What does John 7:32 mean?

Jesus' actions have already created problems for the religious leaders of Jerusalem. His recent public preaching has made the crowds of Jerusalem question their leaders' authority. Since Jesus has already been marked for death (John 5:18), but is currently teaching in the open, the people are curious. Do the religious leaders lack the resolve to deal with Jesus or do they now believe what He is saying (John 7:25–26)? Even worse, for the religious authorities, some people are willing to openly defend Jesus as the Promised One, based on His miracles (John 7:31).

As a result, the Pharisees send a group of official peacekeepers to arrest Jesus. As with other attempts explained in the Gospels, this effort to seize Jesus will fail. In certain incidents, this failure has a supernatural feeling to it (John 10:24, 39). In others, Jesus most likely blends into the crowd and leaves (John 5:13). He may also be protected by the presence of a sympathetic throng (Matthew 21:46).

Here, however, the reason Jesus remains free is perhaps the most surprising. Despite being sent to arrest Him, the men who hear Him find His words so perplexing that they will leave Him be (John 7:44–46). This may have been because they found Him persuasive or because they interpret His words to mean He plans to leave the area (John 7:33–36). It may even be that the Pharisees described Jesus in extreme terms, and the officers were confused to find a peaceful man with a peaceful following. This enrages the Pharisees who sent them (John 7:47–49).