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.
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
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...
What is it which they counsel to do? They wish to stir up the people, as though they themselves would be in danger on suspicion of establishing a kingdom. For if, says one of them, the Romans learn that this Man is leading the multitudes, they will suspect us, and will come and destroy our city. Wherefore, tell me? Did He teach revolt? Did He not permit you to give tribute to Cæsar? Did not ye wish to make Him a king, and He fly from you? Did He not follow a mean and unpretending life, having neither house nor anything else of the kind? They therefore said this, not from any such expectation, but from malice. Yet it so fell out contrary to their expectation, and the Romans took their nation and city when they had slain Christ. For the things done by Him were beyond all suspicion. For He who healed the sick, and taught the most excellent way of life, and commanded men to obey their rulers, was not establishing but undoing a tyranny. But, says some one, we conjecture from form...
