What does John 7:34 mean?

In the prior verse, Jesus made a statement which would have been easily misunderstood by those who rejected Him. Later, Jesus will tell His disciples that He was about to go back to God the Father, in preparation for His eventual return (John 13:31—14:7). Here, He is referring to the same sequence of events. In verse 33, this included a warning to Israel that their time to decide was short. Soon, Jesus would be "going to him who sent me," which those who did not believe might have interpreted as an intent to commit suicide. This would resolve the problems He has been causing the religious leaders.

The second part of Jesus' comment, given here, may have led to a second misinterpretation: that He intended to travel far away from Jerusalem, so far away that He would not be found. This, also, would have solved the problems of the local religious authorities. Their real concern was for their own power and influence—the opinion of people living far from Jerusalem was irrelevant to them (John 7:52).

All of these misunderstandings may have contributed to the failure of the Pharisees' men to successfully arrest Jesus (John 7:44–47).