John 11:57

‘Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given commandment that if any man knew where he was he should show it, so that they might take him.'

Meanwhile the plotters had issued an edict that anyone who knew where Jesus was should reveal it so that He could be arrested. They knew that the earlier they could do this the better before the whole area swarmed with Galileans who might side with Jesus. In the end they were thwarted by Jesus' delay and the result was that they finally had to resort to the desperate measures that followed.