The season of Passover had come and a large Jewish crowd was following Jesus because "they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick" (John 6:2 NASB). Quietly, Jesus went up on a mountainside with His disciples. There He saw the crowds coming to Him. Realizing their need for food, Jesus asked where they might buy bread, so that they could eat. Jesus demonstrated His care or concern for the Jewish people. However, He also had in mind what He intended to do.
With five barley loaves and two fish Jesus fed over five thousand people (John 6:10). "Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world'" (John 6:14). Knowing their intention to "come and take Him by force to make Him king" (John 6:15), Jesus quickly sneaked away again to the mountainside.
JOHN 6:26-27: THE FOOD OF ETERNAL LIFE
The following day, the crowds were seeking Jesus, but He responded, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled" (John 6:26). He then instructed them to "work [ergazomai] for the food which endures to eternal life," which He Himself was willing to give them (John 6:27).
Spending so much effort in order to be filled physically, Jesus instructed the Jewish people to place their efforts on being filled spiritually -- through "the food" which "endures to eternal life." He instructed them not to work for their salvation, but, if you will, to attune their hearts toward salvation, which can only be found (by grace) through faith (John 6:29) in Christ. The Greek word ergazomai (according to BDAG) carries the notion: to work, work out, labor, trade, do, perform; deed, action.1 R. C. H. Lenski comments:
JOHN 6:28-33: THE BREAD AS SIGN
Did these Jewish people adequately understand Christ's message? They asked, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" (John 6:28) Let us note what Jesus could have said in response. He could have corrected their thinking about working for salvation (perhaps through works of the Mosaic Law), if such was implied in their question. But Jesus did not necessarily correct their errant theology. He answered their question, which was qualified as the works of God, or the works which God requires. Adam Clarke interprets, "That is, Divine works, or such as God can approve."3 Jesus responded, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he has sent" (John 6:29). Frédéric Louis Godet comments:
JOHN 6:34-36: THE BREAD REFUSED
The Jewish people responded, "Lord, always give us this bread" (John 6:34). Note that Jesus then informed them that they, each one of them, must come to Him, and when he or she did so, hunger and thirst for spiritual realities would be satisfied (John 6:35). Again, this bread, admitted Jesus, is "that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world" (John 6:33). Thus we know that the bread, Christ Himself, and His intent to give its benefits, were restricted here to no one person or group, since the word world is all-inclusive.
But there was a problem. The bread from heaven -- the bread of salvation -- stood before them and yet they would not "work for the food . . . which endures to eternal life" (John 6:27). They would not work "the work of God," which is to "believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29). He promised to satisfy their spiritual hunger and thirst by offering Himself as the genuine object of their spiritual needs. Jesus responded, "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet you do not believe" (John 6:36).
This is the second occasion in this brief discourse that Jesus explicitly informed and confronted the Jewish people about their unbelief: "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled" (John 6:26). Again, Lenski comments, "These Galileans now know both the Bread and the eating; but this Bread does not attract them, this eating they refuse."5 Why did Jesus emphasize, twice now, the unbelief of this Jewish crowd? Lenski offers:
By the era of Jesus, many hearts of the Jewish people had already grown cold to the realities of the God of Israel (cf. Matt. 13:12-15). Adam Clarke notes the spiritual truths the Jewish people should have derived from Christ's message in John 6:
JOHN 6:35: THE BREAD OF LIFE
With five barley loaves and two fish Jesus fed over five thousand people (John 6:10). "Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world'" (John 6:14). Knowing their intention to "come and take Him by force to make Him king" (John 6:15), Jesus quickly sneaked away again to the mountainside.
JOHN 6:26-27: THE FOOD OF ETERNAL LIFE
The following day, the crowds were seeking Jesus, but He responded, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled" (John 6:26). He then instructed them to "work [ergazomai] for the food which endures to eternal life," which He Himself was willing to give them (John 6:27).
Spending so much effort in order to be filled physically, Jesus instructed the Jewish people to place their efforts on being filled spiritually -- through "the food" which "endures to eternal life." He instructed them not to work for their salvation, but, if you will, to attune their hearts toward salvation, which can only be found (by grace) through faith (John 6:29) in Christ. The Greek word ergazomai (according to BDAG) carries the notion: to work, work out, labor, trade, do, perform; deed, action.1 R. C. H. Lenski comments:
When Jesus bids the people at Capernaum to "work" thus, he implies that they have not as yet done so. They, indeed, had come and had heard, but altogether superficially, with their ears not with their hearts. They had clung to the temporal and transient, and every effort of Jesus to give them the eternal they had passed over coldly and indifferently.2Note what Jesus informed each individual in the crowd: Work for "the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you" (John 6:27). Thus we know that the message of Christ and His intent to give its benefits were restricted here to no one person or group; the Son of Man "will give" to you, though we know from the context that such was not bestowed irresistibly, nor unconditionally, since the condition of belief had first to be accomplished.
JOHN 6:28-33: THE BREAD AS SIGN
Did these Jewish people adequately understand Christ's message? They asked, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" (John 6:28) Let us note what Jesus could have said in response. He could have corrected their thinking about working for salvation (perhaps through works of the Mosaic Law), if such was implied in their question. But Jesus did not necessarily correct their errant theology. He answered their question, which was qualified as the works of God, or the works which God requires. Adam Clarke interprets, "That is, Divine works, or such as God can approve."3 Jesus responded, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he has sent" (John 6:29). Frédéric Louis Godet comments:
Jesus, in His turn, enters into this idea of works to be done; only He reduces them all to a single one: the work, in contrast to the works (ver. 28). This work is faith in Him; in other terms: the gift of God is to be, not deserved, but simply accepted [or received]. Faith in Him whom God sends to communicate it is the sole condition for receiving it.4Jesus, reflecting the Moses image connected with the manna which fell from heaven (i.e., God), by which food their lives were sustained (cf. Exodus 16:15; Num. 11:8; Neh. 9:15), declared Himself to be the bread (manna) which came down from heaven (i.e., God), and that this bread -- this food: feeding on Him, so to speak -- is true food, food which they needed for salvation (John 6:30-33).
JOHN 6:34-36: THE BREAD REFUSED
The Jewish people responded, "Lord, always give us this bread" (John 6:34). Note that Jesus then informed them that they, each one of them, must come to Him, and when he or she did so, hunger and thirst for spiritual realities would be satisfied (John 6:35). Again, this bread, admitted Jesus, is "that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world" (John 6:33). Thus we know that the bread, Christ Himself, and His intent to give its benefits, were restricted here to no one person or group, since the word world is all-inclusive.
But there was a problem. The bread from heaven -- the bread of salvation -- stood before them and yet they would not "work for the food . . . which endures to eternal life" (John 6:27). They would not work "the work of God," which is to "believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29). He promised to satisfy their spiritual hunger and thirst by offering Himself as the genuine object of their spiritual needs. Jesus responded, "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet you do not believe" (John 6:36).
This is the second occasion in this brief discourse that Jesus explicitly informed and confronted the Jewish people about their unbelief: "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled" (John 6:26). Again, Lenski comments, "These Galileans now know both the Bread and the eating; but this Bread does not attract them, this eating they refuse."5 Why did Jesus emphasize, twice now, the unbelief of this Jewish crowd? Lenski offers:
When the blessed reality of life and salvation in Christ is placed before the eyes and the hearts of men, so that they are made to see them, and when they then refuse to believe and to accept these gifts, their guilt is on their own heads. But Jesus points these people to this their guilt, not in order to cast them off forever (although they deserve that), but in order to drive fear into their conscience."6If the Jewish people clearly and without doubt understood Jesus' message about Him being the Bread and Wine from heaven (God), complete with all its spiritual implications and applications, we are not explicitly informed. We have to remember, however, that Jesus elsewhere stated to Jewish ears, "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him" (Luke 8:18). The crowds were responsible for rightly responding to Jesus' messages, which acted as a sort of testing ground, if you will, in order to verify the spiritual temperature of each individual.
