Luke 19:47

And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him: and they could not find what they might do; for all the people hung upon him, listening.

Luke here summarized the situation as it existed on Monday of the final week. Only this day and the Tuesday following it remained for Jesus to continue his teachings. The tragic events of the cross would begin to unfold on Wednesday, culminating in the crucifixion itself on Thursday.

Sought to destroy him ... The glowering hatred of the leaders had reached the boiling point. They would kill Jesus by any means whatever, preferably by assassination (Matthew 26:4); but whatever it took to accomplish their purpose they were ready to do. Their impatience, however, would have to wait upon the Lord. He, not they, would set in motion the forces that led to his death; and his consent, not theirs, was the condition required to be fulfilled before they could act. The consent of Jesus was the sine qua non of our Lord's Passion. Without that, the criminal and bloodthirsty leaders were reduced to frustration, as so vividly portrayed here. "They could not find what they might do!"