Officers Are Sent to Arrest Jesus

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him.

²⁶ Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.^(A)

³ So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.^(A)

¹⁹ The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”^(A)

⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.^{(A) 48} If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place^[a] and our nation.”

The Unbelief of Those in Authority

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!” ⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? ⁴⁸ Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?^{(A) 49} But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.” ⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus^[a] before and who was one of them, asked, ⁵¹ “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?”^{(B) 52} They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

The Woman Caught in Adultery

[[⁵³ Then each of them went home,

⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as though I were a rebel?^{(A) 53} When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness!”^(B)

²³ All the crowds were amazed and were saying, “Can this be the Son of David?”^{(A) 24} But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this man casts out the demons.”^(B)

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in you stop them.^[a](A)