By the era of Jesus, many hearts of the Jewish people had already grown cold to the realities of the God of Israel (cf. Matt. 13:12-15). Adam Clarke notes the spiritual truths the Jewish people should have derived from Christ's message in John 6:
The person who receives my [Christ's] doctrine, and believes in me as the great atoning sacrifice, shall be perfectly satisfied, and never more feel misery of mind. All the guilt of his sins shall be blotted out, and his soul shall be purified unto God; and, being enabled to love him with all his heart, he shall rest, fully, supremely, and finally happy, in his God.7Yet, by the end of Christ's discourse with this group of Jewish followers, "many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore" (John 6:66). Though this group of Jewish believers saw Christ Jesus in the flesh -- saw the miracles He performed before their very eyes -- they did not, they would not, believe in Him (John 6:36).
JOHN 6:35: THE BREAD OF LIFE
Having declared Himself to be the bread (manna) from heaven, i.e., from God (John 6:32), and having offered this bread (Himself) to all people (John 6:33), Jesus exclaimed, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35 NASB). This proclamation was the first of Jesus' "I am" revelations (cf. John 6:35: the Bread of life; John 8:12: the Light of the world; John 10:7: the Door of the sheep; John 10:11: the Good shepherd; John 11:25: the Resurrection and the Life; John 14:6: the Way and the Truth and the Life; John 15:1: the true Vine).
The "I am" claims of Jesus, according to Robert H. Mounce, corresponded to "God's response to Moses, who asked him what to tell those who inquire concerning the name of the one who sent him. God reveals his name as 'I Am Who I Am.' He chooses to be known and worshiped as 'I Am' (Ex. 3:14)."8 Just as Jesus is the manna from God (cf. John 6:31-33), so too is He the great I Am.
Jesus is "the bread of God" (John 6:33); He is also "the bread of life" (John 6:35) -- who "gives life to the world" (John 6:33) -- by which those who eat of it will have life within themselves. He stated further, "he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Without doubt, coming to and believing in Christ are one and the same. Note also the present tense verbs: i.e., the one who comes and keeps on coming to Christ, as well as the one who believes and keeps on believing in Christ, will never hunger or thirst respectively. Thus salvation depends upon continual coming to and believing in Christ Jesus.
JOHN 6:36: JEWISH UNBELIEF
Jesus then declared, "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe" (John 6:36; cf. John 5:36-38). What was the cause of this Jewish unbelief? Again, Mounce comments, "Miracles point beyond themselves only for those who see with the eyes of faith."9 The Jewish people had "seen Jesus," implying they had seen the miracles He had performed, and yet they, according to Mounce's reference to Temple, 1:88, found the miracle of the feeding "a convenience rather than a revelation."10 D. A. Carson concurs:
We learned from Jesus' parable of the sower the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Jewish people: "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return" (Matt. 13:14-15). The blinding of the hearts of many Jewish people was an act of judgment for their sins -- a judgment which resulted in the Babylonian captivity (cf. Isa. 6:8-13).
We also know from Scripture that this sad account was not true of all the Israelites, for there were some Jewish people whose hearts still followed Israel's God, waiting for His Messiah to come (cf. Matt. 1:18-19; 13:16; Luke 1:5-6; 2:25-32, 36-38).
Frédéric Louis Godet comments that the Jewish people "had faith enough to ask Him for the miraculous bread, but not to recognize Himself as the heavenly bread. This proves that they are still strangers to the spiritual needs which might lead them to Him, and to the work which He came to accomplish here on earth."12 Their own unwillingness to recognize or even investigate the claims of Jesus was a brazen display of ignorance -- as opposed to wisdom -- as well as self-reliance. These attitudes, no doubt, were due to the overwhelming influence of indwelling sin and a refusal to master it (cf. Gen. 4:7).
The bread of heaven Himself offered the Jewish people eternal life, but they had not the wisdom (cf. Matt. 7:24-25) to seek Him for attaining that life. Craig S. Keener comments:
We know that Jesus was sent to the earth by the Father to "save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Given such overwhelming unbelief among so many people, would Jesus' mission fail (cf. Matt. 7:13-14)? The answer is no. Albert Barnes comments, "Jesus then proceeds to state that, although they did not believe on him, yet his work would not be in vain, for others would come to him and be saved."15 Jesus continued His discourse to those Jewish people: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37). Jesus would in fact save sinners, and these sinners would be given to Him as a gift from the Father.
JOHN 6:37: THE FATHER'S GIFT TO THE SON
The "I am" claims of Jesus, according to Robert H. Mounce, corresponded to "God's response to Moses, who asked him what to tell those who inquire concerning the name of the one who sent him. God reveals his name as 'I Am Who I Am.' He chooses to be known and worshiped as 'I Am' (Ex. 3:14)."8 Just as Jesus is the manna from God (cf. John 6:31-33), so too is He the great I Am.
Jesus is "the bread of God" (John 6:33); He is also "the bread of life" (John 6:35) -- who "gives life to the world" (John 6:33) -- by which those who eat of it will have life within themselves. He stated further, "he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Without doubt, coming to and believing in Christ are one and the same. Note also the present tense verbs: i.e., the one who comes and keeps on coming to Christ, as well as the one who believes and keeps on believing in Christ, will never hunger or thirst respectively. Thus salvation depends upon continual coming to and believing in Christ Jesus.
JOHN 6:36: JEWISH UNBELIEF
Jesus then declared, "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe" (John 6:36; cf. John 5:36-38). What was the cause of this Jewish unbelief? Again, Mounce comments, "Miracles point beyond themselves only for those who see with the eyes of faith."9 The Jewish people had "seen Jesus," implying they had seen the miracles He had performed, and yet they, according to Mounce's reference to Temple, 1:88, found the miracle of the feeding "a convenience rather than a revelation."10 D. A. Carson concurs:
True, in one sense Jesus can acknowledge to them, you have seen me . . . but they have seen only a mightily endowed man, a potential king ([John 6:14, 15]), not the Son of God who perfectly expresses the Father's word and deed ([John 5:19ff.]); they have seen only bread and power, not what they signify. This crowd has witnessed the divine revealer at work, but only their curiosity, appetites and political ambitions have been aroused, not their faith.11This brings to mind Jesus' words to another Jewish crowd of would-be followers, "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him" (Luke 8:18).
We learned from Jesus' parable of the sower the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Jewish people: "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return" (Matt. 13:14-15). The blinding of the hearts of many Jewish people was an act of judgment for their sins -- a judgment which resulted in the Babylonian captivity (cf. Isa. 6:8-13).
We also know from Scripture that this sad account was not true of all the Israelites, for there were some Jewish people whose hearts still followed Israel's God, waiting for His Messiah to come (cf. Matt. 1:18-19; 13:16; Luke 1:5-6; 2:25-32, 36-38).
