John 6:44 - Printer Friendly

ESV: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

NIV: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

NASB: No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

CSB: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

NLT: For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.

KJV: No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

NKJV: No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

This statement is nearly identical to Jesus' earlier words (John 6:37). This repetition supports the idea that the conversation which began in the streets of Capernaum (John 6:25) has moved into the synagogue (John 6:59). Jesus might simply be restating this for emphasis. He may be rephrasing it as part of a back-and-forth debate.

This is the third time Jesus repeats the idea that those whom God sends to Him will, undoubtedly, see eternal life (John 6:37, 39–40). This strongly supports the doctrine of eternal security; those who are truly saved cannot ever lose their salvation, under any circumstances. Once a person has come to faith in Christ, Christ will raise that person up to eternal life.

Like verse 37, this text also touches on the question of predestination: the idea that God ultimately decides which persons are saved and which are not. Here, the language seems specific: only those drawn by God can come to Christ. Earlier, it was stated that those who were "given" to Christ by the father would be saved. Of course, in the wide debates over predestination, there are alternative theories of how, who, and when exactly God "draws" people.

John 6:41–51 uncovers the true motivation of the crowd following Jesus: selfishness. This passage is part of a long dialogue where Christ clarifies the meaning of His miracles. Jesus has just explained that He, Himself, is the ''Bread of Life'' which people are meant to seek. In response, the people complain amongst themselves. Jesus will give further explanation of what He means by claiming to be the ''Bread of Life.'' This will make the crowd even more agitated, as the people move from seeking, to complaining, to outright argument.

In chapter 6, Jesus feeds thousands of people who had been following Him. He does this by miraculously dividing the contents of a small meal, leaving more left over than He had to begin with. At first, the crowd is amazed and they enthusiastically praise Jesus. After sending the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and rescuing them from a storm by walking on the water, Jesus once again addresses the crowd. This time, He emphasizes the spiritual lesson behind His prior miracle. In response, most of those who had been praising Jesus turn away in disappointment.

John chapter 6 occurs some months after the events of chapter 5, bringing the narrative to about one year prior to Jesus' crucifixion. As with the rest of the gospel of John, the purpose is not to repeat information from the other three Gospels, but to focus on Jesus' status as God incarnate. This chapter continues to expand the list of Jesus' miraculous signs and the witnesses to His divine nature. Here, Jesus also gives the first of seven ''I am'' statements found in this gospel. Chapter 7 will once again skip ahead to a major public step in Jesus' path to the cross.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.