They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
Parallel Translations
-
They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
-
Then they sought to take him: but no man layde hondes on him because his tyme was not yet come.
-
Then they sought to take him, but no man layde handes on him, because his houre was not yet come.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to John 7:30 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 7:6 Jesus therefore said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
- John 8:20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
- John 10:39 They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
- John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.
- Psalms 76:10 Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.
- Isaiah 46:10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
- Matthew 21:46 When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.
- Mark 11:18 The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
- Luke 13:32-33 He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.’
- Luke 19:47-48 He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests, the scribes, and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him. They couldn’t find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.
- Luke 20:19 The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
- Luke 22:53 When I was with you in the temple daily, you didn’t stretch out your hands against me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
- John 7:8 You go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.”
- John 7:19 Didn’t Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”
- John 7:44-46 Some of them would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”
- John 8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s offspring, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.
- John 8:59 Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.
- John 9:4 I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
- John 11:9-10 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.”
- John 11:57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had commanded that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 30. Therefore they sought to seize him. They had…
30. Therefore they sought to seize him. They had no want of will to do him mischief; they even made the attempt, and they had strength to do it. Why, then, amidst so much ardor, are they benumbed, as if they had their hands and feet bound? The Evangelist replies, because Christ’s hour was not yet come; by which he means that, against all their violence and furious attacks, Christ was guarded by the protection of God. And at the same time he meets the offense of the cross; for we have no reason to be alarmed when we learn that Christ was dragged to death, not through the caprice of men, but because he was destined for such a sacrifice by the decree of the Father. And hence we ought to infer a general doctrine; for though we live from day to day, still the time of every man’s death has been fixed by God. It is difficult to believe that, while we are subject to so many accidents, exposed to so many open and concealed attacks both from men and beasts, and liable to so many diseases, we are safe from all risk until God is pleased to call us away. But we ought to struggle against our own distrust; and we ought to attend first to the doctrine itself which is here taught, and next, to the object at which it aims, and the exhortation which is drawn from it, namely, that each of us, casting all his cares on God, (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7,) should follow his own calling, and not be led away from the performance of his duty by any fears. Yet let no man go beyond his own bounds; for confidence in the providence of God must not go farther than God himself commands.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The wicked cannot do what they list, but what…
The wicked cannot do what they list, but what God hath appointed.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 30 Then they sought to take him: but no…
30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.
Ver. 30. Because his hour was not yet come] i.e. God would not suffer them. Those that bandy and bend their forces against the Lord and his Anointed are bounded by him, in whose hands alone are the issues of death, with the manner and time.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain By this time the news was come to the…
By this time the news was come to the sanhedrim, the great court of the Jews, to whom belonged the cognizance of church affairs, false prophets, blasphemy, violation of the sabbath, &c.: they took counsel, and used endeavours to apprehend him; or it may be, some of the ruder sort of people that were his enemies used some such endeavours, but not with any effect; for by the mighty providence of God, who had set the time when Christ should suffer, till that hour was come, mentioned also Joh 8:20; 12:23, there was such a restraint upon the rage of the rabble, yea, (as we shall hereafter hear), upon the spirits of the officers, who were sent from the sanhedrim to apprehend him, that they had no power to lay hold upon him. Men shall do us no hurt, till God’s time comes. A sparrow falls not to the ground without the will of our Father.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And many of the people believed on him,.... Whilst…
And many of the people believed on him,.... Whilst some were displeased at his doctrine, others were induced by his miracles to believe on him, as an extraordinary person, if not the Messiah; and these were the common people, especially those that came out of the country; for the city Jews, and above all the rulers, were very averse to him: and it is easy to observe, that faith in Christ, and true religion, spread and flourish most among the meaner sort of people.
And said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? referring not so much to the miracles many of them might have seen done by him in other parts of Judea, and in Galilee; nor only to those he had done in the preceding feasts at Jerusalem, but to those that were done by him now, though not recorded by the evangelist. The Jews expected many miracles to be wrought by the Messiah when he came, and they had good reason for it from Isa 35:5. To these Christ sends John the Baptist, and the Jews, for proofs of his being the Messiah, Mat 11:4; and by these he was approved of God as such, Act 2:23. And it is certain that the ancient Jews expected miracles in the days of the Messiah.
Read full note →
"Says R. Simeon to Eleazar his son, Eleazar, at the time that the King Messiah is raised up, how many "signs and other wonders" will be done in the world? a little after, from that day all the signs, and "wonders", and "mighty works", which the holy blessed God did in Egypt, he will do to the Israelites, as it is said, Mic 7:15, "according to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, will I show unto him marvellous things" (n).''
So the Targumist on Isa 53:8 paraphrases thus,
"from afflictions and punishment he will deliver our captivity, and "the wonderful things" which shall be done for us in his days, who can tell?''
