In the book of John, we find three, distinct attempts on Jesus’ life. The religious leaders hated Him and did not want Him to live, so they tried to seize Him and kill Him. However, Jesus was in control and He knew when His time of death would be, so their first three attempts failed.

Jesus is teaching in the template, in John chapter 7, and we see Him interact with the Jews. They accuse Him of having a demon, then say they know where He is from; implying He wasn’t sent from God. Therefore, Jesus answers them plainly and tells them they do not know His Father and this makes them angry. Verse 30 reads, “Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”

Matthew Henry has written some insightful statements in his Bible commentary on the book of John. Regarding this passage, he writes, “They sought therefore to take him, to lay violent hands on him, not only to do him a mischief, but some way or other to be the death of him; but by the restraint of an invisible power it was prevented; nobody touched him, because his hour was not yet come; this was not their reason why they did it not, but God’s reason why he hindered them from doing it.”

We find a similar occurrence in John chapter 8. Ironically, after Jesus showed grace to the woman caught in adultery, the Jews condemned Him. The Pharisees said His testimony was invalid and when Jesus told them that they didn’t know His Father, they wanted to seize and kill Him. However, we read the following in John 8:20, “These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.”

In John chapter 10, we find Jesus talking to the Jews in Solomon’s Porch. They say they want to know if He is the Christ or not. When Jesus answers them, with a complete and detailed answer, they pick up stones to throw it Him. However, since it was not His time to die, they could not harm Him. John 10:39 reads, “Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.”

Adam Clarke sums up this event in his New Testament Bible commentary. The appropriate passage reads, “They sought again to take him—They could not reply to his arguments but by stones. The evidence of the truth could not be resisted; and they endeavored to destroy the person who spoke it. Truth may confound the obstinately wicked, but it does not convert them; and it is a just judgment of God, to leave those to perish in their gainsayings who obstinately continue to gainsay and disbelieve.”

Lastly, in John chapter 12, we find Jesus coming to Jerusalem to lay down His life because it was His purpose and because it was the right time. One reason why Jesus waited until this day is to fulfill the mathematical prophecy in the book of Daniel. We read in Daniel chapter 9 that there would be a day that Jesus would present Himself to the people as Meshiach Negid (or Messiah the Price).

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, He said, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.’” This event corresponded with Daniel 9:25 and 26 and these verses say, “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.”

It’s awesome to know that Jesus had the ability to preserve His life. It’s amazing to see that Jesus did this to extend His earthly ministry and to fulfill the scriptures. This prophecy in Daniel and fulfillment by Jesus Christ has been seen as one of the most compelling prophecies in the Bible, since it took hundreds of years to fulfill. Although the Jews tried to kill Him before His time, they were unable. God’s will prevailed then as it does, today.