John 7:40-53 - Different Opinions About Jesus
40 When they heard these words some people in the crowd said, "Truly, this man is the prophet." [See note on 1:21]. 41 Others said, "He is the Christ." But [still] others said, "What [do you mean]? The Christ will not come from Galilee, [will he]? 42 Does not Scripture say [Micah 5:2] that the Christ will come as the descendant of King David, and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" 43 So, a division arose among people in the crowd over Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one [attempted to] lay a hand on Him.
45 So, [when] the Temple guards [See verse 32] returned to the leading priests and Pharisees, they were asked, "Why did you not bring Jesus here?"
46 The guards answered, "No one has ever spoken like this man."
47 The Pharisees replied, "Are you being led astray, too? 48 Have any of the authorities or Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law of Moses, [and especially its oral traditions], is cursed [by God]."
50 [Now] Nicodemus (being a leading Pharisee, and the one who went to talk to Jesus one night), said to them, 51 "Does our law pass judgment on a man before first hearing from him and learning what he did?"
52 They answered him, "Are you from Galilee, too? Search [the Scriptures], and you will see that no prophet will come from Galilee." [Note: They were probably referring to "the prophet" predicted to come by Moses. Deut. 18:15]. {{Most ancient manuscripts do not contain the section from 7:53 through 8:11, or else place it elsewhere in the book.
53 Then everyone went home,