John 7:44

44 Some went so far as wanting to arrest 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 Don't the Scriptures tell us that the Messiah comes from David's line and from Bethlehem, David's village?"
43 So there was a split in the crowd over him.
44 Some went so far as wanting to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 That's when the Temple police reported back to the high priests and Pharisees, who demanded, "Why didn't you bring him with you?"
46 The police answered, "Have you heard the way he talks? We've never heard anyone speak like this man."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.