John 11:45-53

Contemporary English Version

The Plot To Kill Jesus

(Matthew 26.1-5; Mark 14.1,2; Luke 22.1,2)

⁴⁵ Many of the people who had come to visit Mary saw the things Jesus did, and they put their faith in him. ⁴⁶ Others went to the Pharisees and told what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, “What should we do? This man is working a lot of miracles.^{[a] 48} If we don't stop him now, everyone will put their faith in him. Then the Romans will come and destroy our temple and our nation.”^[b]

⁴⁹ One of the council members was Caiaphas, who was also high priest that year. He spoke up and said, “You people don't have any sense at all! ⁵⁰ Don't you know it is better for one person to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed?” ⁵¹ Caiaphas did not say this on his own. As high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation. ⁵² Yet Jesus would not die just for the Jewish nation. He would die to bring together all of God's scattered people. ⁵³ From that day on, the council started making plans to put Jesus to death.