John 11:47

συνέδριον. They summon a meeting of the Sanhedrin. Even the adversaries of Jesus are being converted, and something decisive must be done. The crisis unites religious opponents. The chief priests, who were mostly Sadducees, act in concert with the Pharisees; jealous ecclesiastics with religious fanatics (comp. John 7:32; John 7:45; John 18:3).

συνέδριον, common in the Acts and not rare in the Synoptists, occurs here only in S. John; and here only without the article, as meaning a meeting of the Sanhedrin, rather than the council itself. It is the Greek equivalent of Sanhedrin, which though plural in form is treated as a singular noun of multitude: see on Matthew 26:3.

τί ποιοῦμεν; Not τί ποιῶμεν or ποιήσομεν, ‘What are we to do, if anything?’ But, What are we doing? i.e. something must be done, and we are not doing it.

οὗτος. Contemptuous: see on John 9:16.

πολλὰ π. σημεῖα. Πολλά is emphatic. It is no longer possible to question the fact of the signs. But instead of asking themselves what these signs mean, their only thought is how to prevent others from drawing the obvious conclusion. The contrast between their action and His (ποιοῦμεν … ποιεῖ) is probably intended by the Evangelist, if not by them.