In this verse, to "lay hands on" someone is to arrest that person. Alternate translation: "looked for a way to arrest Jesus" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])
This is the reason that they did not arrest Jesus right away. The people respected Jesus, and the religious leaders were afraid of what the people might do if they arrested him. Alternate translation: "they did not arrest him because they were afraid of the people" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit]])