John 7:44

44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

John 7:44 Meaning and Commentary

John 7:44

And some of them would have taken him
Some of the latter sort, who did not believe he was the Messiah; who were the most averse to him, and hot and furious against him; these were for seizing him at once in a violent manner, and for carrying him before the sanhedrim, as an impostor and blasphemer to be examined and tried, and judged by them, to whom it belonged to judge and determine concerning such persons:

but no man laid hands on him;
though they had a good will to it, no man had power to do it; they were held back and restrained by the providence of God; and were diverted from it upon one consideration or another; either fearing the people, or being awed by the majesty of Christ's countenance, or words; the true reason of which was, that which is before given, that his hour was not yet come.

John 7:44 In-Context

42 Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"
43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him.
44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not arrest him?"
46 The police answered, "Never has anyone spoken like this!"
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.