The window of opportunity was going to be narrow at best. The chief priests wanted Jesus arrested and killed, but they also wanted it kept quiet. Jerusalem at Passover was so crowded they couldn’t possibly feel safe doing it during the days of the feast itself (Mark 14:2). That meant waiting until the feast was over and Jesus, along with thousands of fellow visitors to the capital, would be heading away again. Would the right moment arrive—a moment when many had left but Jesus was still
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