Frédéric Louis Godet comments that the Jewish people "had faith enough to ask Him for the miraculous bread, but not to recognize Himself as the heavenly bread. This proves that they are still strangers to the spiritual needs which might lead them to Him, and to the work which He came to accomplish here on earth."12 Their own unwillingness to recognize or even investigate the claims of Jesus was a brazen display of ignorance -- as opposed to wisdom -- as well as self-reliance. These attitudes, no doubt, were due to the overwhelming influence of indwelling sin and a refusal to master it (cf. Gen. 4:7).
The bread of heaven Himself offered the Jewish people eternal life, but they had not the wisdom (cf. Matt. 7:24-25) to seek Him for attaining that life. Craig S. Keener comments:
But this commentary [on the bread of heaven] focuses on cultural context, hence it is particularly important for us to emphasize that bread often related to wisdom: Wisdom will feed a person with the "bread" of understanding (Sir 15:3); in words on which John 6:35 almost surely depends . . . Wisdom declares that whoever eats and drinks from her will hunger and thirst for more (Sir 24:21).13Indeed, instead of asking Jesus for wisdom, or asking Him to explain further His teachings and parables (which were the teachings of the Father, cf. John 7:16), they misunderstood Him and seemed quite content in that confused state. "Thus," adds Keener, "whereas Jesus sought disciples among the Samaritans ([John 4:23]), these Galileans who sought Jesus for the wrong reason [i.e., for bread and kingly power] were not truly 'coming' to Him ([John 6:37])."14 Hence Jesus' devastating conclusion regarding the spiritual state of the Jewish followers: "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe" (John 6:36).
We know that Jesus was sent to the earth by the Father to "save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Given such overwhelming unbelief among so many people, would Jesus' mission fail (cf. Matt. 7:13-14)? The answer is no. Albert Barnes comments, "Jesus then proceeds to state that, although they did not believe on him, yet his work would not be in vain, for others would come to him and be saved."15 Jesus continued His discourse to those Jewish people: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37). Jesus would in fact save sinners, and these sinners would be given to Him as a gift from the Father.
JOHN 6:37: THE FATHER'S GIFT TO THE SON
Having informed His Jewish audience, "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe" (John 6:36 NASB, and henceforth), yet not admitting defeat in His mission as Savior, He added, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37).
Without doubt, coming to and believing in Christ refer to one and the same theme -- the latter defining the former -- for Jesus also said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). A. W. Pink rightly notes:
Christ then added, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me" (John 6:37a). Frédéric Louis Godet comments, "By the words: All that which the Father gives me, Jesus strongly contrasts the believers of all times with these men to whom He had just said: You do not believe!"17 The widespread unbelief of the Jewish people would not hinder Christ's mission "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Indeed, the first-century missionaries declared to the unbelieving Jewish people: "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46; 18:6; 19:9; 22:21; 26:20; 28:26-28).
The unbelieving Jewish people did not threaten Christ's mission, for He boldly declared that the Father would be giving Him a people (John 6:37). Again, Godet comments: "The neuter [pan o], all that which, indicates a definite whole in which will appear complete at the end of the work. The extent of this [pan], all, depends on an act of the Father designated here by the term give, and later by teach and draw ([John 6:44-45])."18 J. H. Bernard comments that the "collective use of the neuter singular [pan, all] is not unknown in classical Greek. John has it several times (John 17:2, 24; 1 John 5:4, as well as at John 6:39 and here [John 6:37]), and always of the sum of those who have been 'begotten of God' and 'given' by the Father to the Son."19 Thus this group ("All that the Father gives Me") comprises believers -- i.e., those who have been "begotten of God" (cf. John 1:12-13). This is the only biblical sense of which to make of this group since the Father could not give unregenerate sinners to His Son, the Savior of mankind.
From Christ's own words we understand that those who come to Him also believe in Him (John 6:35). Hence the Father gives believers to the Son, making belief in Christ the actual condition of the Father's gift or giving. Jesus did not take this opportunity to teach the Jewish people soteriology (the doctrine of salvation, or how one becomes a "saved" individual). He merely made the bare and factual declaration that all the Father gives Him come to, i.e., believe in, Him.
In what is known as Christ's High Priestly prayer, we again encounter the theme of the Father's giving to the Son certain believers: "even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life" (John 17:2); "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4); "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me" (John 17:6), referring to the Disciples; "Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You" (John 17:7); "for the words which You gave Me I have given to them" (John 17:8); "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours" (John 17:9); "Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me" (John 17:11, 12); "I have given them Your word" (John 17:14); "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them" (John 17:22); "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me" (John 17:24).
Note once the future active indicative may give (John 17:2; lit. will give), four times the aorist active indicative gave (John 17:2, 6, 8), and twelve times the perfect active indicative20 have given (John 17:2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 24), contrasted with the present active indicative21 gives at John 6:37. Robert H. Mounce accurately comments:
What we derive from our passage (John 6:37) is that the Father is presently giving and will keep on giving believers to the Son. The Father has not given all believers to the Son from eternity past but is actively involved in giving believers to the Son as they come to and believe in Him (John 6:35, 37). Again, Godet comments:
Finally, what is the nature of being given to Christ -- meaning, to what purpose? Being given to Christ by the Father is to be in Christ, or in union with Christ. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ [i.e., in union with Christ], he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Cor. 5:17, emphasis added). Our salvation is in Christ, as is our election by God in Christ: "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:4, emphasis added).
Christ Jesus is the elect one of God (Isa. 42:1). Therefore, if anyone is in Him he or she is elect (Eph. 1:4), saved (Eph. 2:8), regenerated (2 Cor. 5:17; Titus 3:5), sanctified (Acts 26:18), indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), and baptized into the body of Christ and in the Spirit Himself (1 Cor. 12:13). All spiritual realities find their epicenter in Christ Jesus. He is the Fountain of our spiritual identity; and believers are the Father's gift to the Son, for His redeeming work on the cross and subsequent resurrection, ascension, intercessory office, and future returning and conquering as Lord of lords and King of kings.
JOHN 6:38-40: THE SON AND THE FATHER'S WILL
Without doubt, coming to and believing in Christ refer to one and the same theme -- the latter defining the former -- for Jesus also said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). A. W. Pink rightly notes:
There is, no doubt, a shade of difference between "believing on" Christ, and "coming to" Him. To "believe on" Christ is to receive God's testimony concerning His Son, and to rest on Him alone for salvation. To "come to" Him -- which is really the effect of the former -- is for the heart to go out to Him in loving confidence.16Pink then references a passage from the author of Hebrews: "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Heb. 11:6, emphases added). But the Jewish audience to whom Jesus referred were neither coming to nor believing in Him.
Christ then added, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me" (John 6:37a). Frédéric Louis Godet comments, "By the words: All that which the Father gives me, Jesus strongly contrasts the believers of all times with these men to whom He had just said: You do not believe!"17 The widespread unbelief of the Jewish people would not hinder Christ's mission "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Indeed, the first-century missionaries declared to the unbelieving Jewish people: "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46; 18:6; 19:9; 22:21; 26:20; 28:26-28).
The unbelieving Jewish people did not threaten Christ's mission, for He boldly declared that the Father would be giving Him a people (John 6:37). Again, Godet comments: "The neuter [pan o], all that which, indicates a definite whole in which will appear complete at the end of the work. The extent of this [pan], all, depends on an act of the Father designated here by the term give, and later by teach and draw ([John 6:44-45])."18 J. H. Bernard comments that the "collective use of the neuter singular [pan, all] is not unknown in classical Greek. John has it several times (John 17:2, 24; 1 John 5:4, as well as at John 6:39 and here [John 6:37]), and always of the sum of those who have been 'begotten of God' and 'given' by the Father to the Son."19 Thus this group ("All that the Father gives Me") comprises believers -- i.e., those who have been "begotten of God" (cf. John 1:12-13). This is the only biblical sense of which to make of this group since the Father could not give unregenerate sinners to His Son, the Savior of mankind.
