READ: John 6:37-46: … No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day …
The crowd gathered around Jesus is willing to listen but refuses to accept what He says about Himself. It is astonishing: they’ve seen the miracle, eaten the food, been satisfied, and even heard the explanation directly from Jesus—but they still do not believe. In fact, they show resistance and even disgust: they murmur because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
The Lord Jesus gives them a glorious message: from Him comes eternal salvation. But they take offense. They cannot accept that He is truly God’s Son, the promised Christ. What they stumble over is the fact that they know His earthly parents. How, then, can He be the Son of God?
What is the root of their unbelief? Jesus points this out—for them then, and for us today. He says: “No one can come to Me” (v.44) which means that no one is able to believe in Me, to receive and follow Me as Redeemer. No one. That is shocking. Because of sin, humans are powerless to believe in their Savior and thus to receive salvation.
Even if you witness His miracles, see Him, and hear Him speak, you still cannot come to Him, except if the Father draws you. Jesus says: the Father who sent Me must draw you—drag you. This means that everyone naturally resists Jesus, as revealed in Scripture.
Jesus Himself, obedient to the Father who sent Him, goes to sinners to seek them. But they must be dragged to Jesus by force.
The gospel of Jesus is not according to human desires: one must accept God’s Word (v.45), acknowledge one’s own unworthiness, and confess one’s sins. One must deny oneself and seek salvation outside of oneself, in Jesus Christ alone. Then He will raise you up on the last day (v.44).
How do we notice when the Father is drawing us?
Sing: Ps. 25:10