45 Many of the Jews who came to visit Mary saw what Jesus did, and they
believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told
them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees
called a meeting of the Jewish council. They asked, “What should we
do? This man is doing many miracles. 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.” 51 Caiaphas did not think of this
himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus
would die for the Jewish people. 52 But Jesus would also die for God’s
other children scattered everywhere. He would die to bring them all
together and make them one people. 53 That day they started planning
to kill Jesus. 54 So Jesus stopped traveling around openly among the
Jews. He left and went to a place near the desert, to a town called
Ephraim. He stayed there with his followers. 55 It was almost time for
the Jewish Passover Feast. Many people from the country went to
Jerusalem to do the special things to make themselves pure before the
Passover Feast. 56 The people looked for Jesus and stood in the Temple
asking each other, “Is he coming to the Feast? What do you think?” 57
But the leading priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone
who knew where Jesus was must tell them. Then they could arrest him.

John 11:45–57 (ICB)