<p>11:50 <i>Nor do you take account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, so that the whole nation does not perish-</i> The paradox of course was the Lord's death was so that all who believed in Him, the new Israel, would &quot;not perish&quot;. Caiaphas seems to be arguing that they had not even considered the idea of killing the Lord in order that the Jewish people &quot;not perish&quot;. &quot;Expedient&quot; is the same word used by the Lord in saying that His death was &quot;expedient&quot; in order that the Holy Spirit be sent and God's people be saved (16:7). So whilst the reasoning was that of Caiaphas, the words came out in a way which spoke clearly of the Lord's death.</p><p><i>That one man should die for the people</i>- Adam Clarke claims that &quot;This saying was proverbial among the Jews&quot;; it was an allusion to the scapegoat slain on the day of Atonement. It was the High Priest's duty to slay the scapegoat; and here he says that the Lord's death was to be seen as just that.</p><p><i>Not perish</i>- The same Greek phrase is used by the Lord about how faith in Him will mean that individuals will &quot;not perish&quot; (Jn. 3:15,16; 6:39). He saw salvation on an individual level, whereas Judaism and Caiaphas wrongly thought of salvation as being a concept applicable only on a <i>national</i> level. And yet the death of Jesus was primarily for Israel; and that whole nation need not have perished, due to the cross. Here we see the depth of grace; their rejection of Him, their doing of their Saviour to death, was actually the means for their salvation. We would have made it the basis of their condemnation, were we in the Father&rsquo;s position. But potentially, it was the means of their salvation. But such grace was incomprehensible to them. The whole nation, or many of them, <i>did</i> perish. And thereby we learn that the extent of the Lord&rsquo;s victory is dependent upon our response to it; so much was made possible through it, but human response is still required. John evidently intended us to see the connection with his earlier comment that the Lord was lifted up <i>that whosoever believeth on Him</i> should &ldquo;not perish&quot; but have eternal life.</p>