From Christ's own words we understand that those who come to Him also believe in Him (John 6:35). Hence the Father gives believers to the Son, making belief in Christ the actual condition of the Father's gift or giving. Jesus did not take this opportunity to teach the Jewish people soteriology (the doctrine of salvation, or how one becomes a "saved" individual). He merely made the bare and factual declaration that all the Father gives Him come to, i.e., believe in, Him.
In what is known as Christ's High Priestly prayer, we again encounter the theme of the Father's giving to the Son certain believers: "even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life" (John 17:2); "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4); "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me" (John 17:6), referring to the Disciples; "Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You" (John 17:7); "for the words which You gave Me I have given to them" (John 17:8); "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours" (John 17:9); "Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me" (John 17:11, 12); "I have given them Your word" (John 17:14); "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them" (John 17:22); "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me" (John 17:24).
Note once the future active indicative may give (John 17:2; lit. will give), four times the aorist active indicative gave (John 17:2, 6, 8), and twelve times the perfect active indicative20 have given (John 17:2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 24), contrasted with the present active indicative21 gives at John 6:37. Robert H. Mounce accurately comments:
The verb "to give" (didomi, GK 1443) is found seventeen times in this single prayer (seventy-six times in the gospel). Morris, 718 n. 6, cites Edwin Abbott's remark that "what 'grace' is in the Pauline Epistles, 'giving' is in the Fourth Gospel." It is the nature of God to give, because giving is the primary expression of love.22Jesus Himself admitted, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). God has made the ultimate sacrifice and demonstration of genuine love: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16; cf. 1 John 3:16, emphasis added). This gift (giving) continues to this day. The Father keeps on demonstrating His love for sinners by giving Christ to them, and then in turn keeps on giving believers to His Son.
What we derive from our passage (John 6:37) is that the Father is presently giving and will keep on giving believers to the Son. The Father has not given all believers to the Son from eternity past but is actively involved in giving believers to the Son as they come to and believe in Him (John 6:35, 37). Again, Godet comments:
The first of these three terms [i.e., all that which (the Father gives)] does not . . . refer to the eternal decree of election; there would rather be, in that case, the perfect has given. Jesus speaks of a divine action exerted in the heart of believers at the moment when they give themselves to Him.Note how Jesus had hand-selected His disciples (cf. John 1:41-49), and yet considered them as a gift from the Father (cf. John 17:6). The same truth continues to this day. Those who come to and believe in Christ (John 6:35; cf. Matt. 11:28) -- an action which is the responsibility of each individual -- the Father "gives" them to Him (John 6:37). Christ would never reject or cast such ones away from Himself, for His mission is to seek and to save that which was lost.
This action is opposed not to human freedom, but to a purely carnal attraction, to the gross Messianic aspirations, which had, on this very morning, drawn these crowds to Jesus ([John 6:26]). It is that hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matt. 5:6) which the preparatory action of the Father produces in sincere souls. Every time that Jesus sees such a soul coming to Him, He receives it as a gift of God, and His success with it is certain.23
Finally, what is the nature of being given to Christ -- meaning, to what purpose? Being given to Christ by the Father is to be in Christ, or in union with Christ. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ [i.e., in union with Christ], he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Cor. 5:17, emphasis added). Our salvation is in Christ, as is our election by God in Christ: "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:4, emphasis added).
Christ Jesus is the elect one of God (Isa. 42:1). Therefore, if anyone is in Him he or she is elect (Eph. 1:4), saved (Eph. 2:8), regenerated (2 Cor. 5:17; Titus 3:5), sanctified (Acts 26:18), indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), and baptized into the body of Christ and in the Spirit Himself (1 Cor. 12:13). All spiritual realities find their epicenter in Christ Jesus. He is the Fountain of our spiritual identity; and believers are the Father's gift to the Son, for His redeeming work on the cross and subsequent resurrection, ascension, intercessory office, and future returning and conquering as Lord of lords and King of kings.
JOHN 6:38-40: THE SON AND THE FATHER'S WILL
Christ's mission to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10) would be successful in spite of the fact that many would reject Him. Success is not measured quantitatively but qualitatively, and there is no higher objective qualifier than Christ Jesus Himself. Though the Jewish crowd following Him had not placed their faith in Him (John 6:36), Christ could still insist that He would, indeed, have followers (John 6:35) -- followers He counted as a gift from the Father (John 6:37).
Jesus promised that the individual who comes to Him, He would "certainly not cast out" (John 6:37 NASB, and henceforth). He explains further: "For I have come down from heaven [cf. John 6:33, 38, 41, 50, 51, 58], not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38). Note the English word "certainly" (John 6:37): this signifies the Greek word ou, which negates its verb, and is used here for emphasis: i.e., "the one who comes to Me I will in no way whatsoever [ou] send away [ekballo, cast or throw out, send away, expel]" is the sense Jesus was conveying.
The reason why He would not expel someone who came to and believed in Him is, hoti (for, because) He had come down from heaven to do the Father's will, and the Father's will was that of all He had given or would give Him, He would lose not one of them (John 6:39). On the contrary, He would raise these ones up on the last day (John 6:39). Moreover, Christ admitted that the will of His Father was that "everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life" (John 6:40). These persons Christ will raise up on the last day (John 6:40).
The words "beholds" (theoron) and "believes" (pisteuon) are present active participles: thus everyone who is beholding (or looking to) the Son and believing in Him will have eternal life. Hence "looking to" and believing in" Christ Jesus is not a one-time act but a present, continuous reality. Inherent in this statement is a condition to possessing eternal life: Only the person who is looking to the Son and believing in Him will have eternal life.
The authority that Christ had to raise up believers on the last day is inherent by nature. Jesus claimed six times in John 6 to have "come down from heaven" (John 6:33, 38, 41, 50, 51, 58). Robert H. Mounce comments, "By stressing that he 'comes down from heaven,' Jesus clearly establishes heaven as his eternal home. This in turn grants authority to all that he has to say."24 We know that, "In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1), meaning that the Word (i.e., Christ Jesus, cf. John 1:14) already existed. Moreover, "the Word was with God [whose eternal dwelling is heaven], and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Furthermore, we understand that Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (cf. John 5:22; Matt. 28:18). R. C. H. Lenski comments:
We will note soon enough the reaction of the Jewish people to Christ's brief teaching here (e.g., John 6:41). Meanwhile, let us pay close attention to the following statement made by Christ: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38). Did Christ Jesus have His own will -- a will separate from that of the Father? I do not believe so.
Christ's meaning is clear. He did not want anyone to think that He had come to push His own agenda, force His own will, but merely to accomplish the task for which His Father had sent Him. Albert Barnes comments that the passage demonstrates Christ Jesus "came for a specific purpose . . . and means that . . . he came to do his Father's will, [and that] he would be faithful to the trust. Though his hearers should reject him, yet the will of God would be accomplished in the salvation of some who should come to him."27 Even in Christ's human nature, we should not think that He had a conflicting will from that of the Father, since, He confessed, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work" (John 4:34), and, "for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:29). Adam Clarke, speaking from Jesus' perspective in first person, comments:
JOHN 6:41-42: THE GRUMBLING JEWISH PEOPLE
Jesus promised that the individual who comes to Him, He would "certainly not cast out" (John 6:37 NASB, and henceforth). He explains further: "For I have come down from heaven [cf. John 6:33, 38, 41, 50, 51, 58], not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38). Note the English word "certainly" (John 6:37): this signifies the Greek word ou, which negates its verb, and is used here for emphasis: i.e., "the one who comes to Me I will in no way whatsoever [ou] send away [ekballo, cast or throw out, send away, expel]" is the sense Jesus was conveying.
