John 7:45-53 (ESVST)
The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “ Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”
The officers were sent by the Pharisees and the chief priests to arrest Jesus. Remember that these officers were sent to arrest him in vs 32 because the people were starting to question why the authorities were not arresting Jesus. The people were saying maybe this is indeed the Christ and the authorities know that and that is why they don’t arrest him. This made the authorities to send officers to arrest him. So, from verse 32 to 44, the officers heard Jesus’s teaching. They decided not to arrest Jesus and when asked why, they simply said, no one has ever spoken like Jesus does. Look how Matthew describes Jesus’s teaching. No wonder why the officers could not arrest him.
Matthew 7:29 (ESVST)
for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
The Pharisees then said to the officers that they have been deceived because they themselves as authorities have not accepted Jesus as Christ. This indicating that they were in charge of the religion. They went on to say that if this crowd who simply know nothing about the law but claim that Jesus is the Christ, then they are cursed.
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “ Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night made them remember the very same law that they claim to know. He made them realize that they cannot simply find someone guilty before listening to him. So, he is simply saying the Pharisees must give Jesus a fair hearing. Their reply showed a high level of ignorance which also showed their true lack of knowledge of scripture. They did not even bother to find out where Jesus was born as well. They simply concluded that he is from galilee and therefore cannot be Christ. Lack of knowledge and lack of the will to find out. Typical false religious people.
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]
53 [[They went each to his own house,
Verses 7:53 to 8:11 were not available on the earliest manuscript that formed part of the bible. There is a lot of doubt as to wether it is even authentic. I on the other hand, say that everything that is in the bible as it stands was written and allowed by God. If God did not want these verses to be part of the bible, he would have not allowed them in the first place.