Chief priests and elders Matthew 21:23 Mark 14:27 Luke 20 John 12.42
It was Passover week and things were becoming very difficult in Jerusalem. On top of all the usual problems which the city experiences every year when thousands of people descend on the temple for the feast ( the crime rates rocket and there is never enough accommodation for everyone ) we were also dealing with the ' phenomenon of The Prophet'. We had been keeping tabs on Jesus for quite a while as his reputation as a rabble rouser and an insurgent increased. He now had hundreds of followers, all of whom were swarming around the city. Our informants had told us that he had been talking about Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, the temple being torn down and a new kingdom coming - all of which sounded somewhat dangerous. On the one hand this was a man who was clearly charismatic and could command a crowd. On the other hand he was a peasant from Nazareth with no access to weapons for an army or money to buy p...