The reason why He would not expel someone who came to and believed in Him is, hoti (for, because) He had come down from heaven to do the Father's will, and the Father's will was that of all He had given or would give Him, He would lose not one of them (John 6:39). On the contrary, He would raise these ones up on the last day (John 6:39). Moreover, Christ admitted that the will of His Father was that "everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life" (John 6:40). These persons Christ will raise up on the last day (John 6:40).
The words "beholds" (theoron) and "believes" (pisteuon) are present active participles: thus everyone who is beholding (or looking to) the Son and believing in Him will have eternal life. Hence "looking to" and believing in" Christ Jesus is not a one-time act but a present, continuous reality. Inherent in this statement is a condition to possessing eternal life: Only the person who is looking to the Son and believing in Him will have eternal life.
The authority that Christ had to raise up believers on the last day is inherent by nature. Jesus claimed six times in John 6 to have "come down from heaven" (John 6:33, 38, 41, 50, 51, 58). Robert H. Mounce comments, "By stressing that he 'comes down from heaven,' Jesus clearly establishes heaven as his eternal home. This in turn grants authority to all that he has to say."24 We know that, "In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1), meaning that the Word (i.e., Christ Jesus, cf. John 1:14) already existed. Moreover, "the Word was with God [whose eternal dwelling is heaven], and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Furthermore, we understand that Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (cf. John 5:22; Matt. 28:18). R. C. H. Lenski comments:
While the stress is on the purpose clause, which, therefore, also is expressed both negatively and positively, we must not overlook the main clause, in which Jesus says in so many words: "I (the Father's Son) have come down (perfect tense: and thus am now here) from heaven ([apo], elucidating [ek], "out of" in the previous verses)." And "I have come down from heaven" states in most literal fashion what in [John 6:33] Jesus says of himself as "the Bread of God," that this "comes out of heaven."25The fact that Jesus had indeed "come down from heaven" convicted the Jewish people's unbelief to be not merely related to Himself and His person but also to His Father: "By thus putting himself back of the Father, Jesus makes plain to these Galileans that their unbelief is really opposition to the Father and to that Father's gracious will which Jesus is carrying out in his work with them. . . ."26 This fact was attested to by Jesus' words, "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself" (John 7:17).
We will note soon enough the reaction of the Jewish people to Christ's brief teaching here (e.g., John 6:41). Meanwhile, let us pay close attention to the following statement made by Christ: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38). Did Christ Jesus have His own will -- a will separate from that of the Father? I do not believe so.
Christ's meaning is clear. He did not want anyone to think that He had come to push His own agenda, force His own will, but merely to accomplish the task for which His Father had sent Him. Albert Barnes comments that the passage demonstrates Christ Jesus "came for a specific purpose . . . and means that . . . he came to do his Father's will, [and that] he would be faithful to the trust. Though his hearers should reject him, yet the will of God would be accomplished in the salvation of some who should come to him."27 Even in Christ's human nature, we should not think that He had a conflicting will from that of the Father, since, He confessed, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work" (John 4:34), and, "for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:29). Adam Clarke, speaking from Jesus' perspective in first person, comments:
I am come, not to act according to human motives, passions, or prejudices; but according to infinite wisdom, goodness, and mercy. Jewish passions and prejudices would reject publicans and sinners as those alluded to, and shut the gate of heaven against the Gentiles [cf. Matt. 23:13]; but God's mercy receives them, and I am come to manifest that mercy to men.28We carefully note the Savior's genuine offer of salvation to all people thus far in John 6: "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal" (John 6:27); "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world" (John 6:33); "I am the bread of life, he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35); "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:40).
JOHN 6:41-42: THE GRUMBLING JEWISH PEOPLE
Jesus had explicitly offered Himself -- the Bread of God (John 6:33), the Bread of Life (John 6:35) -- to His Jewish audience, and yet they would not believe in Him (John 6:36); they would not "work for . . . the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you" (John 6:27 NASB, and henceforth; cf. John 6:29).
Still, anyone who "comes to" and "believes in" Him will be "given to" Him as a gift from the Father (John 6:35, 37). These people He will raise up on the last day (John 6:39, 40), for He Himself came down from heaven to accomplish the Father's will (John 6:38), and the Father's will is that, "of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:39). How did the Jewish crowd react to Christ's message?
"Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, 'I am the bread that came down out of heaven.' They were saying, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?" (John 6:41-42, emphases added). Their complaint is very telling. I am led to believe that they did not detect any language from Jesus with regard to the doctrine of Unconditional Election, for had they done so, their reaction would have been different.
The Jewish people were considered God's elect people (cf. Deut. 7:7). They had been, corporately, yet individually, called out of the idolatrous nations through Abraham to be God's holy people; He had chosen them "to be a people for His own possession out of all peoples who are on the face of the earth" (Deut. 7:6). God chose to set His love on them (Deut. 7:7); and He did so unconditionally.
However, though the Jewish people as a nation were corporately chosen unconditionally, salvation, so to speak, was still conditioned upon faith in the God of Israel. In other words, none of the Jewish people were saved unconditionally. "For we say, 'Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.' How was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them" (Rom. 4:9-11).
The Jewish people were indeed the elect of God. (The apostle Paul insisted that "the adoption" and other prior blessings still belongs to them, cf. Rom. 9:4-5.) But this Messiah, Jesus, the one claiming to be the Son of God, insisted that the Jewish people needed to come to and believe in Him; and those who did come to and believe in Him were counted as a gift of the Father. But their grumbling was the result, not of Jesus rebuking them for their unbelief (cf. John 6:36), but for insisting that He was the Manna (i.e., bread) that had came down out of heaven. Andreas Köstenberger comments:
Jesus, however, did not believe they had cause for grumbling. Frédéric Louis Godet explains: "In other words: 'A truce to these murmurs; it is not my word that is absurd; it is you who are incapable of comprehending it, and all your 'hows' will serve no purpose, so long as you remain in this moral condition."31 Adam Clarke agrees. The grumbling of the Jewish people was aroused because "the whole of his discourse went to prove that he was infinitely greater than Moses; and that he alone could give present peace and eternal glory to men."32
JOHN 6:43-45 THE DRAWING
Their grumbling was futile. Jesus continued, "No one [oudeis, not even one person] can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 'It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught of God." Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me'" (John 6:44-45). The Jews' grumbling about Jesus' identity was getting them nowhere, spiritually speaking. In other words, their grumbling was not drawing them toward Christ but away from Him.
