The Plot to Kill Jesus^(A)

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,^[a] he told his disciples, ² “You know that the Passover will take place in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³ Then the high priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. ⁴ They conspired to arrest Jesus by treachery and to kill him. ⁵ But they kept saying, “This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there’ll be a riot among the people.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus^(A)

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the high priests ¹⁵ and inquired, “What are you willing to give me if I betray Jesus^[a] to you?” They offered him 30 pieces of silver, ¹⁶ and from then on he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.^[b]

The Plot to Kill Jesus^(A)

14 Now it was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The high priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and to have him put to death, ² because they kept saying, “This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there’ll be a riot among the people.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus^(A)

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the high priests to betray Jesus^[a] to them. ¹¹ After they had listened to him,^[b] they were delighted and promised to give him money. So he began to look for a good opportunity to betray him.

The Jewish Council Plans to Kill Jesus^(A)

⁴⁵ Many of the Jews who had come with Mary and who had observed what Jesus did believed in him. ⁴⁶ Some of them, however, went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the high priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council^[a] and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our Temple^[b] and our nation.”

⁴⁹ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, told them, “You don’t know anything! ⁵⁰ You don’t realize that it is better for you^[c] to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” ⁵¹ Now he did not say this on his own initiative. As high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and not only for the nation, but that he would also gather into one the children of God who were scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they resolved to put him to death.