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These informers went back to Jerusalem and told the Pharisees what they had seem and heard, obviously believing somehow that what Jesus did was blasphemy.
It is hard for me to believe that anyone could have witnessed this without believing, at the very least, they should have been happy for Mary and Martha having their brother back with them again. Upon hearing what had happened, the Chief Priests or Judges and Pharisees were filled with hatred and called a meeting of the council. The meeting was called to get a show of solidarity and mutual hatred and to determine what course of action they would take against Jesus.
Notice the charge. "He performs many signs and miracles." That's quite a charge. They were not charging Him with trickery, they admitted to His power to perform miracles and it was this power that they objected to. He was a threat to their power therefore He had to go. "What are we going to do?"
Notice their ignorance of His mission. Notice how they perceived what would happen if He was allowed to continue these miracles. Soon many would follow Him and eventually everybody would believe in Him. Then they would make Him King and the Romans would see this as a threat to their hold on Israel and take military steps against them. Then they, the Pharisees, who had been charged by the Romans with the keeping of the peace would be removed and loose their power. So we see that pride and the desire for power had hardened their hearts and understanding to the extent that they could not see the true mission of Jesus.
But it appears that there was one who had more understanding than the rest, a High Priest by the name of Caiaphas. He said to the rest, "You know nothing at all." "You do not understand that it is necessary for this man to die that you and all the people of this nation should not perish." Did Caiaphas understand what he was saying and do we understand what Caiaphas meant? Was this understanding that he had because he was a High Priest? Was he speaking of the continued life of the Nation of Israel or did he really understand that the life that Jesus offered was spiritual? John believed that he prophesied of the death of Jesus and the salvation that His death would purchase not only for Israel but also for the world. John believed that Caiaphas was able to say this by the power of the Holy Spirit that inspired him. So the council decided that it was necessary for Jesus to die. Word of this got to Jesus and He no longer went about openly among the Jews. He left Bethany and went into a town called Ephraim that was located east of the Jordan River near the Wilderness of Peraea. Ephraim was in the inheritance of the Tribe of Ephraim. This means that Jesus, when He left Bethany, went back the way that he came, through Jericho and back across the Jordan where He stayed until six days before the Passover Feast.
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