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Their grumbling against Him was only adding to their spiritual problem -- a spiritual problem inherent in the Jewish people for centuries (cf. Matt. 13:14-15; Isa. 6:9-10). Jesus then emphatically stated their true problem: they were incapable of coming to and believing in Him of their own strength. Again, Köstenberger writes:
Some emphasize the use of helkuo to mean drag, which does find scriptural usage (cf. John 18:10; 21:6, 11; Acts 21:30; James 2:6). Incidentally, BDAG places helkuo in the second categorical use of the word in John 6:44: "to draw a person in the direction of values for inner life, draw, attract." Albert Barnes concludes that God inclines the soul and thus receives all glory, but that the individual "yields without compulsion."35 John Peter Lange comments that helkuo denotes "all sorts of drawing, from violence to persuasion or invitation."36 Again, Godet explains: "The two divine works external and internal, answer to and complete each other. The happy moment in which they meet in the heart, and in which the will is thus gained, is that of the gift on God's part, of faith on man's part."37
R. C. H. Lenski agrees that this drawing, helkuo, is "accomplished by a specific power, one especially designed for the purpose, one that takes hold of the sinner's soul and moves it away from darkness, sin, and death, to Jesus, light, and life. No man can possibly thus draw himself to Jesus. The Father, God himself, must come with his divine power and must do this drawing; else it will never be effected.38 Lenski continues to defend his thesis that the external drawing "belongs equally to all three Persons" of the Godhead:
Jesus continued expounding on the concept of certain ones being drawn to Him, noting that those certain ones have "heard and learned from the Father" (John 6:45). This is directly connected to the previous verse.41 We understand that merely hearing the message of the gospel will not save the soul. Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matt. 7:24). James, the Lord's half brother, wrote, "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22). So it is that those who have "heard and learned from the Father" -- the message of the Father that Christ was presenting (cf. John 7:17) -- these are the ones who "come to" Jesus (John 6:45).
Yet, "coming to" (John 6:35, 37, 45), "believing in" (John 6:29, 35, 40), being "given" and "drawn" to Christ (John 6:37, 39, 44), "hearing and learning" the word (John 6:45; 7:17), are all activities initiated from the gracious internal and external moving of God, the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. God alone will receive glory for the salvation of any sinner, since no sinner can inherently come to, believe in, give or draw himself to Christ Jesus. This work must be the granting of the Father in the Son through the Spirit (cf. John 6:65; Phil. 1:29).
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1 A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG), third edition, revised and edited by Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), 389.
2 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel (Columbus: Lutheran Book Concern, 1942), 451-52. So the reader is not led to believe that the Arminian position grants any work, properly taken, of man to his salvation, Lenski comments, "But 'work for' excludes every Pelagian and synergistic sense. Even earthly food for bodily eating we do not produce by any 'working' of ours, it is God's creature and gift; witness every earthly harvest, also the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000" (451).
3 Adam Clarke, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Volume I. -- Matthew to the Acts (New York: The Methodist Book Concern, 1883), 560.
4 Frédéric Louis Godet, Commentary on the Gospel of John with an Historical and Critical Introduction (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Publishers, 1886), 20. Commenting further on the nature of this "work," he comments: "It is evident that, in this context, the genitive . . . of God, designates, not the author of the work (Augustine), but the one with reference to whom it is done: the question is of the work which God requires. What is called Paulinism is implied in this answer, which may be called the point of union between Paul and James. Faith is really a work, the highest work, for by it man gives himself [to God in and through Christ]" (20).
Godet seems to indicate that faith is not a work in the sense of being a meritorious act which God views as righteous, since we know that 1) no one is inherently righteous (Rom. 3:10-18); 2) no one has the inherent ability to come to Christ apart from the work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:44; 16:8-11); and 3) faith or belief in Christ is not counted a work in the sense of performing the works of the Law were counted as a work (Rom. 4:4-5). But, indeed, we must do the believing; God will not believe for us.
R. C. H. Lenski comments, "He makes the genitive 'of God' mean, not 'commanded by God,' but 'wrought by God.' And then in the [hina] clause, which is in apposition to 'this' . . . he plainly defines just what work God works in us. Faith is here called a 'work' in a peculiar sense, differentiating it entirely from 'works' as righteous acts of ours. We, indeed, must do the believing, but our believing is the work of God. We trust, but God kindles that trust in us" (455).
5 Lenski, 462.
6 Ibid., 462-63.
7 Clarke, 561.
8 Robert H. Mounce, "John," in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, revised edition, eds. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 444.
9 Ibid., 445.
10 Ibid.
11 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John: The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991), 289-90.
12 Godet, 24.
13 Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2003), 681.
14 Ibid., 684.
15 Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: The Gospels, ed. Robert Frew (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987), 246.
16 A. W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, Volume One, John 1 to 7 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan1945), 327-28.
17 Godet, 25.
18 Ibid.
19 J. H. Bernard, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, Volume 1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1953), 199-200.
20 David Alan Black writes: "Because the New Testament often draws a sharp distinction between the perfect and the other tenses, mastery of the Greek perfect is essential for accurate exegesis." The perfect active indicative, in this case the words have given, denotes action that is already completed. In Jesus' prayer in John 17, those whom the Father has (have) given to Christ was an action already completed, contrary to John 6:37, where the action is continual. See David Alan Black, Learn to Read New Testament Greek, third edition (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009), 73-75. Note also the aorist tense, gave: "The statement that Christ 'gave himself' for all people or for our sins appears as a creedal formula in Gal. 1:4; 1 Tim. 2:6." See The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, abridged edition, ed. Verlyn D. Vergrugge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 157. This action was completed in the past, contrary to John 6:37, where the action is continual.
21 The present active indicative, in the case of John 6:37 is our word gives, refers to "contemporaneous action, as opposed to action in the past or the future. It normally refers to continuous or repeated action." See Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: Key Insights into God's Word, NASB, eds. Spiros Zodhiates, Warren Baker, Joel Kletzing (Chattanooga: AMG International, Inc., 2008), 1706.
22 Mounce, 598.
23 Godet, 25. Adam Clarke agrees: "All that are drawn by the Father, ver. 44, i.e. all those who are influenced by his Spirit, and yield to those influences: for as many as are led (not driven or dragged) by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God, Rom. 8:14. God sent his prophets to proclaim his salvation to this people; and he accompanied their preaching with the influence of his Spirit. Those who yielded were saved: those who did not yield to these drawings were lost. . . .
"Those who come at the call of God he is represented here as giving to Christ, because it is through his blood alone that they can be saved. God, by his Spirit, convinces of sin, righteousness, and judgment [John 16:8-11]; those who acknowledge their iniquity, and their need of salvation, he gives to Christ, i.e. points out unto them the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world [John 1:29]." See Adam Clarke, 561.
24 Mounce, 445.
25 Lenski, 466.
26 Ibid.
27 Barnes, 247.
28 Clarke, 561.
29 Andreas Köstenberger, John: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), 213.
30 Mounce, 446.
31 Godet, 30.
32 Clarke, 562. Albert Barnes agrees: "This was spoken by Jesus to reprove their murmurings -- 'Murmur not among yourselves.' They objected to his doctrine, or murmured against it, because he claimed to be greater than Moses, and because they supposed him to be a mere man, and that what he said was impossible." See Barnes, 248.
33 Köstenberger, 213. He continues: "Rabbinic sources use the expression 'to bring near to the Torah' with reference to conversion." The parallel is striking, given that Jesus is the Torah of God. In the footnote he writes, "There is a certain affinity between John's teaching on predestination and the Qumran doctrine of the 'two spirits' (1QS 3:14-4:6). The rabbinic view is summed up by a saying attributed to Rabbi Akiba (ca. A.D. 135): 'All is foreseen, but freedom of choice is given.' . . ." (213-14)
34 (BDAG), third edition, 318.
35 Barnes, 248.
36 John Peter Lange, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical: John, trans. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1871), 220.
