Verse 47
The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many signs.
The hatred of Jesus by his enemies was past healing by any power; even that of raising Lazarus. The answer of the Sanhedrin to this greatest of the signs was to convene a council and formulate plans to kill Jesus, and even Lazarus also.
What do we? ... means "What are we doing?" It should be noted that there was no hesitancy in their acceptance of the resurrection of Lazarus as a fact. Indeed, how could they have denied it? Many of their own number had been eyewitnesses of it; and the community knew all about it. When Satan is unable to answer an argument, his response has always been to kill the witness; that was his response here, and another example of the same is found in the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:58).
John is in full harmony with the synoptics, indicating that the chief priests (the Sadducees) led the cabal against Christ. They did so, not in opposition to the doctrine of the resurrection; for, if they had founded their opposition on that, the Pharisees would not have supported them. It was on the selfish fear of losing their power and privilege that they based their murder of the Lord; and to be sure, on that basis, the Pharisees readily supported them.
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