that the Romans would, by removing them, take away the last vestige of civil and ecclesiastical authority, and then eventually obliterate the national life." -Fourfold Gospel

Another solid explanation:

 "The leaders felt they could no longer remain inactive. If they did not intervene, the mass of the people would be persuaded by the miracles of Jesus. If the people thus acknowledged Jesus to be their King, it would mean trouble with Rome. The Romans would think that Jesus had come to overthrow their empire; they would then move in and punish the Jews. The expression “take away both our place and nation” means that the Romans would destroy the temple and scatter the Jewish people. These very things took place in a.d. 70—not, however, because the Jews accepted the Lord, but rather because they rejected Him." -Believer's Bible

Sadly, it makes sense to me.  They felt their way of life and future were threatened.  Instead of embracing the truth and the future, they tried to prevent it from coming.  This never works.

"So from that day forth they took counsel that they might put him to death." John 11:53

"Thus, acting on the advice of Caiaphas the Sanhedrin condemned Jesus without a hearing and sought means to carry their condemnation to execution. Quieting their consciences by professing to see such political dangers as made it necessary to kill Jesus for the public welfare, they departed utterly from justice, and took the course which brought upon them the very evils which they were professedly seeking to avoid." -Fourfold