John 7:44

44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand 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 The scripture says that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David and will be born in Bethlehem, the town where David lived."
43 So there was a division in the crowd because of Jesus.
44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 When the guards went back, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"
46 The guards answered, "Nobody has ever talked the way this man does!"
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.