The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus^(A)

26 After Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his followers, ² “You know that the day after tomorrow is Passover. On that day the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies to be killed on a cross.”

³ Then the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had a meeting at the palace where the high priest lived. The high priest’s name was Caiaphas. ⁴ In the meeting they tried to find a way to arrest and kill Jesus without anyone knowing what they were doing. They planned to arrest Jesus and kill him. ⁵ They said, “We cannot arrest Jesus during Passover. We don’t want the people to become angry and cause a riot.”

The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus^(A)

22 It was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover. ² The leading priests and teachers of the law wanted to kill Jesus. But they were trying to find a quiet way to do it, because they were afraid of what the people would do.

The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus^(A)

⁴⁵ There were many Jews who came to visit Mary. When they saw what Jesus did, many of them believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus did. ⁴⁷ Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the high council. They said, “What should we do? This man is doing many miraculous signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation.”

⁴⁹ One of the men there was Caiaphas. He was the high priest that year. He said, “You people know nothing! ⁵⁰ It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed. But you don’t realize this.”

⁵¹ Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As that year’s high priest, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for the Jewish people. ⁵² Yes, he would die for the Jewish people. But he would also die for God’s other children scattered all over the world. He would die to bring them all together and make them one people.

⁵³ That day the Jewish leaders began planning to kill Jesus.