But after they left, it was possible for Him to go secretly, so He did. I m not going. They drive off, and then you take the bus. You didn t lie when you said I m not going. It was an elliptical statement that included the context of the situation.
Most conversation is elliptical and presumes the context.
The presence of elliptical speech could actually be taken as evidence that the Gospel of John reproduces Jesus actual words and is not a work of historical fiction. Today, with television and photography, a public figure cannot be anonymous. Movie stars in particular have the problem that they can t even go grocery shopping without being recognized, which really puts a crimp in their lives. However, up through the nineteenth century, it was possible for public figures to go secretly among the masses undetected, simply by leaving their retinue and their fancy clothes behind. So if Jesus went to Jerusalem alone, no one would know who He was.