Luke 20:19-20

When the high priests and experts of the law realized that this story was about them, they wanted to have Jesus arrested that very moment, but they were afraid of all the people. Later, they sent spies who pretended to be honest seekers, but who wanted an opportunity to entangle Jesus by his words. Their plan was to catch him saying something against the government, so they could hand him over to the jurisdiction of the Roman authorities who would execute him for sedition.