It is true indeed that the modern Jews have laid aside such expectations, and pretend they were not looked for formerly. Maimonides says (o),
"let it not enter into thy heart, that the King Messiah hath need to do signs and wonders (as that he shall renew things in the world, or raise the dead, and the like; these are things which fools speak of); the thing is not so.''
And he instances in Ben Coziba, who set up for the Messiah, of whom R. Akiba, and the rest of the wise men of that age, did not require a sign or miracle: yet this same writer elsewhere says (p), that
"all nations shall make peace with the Messiah, and serve him, because of his great righteousness, and the miracles which shall be done by him.''
(n) Zohar in Exod. fol. 3. 4. & 4. 2. (o) Hilchot Melakim, c. 11. sect. 3. (p) In Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 11. sect. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain His hour - The time of his suffering.
His hour - The time of his suffering.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 7:30-32. Then they sought to take him —…
Joh 7:30-32. Then they sought to take him — “The defence which he made did not pacify his enemies, for some of them would gladly have apprehended him; however, none of them had the courage to lay hands on him, being restrained by Providence, because the season of his sufferings was not yet come.” And many of the people believed on him — “In the mean time the miracle which he had lately performed on the infirm man was so great and so well known, and this defence, by which he justified himself, so clear and convincing, that many of the people believed on him publicly affirming, that he was the Messiah.” The Pharisees heard that the people murmured — Or, whispered, rather, see on Joh 7:12; such things concerning him — And were greatly displeased and alarmed at it; and, with the other members of the sanhedrim, particularly the chief priests, among whom were many Sadducees, (Act 4:1,) sent officers — From the chamber in which they held their council, into the adjacent court of the temple; to take him — To apprehend and bring him before them, thinking thus, it seems, to confute his pretensions, and punish him. This, as appears from Joh 7:45; Joh 7:50; Joh 7:53, took place on the last and great day of the feast.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Then they sought to take him - The rulers…
Then they sought to take him - The rulers and their friends. They did this:
1.Because of his reproof; and,
Read full note →
2.For professing to be the Messiah.
His hour - The proper and the appointed time for his death. See Mat 21:46.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain sought to take . . . none laid hands--their…
sought to take . . . none laid hands--their impotence being equal to their malignity.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain Attempts to apprehend Jesus, and his response, Joh_7:30-36.
Attempts to apprehend Jesus, and his response, Joh_7:30-36.
This bold self-assertion by Jesus, rung in loud tones through the temple audience room, excites some of the Judaists to the earnest wish to seize his person; but a supernatural awe unnerves their purpose. His hour for submission had not come. See note on Joh_2:4.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 30. Then they sought] Better, Therefore they kept seeking…
30. Then they sought] Better, Therefore they kept seeking (imperfect of continued action) in consequence of His publicly claiming Divine origin and mission. ‘They’ means the rulers, the Sanhedrin; not the people, who are mentioned in the next verse.
but no man laid hands] Rather, and no man laid hands, ‘and’ introducing a contrast as in Joh_7:28. See on Joh_21:3. That ‘and’ in S. John often = ‘and yet,’ as here, is most true; that ‘and’ ever = ‘but’ is true neither of S. John nor of any other Greek writer.
Read full note →
because his hour] The hour appointed by God for His Passion (Joh_13:1), this meaning being clearly marked by the context (see on Joh_7:6 and Joh_2:4). The immediate cause of their not seizing Him was that they were as yet afraid to do so; but S. John passes through proximate causes to the prime cause of all, the Will of God. When the hour was come God no longer allowed their fear, which still existed (Mat_26:5), to deter them.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (30) Then they sought to take him.—The tense is…
(30) Then they sought to take him.—The tense is imperfect, marking the continuance of a series of efforts to take Him. The persons who thus sought to take Him are, of course, the members of the Sanhedrin. The people are mentioned in contrast in the next verse. For the present their efforts are confined to plots. No one attempts to use actual force.
His hour was not yet come.—This is the writer’s explanation of the fact that they did not seek to take Him. Jesus had Himself used these words at the first sign at Cana of Galilee (Joh_2:4), and again before going up to this very festival (Joh_7:6). The beloved disciple has learnt the religious interpretation of history. That the hour was not yet come, was not the immediate cause which influenced those who desired, but dared not, to lay hands upon Him. The next verse points out that there was a division in the multitude (comp. Joh_7:43-44), and in the uncertainty of what the consequences may be, no one was bold enough to take the decisive step. But if not the immediate cause, the writer regards it as the primary cause. Looking back on the life of his Lord, from the old age of his own life, so full of eventful issues, he has learnt that every deed of that life, as every deed of every life, had its hour mapped out in the eternal counsels of God.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 30-36. (5) The divided opinions and conduct of…
Vers. 30-36. (5) The divided opinions and conduct of the different groups around him; the attempt on his life, and its failure.