37 Godet, 30.
38 Lenski, 475.
39 Ibid.
40 Incidentally, if the word helkuo is to always mean drag, and little else, then why do we have not one English translation which reads, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me drags him; and I will raise him up on the last day"? Even the English translation favored by many Calvinists -- the English Standard Version -- reads, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:44 ESV). If the translators are so utterly convinced that helkuo only means drag, then they should translate helkuo as such. The closest English translation to any semblance of necessitarian dragging is God's Word translation: "People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them to me. I will bring these people back to life on the last day" (John 6:44 God's Word).
41 Adam Clarke writes, "This explains the preceding verse. God teaches a man to know himself, that, finding his need of salvation, he may flee to lay hold on the hope which his heavenly Father has set before him in the Gospel. God draws men by his love, and by showing them what his love has done for them. Fear repels, but love attracts. He who is ever preaching the terrors of the law, and representing God as a vindictive judge, will never bring sinners to him. They are afraid of this terrible God: but they love him, who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. (562)
Still, anyone who "comes to" and "believes in" Him will be "given to" Him as a gift from the Father (John 6:35, 37). These people He will raise up on the last day (John 6:39, 40), for He Himself came down from heaven to accomplish the Father's will (John 6:38), and the Father's will is that, "of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:39). How did the Jewish crowd react to Christ's message?
"Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, 'I am the bread that came down out of heaven.' They were saying, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?" (John 6:41-42, emphases added). Their complaint is very telling. I am led to believe that they did not detect any language from Jesus with regard to the doctrine of Unconditional Election, for had they done so, their reaction would have been different.
The Jewish people were considered God's elect people (cf. Deut. 7:7). They had been, corporately, yet individually, called out of the idolatrous nations through Abraham to be God's holy people; He had chosen them "to be a people for His own possession out of all peoples who are on the face of the earth" (Deut. 7:6). God chose to set His love on them (Deut. 7:7); and He did so unconditionally.
However, though the Jewish people as a nation were corporately chosen unconditionally, salvation, so to speak, was still conditioned upon faith in the God of Israel. In other words, none of the Jewish people were saved unconditionally. "For we say, 'Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.' How was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them" (Rom. 4:9-11).
The Jewish people were indeed the elect of God. (The apostle Paul insisted that "the adoption" and other prior blessings still belongs to them, cf. Rom. 9:4-5.) But this Messiah, Jesus, the one claiming to be the Son of God, insisted that the Jewish people needed to come to and believe in Him; and those who did come to and believe in Him were counted as a gift of the Father. But their grumbling was the result, not of Jesus rebuking them for their unbelief (cf. John 6:36), but for insisting that He was the Manna (i.e., bread) that had came down out of heaven. Andreas Köstenberger comments:
There are obvious parallels between Jesus' Jewish opponents and wilderness Israel (cf. Exod. 16:2, 8-9; Num. 11:4-23). Just as the Israelites grumbled about the first giver of bread, Moses, so now they grumbled about the second, Jesus (1 Cor. 10:10); and just as in the wilderness, the Jews' grumbling ultimately is directed against God himself (Moloney 1998: 217).29Jesus then commanded His Jewish audience, "Do not grumble among yourselves" (John 6:43). The Greek word for "were grumbling" at John 6:41 (egonguzon) is imperfect active indicative, informing us of a perpetual grumbling or complaining. They did not merely complain once but were continually grumbling and complaining about His message and claim. Their complaint seemed valid to them; after all, they had known Jesus, son of Joseph, since He was a small boy. Robert H. Mounce adds: "From their perspective, the logic was irrefutable. Jesus was either misguided or, even worse, attempting to foist off on them a fraudulent claim of essential superiority."30
Jesus, however, did not believe they had cause for grumbling. Frédéric Louis Godet explains: "In other words: 'A truce to these murmurs; it is not my word that is absurd; it is you who are incapable of comprehending it, and all your 'hows' will serve no purpose, so long as you remain in this moral condition."31 Adam Clarke agrees. The grumbling of the Jewish people was aroused because "the whole of his discourse went to prove that he was infinitely greater than Moses; and that he alone could give present peace and eternal glory to men."32
JOHN 6:43-45 THE DRAWING
Their grumbling was futile. Jesus continued, "No one [oudeis, not even one person] can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 'It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught of God." Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me'" (John 6:44-45). The Jews' grumbling about Jesus' identity was getting them nowhere, spiritually speaking. In other words, their grumbling was not drawing them toward Christ but away from Him.
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Their grumbling against Him was only adding to their spiritual problem -- a spiritual problem inherent in the Jewish people for centuries (cf. Matt. 13:14-15; Isa. 6:9-10). Jesus then emphatically stated their true problem: they were incapable of coming to and believing in Him of their own strength. Again, Köstenberger writes:
Jesus proceeds to underscore the human inability to gain salvation apart from divine enablement. People can come to him only if the Father who sent Jesus draws them. Ultimately, therefore, salvation depends not on human believing [an impossibility], but on the "drawing" action of the Father (presumably by the Holy Spirit) by which God moves a person to faith in Christ (cf. [John 12:32]; see also Jer. 31:3; Hos. 11:4; see Ridderbos 1997: 232).33Much attention has been granted to both the English and Greek words draw and elkuse respectively (elkuse being the aorist active subjunctive of the verb helkuo). This verb (according to BDAG) may refer 1) "to [moving] an object from one area to another in a pulling motion, draw, with the implication that the object being moved is incapable of propelling itself or in the case of [the person being] unwilling to do so voluntarily, in either case with implication of exertion on the part of the mover"; 2) "to draw a person in the direction of values for inner life, draw, attract, an extended figurative use"; 3) "to appear to be pulled in a certain direction, flow, a . . . figurative use . . . flow along of a river."34
Some emphasize the use of helkuo to mean drag, which does find scriptural usage (cf. John 18:10; 21:6, 11; Acts 21:30; James 2:6). Incidentally, BDAG places helkuo in the second categorical use of the word in John 6:44: "to draw a person in the direction of values for inner life, draw, attract." Albert Barnes concludes that God inclines the soul and thus receives all glory, but that the individual "yields without compulsion."35 John Peter Lange comments that helkuo denotes "all sorts of drawing, from violence to persuasion or invitation."36 Again, Godet explains: "The two divine works external and internal, answer to and complete each other. The happy moment in which they meet in the heart, and in which the will is thus gained, is that of the gift on God's part, of faith on man's part."37
R. C. H. Lenski agrees that this drawing, helkuo, is "accomplished by a specific power, one especially designed for the purpose, one that takes hold of the sinner's soul and moves it away from darkness, sin, and death, to Jesus, light, and life. No man can possibly thus draw himself to Jesus. The Father, God himself, must come with his divine power and must do this drawing; else it will never be effected.38 Lenski continues to defend his thesis that the external drawing "belongs equally to all three Persons" of the Godhead:
The Sender of Jesus is here mentioned because of the unbelieving Galileans; they are to understand that it is God himself who is now dealing with them through Jesus whom he has sent. The power by which these Jews are at this very moment being drawn is the power of divine grace, operative in and through the Word these Jews now hear from the lips of Jesus. While it is power (Rom. 1:16), efficacious to save, it is never irresistible (Matt. 23:37, "and ye would not").39That is the question most students of Scripture want answered: Is this drawing, helkuo, resistible? Arminians and others answer yes, while Calvinists and others answer no. Arminians and others emphasize persuasion and attracting, while Calvinists and others emphasize dragging (cause and effect).40
Jesus continued expounding on the concept of certain ones being drawn to Him, noting that those certain ones have "heard and learned from the Father" (John 6:45). This is directly connected to the previous verse.41 We understand that merely hearing the message of the gospel will not save the soul. Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matt. 7:24). James, the Lord's half brother, wrote, "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22). So it is that those who have "heard and learned from the Father" -- the message of the Father that Christ was presenting (cf. John 7:17) -- these are the ones who "come to" Jesus (John 6:45).
