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Luke 22:53
ESV When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."
NIV Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns."
NASB While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.'
CSB Every day while I was with you in the temple, you never laid a hand on me. But this is your hour —and the dominion of darkness."
NLT Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.'
KJV When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
NKJV When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

What does Luke 22:53 mean?

A mob has come to arrest Jesus. Peter tries to stop them by attacking with his sword, but he only manages to cut off one ear before Jesus stops him. Now, Jesus challenges the priests, temple guards, and elders of the city: "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?" (Luke 22:52).

Jesus asks the obvious question: if He has committed a crime so egregious it deserves imprisonment, why didn't they take Him in the temple? Why have they let Him teach multitudes of people in the temple Court? Why didn't they warn the people that Jesus was a false teacher? Why wait to sneak up on Him in the dark?

The question is rhetorical. The chief priests, Pharisees, and elders desperately want to destroy Jesus. They even want to eliminate evidence of Jesus' power (John 11:45–57; 12:9–11). They haven't acted yet because they fear the people (Luke 19:47–48; 22:2). The masses love Him too much. That's why they were so excited that Judas came forward and promised to lead them to Jesus in a place and time where the people wouldn't see (Luke 22:3–6).

In addition, the religious leaders couldn't arrest Jesus for false teaching. They know His teaching isn't false. He fits the qualifications for the Messiah given in the Old Testament prophecies. He matches Moses' promise of the prophet greater than himself (Deuteronomy 18:15). But He's so unmanageable that they can't let Him take His rightful place in Jewish history.

Finally, emboldened and empowered by the power of darkness, the Jewish religious and civil leaders can destroy the man who stands between them and the security of their power.
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