Verses 30-31
Evidently those Jews who tried to seize (Gr. piazo) Jesus did so to restrain Him (cf. John 7:32; John 7:44; John 8:20; John 10:39). However they could not because His hour (Gr. hora), the time for His crucifixion and its consequences, had not yet arrived. God prevented Jesus’ premature arrest. Even though some of the Jews tried to arrest Jesus, many from the multitude believed on Him. Jesus’ presence provoked a division among His hearers (cf. John 1:11-12; John 3:18-21).
Some believed because of the signs that He had performed. This was not a strong basis for faith (cf. John 2:11; John 2:23; John 4:48). They concluded that He was the Messiah, but the common understanding of Messiah was that He would be a powerful human deliverer. Probably few if any of these Jews believed that Jesus was also God incarnate.
"But throughout this Gospel it is better to believe on the basis of miracles than not to believe at all, so there is no condemnation of this faith as inadequate." [Note: Morris, pp. 367-68.]
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