52. 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.
53. That day the Jewish leaders began planning to kill Jesus.
54. 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.
55. 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.
56. 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?”