An account of the religious leaders plotting to kill Jesus. After witnessing Jesus’ miraculous signs, some Jews believed in Him, while others reported His actions to the Pharisees. Concerned about the impact of Jesus’ growing influence, the chief priests and Pharisees convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin. During this gathering, Caiaphas, the high priest, made a significant statement: “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” Interestingly, this unintentional prophecy pointed to Jesus’ sacrificial death for both the Jewish nation and the scattered children of God. From that day on, they plotted to take His life. Jesus, aware of their intentions, withdrew from public view and stayed near the desert in Ephraim. As the Passover approached, people sought Him, wondering if He would come to Jerusalem. The religious leaders’ fear of losing their place and nation led them to conspire against Jesus, setting in motion the events that would ultimately lead to His death and resurection. Jesus the one you know is clear that He holds the power of life and death over us all.
It reads in John 11:45-57 Easy> There were many Jews who came to visit Mary. When they saw what Jesus did, many of them believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus did. 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. 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.” One of the men there was Caiaphas. He was the high priest that year. He said, “You people know nothing! 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.” 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. 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. That day the Jewish leaders began planning to kill Jesus. So Jesus stopped traveling around openly among the Jews. He went away to a town called Ephraim in an area near the desert. He stayed there with his followers. It was almost time for the Jewish Passover festival. Many people from the country went to Jerusalem before the Passover. They went to do the special things to make themselves pure for the festival. The people looked for Jesus. They stood in the Temple area and asked each other, “Is he coming to the festival? What do you think?” But the leading priests and the Pharisees had given a special order about Jesus. They said that anyone who knew where he was must tell them so that they could arrest him.