After 2000 years of preaching why hasn't God saved the whole world?
- Coming to Jesus (John 6:44): "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day." (Also echoed in John 6:65: "no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.")
- Coming to the Father (John 14:6): "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Why isn't God granting more people to come? Why is God not drawing more people to His Son? This seems contrary to the gospel. You would think that God welcomes everyone with open arms.
The statement "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" means that genuine faith in Jesus is initiated and made possible by God, rather than human effort or willpower.
- The setting. Jesus spoke these words in a synagogue in Capernaum right after feeding the 5,000. Many people followed him simply for free food rather than spiritual truth.
- The crowd's reaction. Listeners grumbled when Jesus called himself the "bread that came down from heaven" because they knew his earthly parents. Jesus responded by explaining that spiritual understanding cannot be forced through human reasoning.
- How God draws people. In the very next verse (John 6:45), Jesus quotes the prophets to explain how this drawing works. He states that everyone who hears and learns from the Father through Scripture and teaching will come to him.
Key Theological Meanings
- Human inability. Without God's help, people are spiritually blind and do not naturally seek him on their own.
- Divine initiative. Salvation starts with God's grace reaching out to awaken a person's heart. The original Greek word for "draw" (helkuō) literally means to pull or attract.
- Assurance of salvation. Jesus finishes John 6:44 with the promise, "and I will raise him up on the last day". This means those who genuinely respond to the Father's call are secure in entering eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