They sought therefore to seize him: and (equivalent to "but;" see ver. 28) no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. It was in their heart to combine with "the Jews," but none dared to touch him. There were political considerations, there were lingering and coruscating fires of enthusiasm burning in the hearts of those who had seen his great works; and probably an awe, a superstitious fear, of some stroke of his reputed power held them back. The evangelist once more notices the true cause of this arrest of their malignity: "The hour" for the termination of his self-revelation, for the completion of his self-surrender, the hour which to the beloved disciple"s eye was the very consummation of the ages, had not struck.
Read full note →
Vers. 30-36. The effect of our Lord"s teaching on the rulers and on the multitude.
His claim to be sent from God roused the anger of the rulers.
I THE ACTION OF THE RULERS. "Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands upon him, because his hour was not yet come.
1. Their efforts are for the present limited to plots against his life. The faithful witness to the truth is always exposed to the risk of persecution by a world with no love for the truth.
2. Their efforts are restrained by a Divine hand which can "restrain the wrath of men." "His time was not yet come.
(1) There is an allotted time for each individual life. God has appointed the days of man, and fixed the bounds that he cannot pass. The time of Christ"s death was not only foreseen but foreordained.
(2) The second causes through which the Lord baffled for the time the plots of the rulers were, probably, the divisions of opinion in the multitude, the growing popularity of Jesus, and, just as probably, the majesty of his presence and his speech.
II THE RESPONSE OF THE MULTITUDE TO OUR LORD"S TEACHING. "And many of the multitude believed on him, and said, When the Christ cometh, will be do more miracles than these which this Man did?
1. The Jews here referred to were those from abroad, as distinguished from the Jews of the city, who were intensely opposed to Christ.
2. They showed a progressive faith. Lately they conceded that he was "a good Man" (ver. 12). Now they admit his Messiahship.
3. Their faith, genuine as it is, has been largely due to his miraculous power. The tradition was that the Messiah would possess such a power, and these Jews believe that Christ had exhibited it on a scale commensurate with the Messianic expectations of the nation.
III SUDDEN EFFECT OF THIS CHANGE OF OPINION UPON THE POLICY OF THE AUTHORITIES. "The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him; and the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to take him.
1. They resolved to strike a blow at once, so as to save their religious hold upon the people. They had no scruple about destroying Christ, for they believed him guilty of blasphemy.
2. The divisions of religious life among the Jews themselves were in abeyance under the influence of the common danger. The Pharisees acted in harmony with the chief priests, who were Sadducees.
IV THEIR ACTION SUGGESTS TO OUR LORD THE IDEA OF HIS COMING DEATH. "Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
1. He invites the Jews to profit by the time, now narrowed to six months, that he would be with them.
2. The fatal effect of disregarding his timely warning.
(1) He would soon be beyond the reach of their malice, for he would "go to him that sent him," Jesus still emphasizes his death as a return to heaven and to his former glory with the Father.
(2) They would hereafter seek him in their impotent distress, but they would not find him. Their future history was to be marked by a constant series of disappointed expectations.
3. Their strange misapprehension of his words.
(1) They see no trace of a reference to his death or to his return to heaven.
(2) They see merely an allusion to some transference of his activities beyond the bounds of Palestine to the Jews of the Dispersion, and through them ultimately to the Gentiles. "Will he go unto the dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
(a) This was an involuntary prophecy like that of Caiaphas.
(b) The Jews of the Dispersion, scattered in Babylonia, Egypt, and Syria, were the most interesting section of the Jews, the links to connect the old with the new revelation, and in their synagogues the apostles were privileged to make Jesus known as the Messiah.
(c) It is a significant fact that this unconscious prophecy should be recorded in the Greek language by a native of Palestine, dwelling at the time in a Gentile city.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 30. They sought to take him. “They of Jerusalem”…
30. They sought to take him. “They of Jerusalem” angered because he said they did not know God. This was the attempt of a mob, not an official act.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 his hour had not yet come
his hour had not yet come
The word "hour" is a metonym that represents the right time for Jesus to be arrested, according to God's plan. AT: "it was not the right time to arrest him" (See: Metonymy)
Read full note →
When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than what this one has done?
This remark appears in the form of a question to add emphasis. AT: "When the Christ comes, surely he will not be able to do more signs than this man has done!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
signs
This refers to the miracles that prove that Jesus is the Christ.
translationWords
hour, hours
believe
sign
Pharisee
chief priests
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 7:30 Jesus’ opponents failed to arrest him because in…
7:30 Jesus’ opponents failed to arrest him because in God’s sovereign plan, his time, when he would be glorified on the cross, had not yet come (see study note on 12:23; see also 10:17-18; 18:6-8). All four arrest scenes in 7:1–8:59 stress that Jesus was in control, not the Jewish leaders.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.