Yet, "coming to" (John 6:35, 37, 45), "believing in" (John 6:29, 35, 40), being "given" and "drawn" to Christ (John 6:37, 39, 44), "hearing and learning" the word (John 6:45; 7:17), are all activities initiated from the gracious internal and external moving of God, the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. God alone will receive glory for the salvation of any sinner, since no sinner can inherently come to, believe in, give or draw himself to Christ Jesus. This work must be the granting of the Father in the Son through the Spirit (cf. John 6:65; Phil. 1:29).
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1 A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG), third edition, revised and edited by Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), 389.
2 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel (Columbus: Lutheran Book Concern, 1942), 451-52. So the reader is not led to believe that the Arminian position grants any work, properly taken, of man to his salvation, Lenski comments, "But 'work for' excludes every Pelagian and synergistic sense. Even earthly food for bodily eating we do not produce by any 'working' of ours, it is God's creature and gift; witness every earthly harvest, also the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000" (451).
3 Adam Clarke, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Volume I. -- Matthew to the Acts (New York: The Methodist Book Concern, 1883), 560.
4 Frédéric Louis Godet, Commentary on the Gospel of John with an Historical and Critical Introduction (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Publishers, 1886), 20. Commenting further on the nature of this "work," he comments: "It is evident that, in this context, the genitive . . . of God, designates, not the author of the work (Augustine), but the one with reference to whom it is done: the question is of the work which God requires. What is called Paulinism is implied in this answer, which may be called the point of union between Paul and James. Faith is really a work, the highest work, for by it man gives himself [to God in and through Christ]" (20).
Godet seems to indicate that faith is not a work in the sense of being a meritorious act which God views as righteous, since we know that 1) no one is inherently righteous (Rom. 3:10-18); 2) no one has the inherent ability to come to Christ apart from the work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:44; 16:8-11); and 3) faith or belief in Christ is not counted a work in the sense of performing the works of the Law were counted as a work (Rom. 4:4-5). But, indeed, we must do the believing; God will not believe for us.
R. C. H. Lenski comments, "He makes the genitive 'of God' mean, not 'commanded by God,' but 'wrought by God.' And then in the [hina] clause, which is in apposition to 'this' . . . he plainly defines just what work God works in us. Faith is here called a 'work' in a peculiar sense, differentiating it entirely from 'works' as righteous acts of ours. We, indeed, must do the believing, but our believing is the work of God. We trust, but God kindles that trust in us" (455).
5 Lenski, 462.
6 Ibid., 462-63.
7 Clarke, 561.
8 Robert H. Mounce, "John," in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, revised edition, eds. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 444.
9 Ibid., 445.
10 Ibid.
11 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John: The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991), 289-90.
12 Godet, 24.
13 Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2003), 681.
14 Ibid., 684.
15 Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: The Gospels, ed. Robert Frew (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987), 246.
16 A. W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, Volume One, John 1 to 7 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan1945), 327-28.
17 Godet, 25.
18 Ibid.
19 J. H. Bernard, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, Volume 1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1953), 199-200.
20 David Alan Black writes: "Because the New Testament often draws a sharp distinction between the perfect and the other tenses, mastery of the Greek perfect is essential for accurate exegesis." The perfect active indicative, in this case the words have given, denotes action that is already completed. In Jesus' prayer in John 17, those whom the Father has (have) given to Christ was an action already completed, contrary to John 6:37, where the action is continual. See David Alan Black, Learn to Read New Testament Greek, third edition (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009), 73-75. Note also the aorist tense, gave: "The statement that Christ 'gave himself' for all people or for our sins appears as a creedal formula in Gal. 1:4; 1 Tim. 2:6." See The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, abridged edition, ed. Verlyn D. Vergrugge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 157. This action was completed in the past, contrary to John 6:37, where the action is continual.
21 The present active indicative, in the case of John 6:37 is our word gives, refers to "contemporaneous action, as opposed to action in the past or the future. It normally refers to continuous or repeated action." See Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: Key Insights into God's Word, NASB, eds. Spiros Zodhiates, Warren Baker, Joel Kletzing (Chattanooga: AMG International, Inc., 2008), 1706.
22 Mounce, 598.
23 Godet, 25. Adam Clarke agrees: "All that are drawn by the Father, ver. 44, i.e. all those who are influenced by his Spirit, and yield to those influences: for as many as are led (not driven or dragged) by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God, Rom. 8:14. God sent his prophets to proclaim his salvation to this people; and he accompanied their preaching with the influence of his Spirit. Those who yielded were saved: those who did not yield to these drawings were lost. . . .
"Those who come at the call of God he is represented here as giving to Christ, because it is through his blood alone that they can be saved. God, by his Spirit, convinces of sin, righteousness, and judgment [John 16:8-11]; those who acknowledge their iniquity, and their need of salvation, he gives to Christ, i.e. points out unto them the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world [John 1:29]." See Adam Clarke, 561.
24 Mounce, 445.
25 Lenski, 466.
26 Ibid.
27 Barnes, 247.
28 Clarke, 561.
29 Andreas Köstenberger, John: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), 213.
30 Mounce, 446.
31 Godet, 30.
32 Clarke, 562. Albert Barnes agrees: "This was spoken by Jesus to reprove their murmurings -- 'Murmur not among yourselves.' They objected to his doctrine, or murmured against it, because he claimed to be greater than Moses, and because they supposed him to be a mere man, and that what he said was impossible." See Barnes, 248.
33 Köstenberger, 213. He continues: "Rabbinic sources use the expression 'to bring near to the Torah' with reference to conversion." The parallel is striking, given that Jesus is the Torah of God. In the footnote he writes, "There is a certain affinity between John's teaching on predestination and the Qumran doctrine of the 'two spirits' (1QS 3:14-4:6). The rabbinic view is summed up by a saying attributed to Rabbi Akiba (ca. A.D. 135): 'All is foreseen, but freedom of choice is given.' . . ." (213-14)
34 (BDAG), third edition, 318.
35 Barnes, 248.
36 John Peter Lange, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical: John, trans. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1871), 220.
37 Godet, 30.
38 Lenski, 475.
39 Ibid.
40 Incidentally, if the word helkuo is to always mean drag, and little else, then why do we have not one English translation which reads, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me drags him; and I will raise him up on the last day"? Even the English translation favored by many Calvinists -- the English Standard Version -- reads, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:44 ESV). If the translators are so utterly convinced that helkuo only means drag, then they should translate helkuo as such. The closest English translation to any semblance of necessitarian dragging is God's Word translation: "People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them to me. I will bring these people back to life on the last day" (John 6:44 God's Word).
41 Adam Clarke writes, "This explains the preceding verse. God teaches a man to know himself, that, finding his need of salvation, he may flee to lay hold on the hope which his heavenly Father has set before him in the Gospel. God draws men by his love, and by showing them what his love has done for them. Fear repels, but love attracts. He who is ever preaching the terrors of the law, and representing God as a vindictive judge, will never bring sinners to him. They are afraid of this terrible God: but they love him, who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. (562)
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