John 11:55 (LSB)

Passage

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves.

Nearby Context

John 11:53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

John 11:54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

John 11:55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves.

John 11:56 So they were seeking Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?”

John 11:57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "passover", "jews", "near", "went", "jerusalem", "region", and "before". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "passover" and "jews", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 54's "Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk..." into verse 56's "So they were seeking Jesus and were...", so "passover" and "jews" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "passover" and "jews" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.