John Calvin Commentary John 7:13

"Yet no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews." — John 7:13 (ASV)

Yet no man spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. By the Jews, he means here the rulers who had the government in their hands. They burned with such hatred against Christ, that they did not permit a word to be uttered on either side.

It was not that they were displeased by any reproaches heaped upon him, but because they could discover no better expedient than for his name to be buried in oblivion. Thus, the enemies of the truth, after finding they gain nothing by their cruelty, desire nothing more than to suppress his memory, and they strive to attain this object alone.

The fact that all were silent, subdued by fear, was a proof of gross tyranny, as I have already said. For just as unbridled licentiousness has no place in a well-regulated Church, so too, when all freedom is suppressed by fear, it is a most wretched condition. But the power of our Lord Jesus Christ shone forth with greater and more wonderful brightness when — making himself heard among armed enemies, in the midst of their furious resentment, and under such a formidable government — he openly maintained and asserted the truth of God.