Unless the Father Draws Them

Bible with you this morning. Please open it up to John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

We've been working through this chapter for some time now.

We're really digging into the details.

There's a long conversation here between Jesus and a crowd.

We've looked at almost everything that Jesus has said here.

This morning is our last morning in the chapter.

We want to consider a few final statements that Jesus made,

which we've kind of skipped over until now.

Let me just say a word of prayer.

Father in heaven, please help us now in these moments as we read your words,

which you've preserved for us.

Give us insight.

Give us wisdom.

Give us understanding.

Help us to hear what Jesus said and to know exactly how it applies to us.

We ask this in his name.

Amen.

All right.

So let's get our bearings in this conversation one last time.

And we want to keep this whole conversation with the crowd and with Jesus' disciples

and with Peter in mind as much as we can,

because this is the context of the statements that Jesus made that we're going to consider this morning.

We need to look at what Jesus said, but also when and why he said what he said.

And this is the picture that we've seen so far here.

There's Jesus who's speaking to this crowd in the synagogue in Capernaum.

And in Jesus' own words, he is speaking to them words which are spirit and life,

words of truth that have been given to him by his father to say.

And then there's this crowd who is listening.

And on the whole, they do not believe what Jesus is saying,

even though some of them have tasted for themselves the bread that he made just the day before

on the other side of the lake.

And many have seen signs that he has performed.

They have seen, and yet they do not believe, says Jesus.

And Jesus has been very patient, it seems, to take time to speak with them more,

to tell them more truth.

And yet the crowd, it seems, from bad to worse.

They go from holding their unbelief on the inside

to openly and blatantly challenging Jesus and grumbling at him and arguing with him.

And then, after this conversation with the crowd is over,

there's a conversation between Jesus and his disciples in verse 60 and down.

And they too are grumbling, some of them, about the things that Jesus has been saying.

Jesus points out to them that he knows that some of them do not believe.

And then we come to this moment in verse 66 where many of them walk out the door on Jesus

and no longer follow him.

And in the midst of all of this, we saw last Sunday a guy named Peter,

one of the twelve,

declare that he has no intentions of walking away from Jesus

because he believes and knows that Jesus is the Holy One of God.

These are his words.

We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.

So what is going on here?

How is it that Peter sees and believes and knows the truth about Jesus,

but all these others do not?

What is going on here?

Why is the crowd not persuaded by Jesus' words?

Peter was persuaded at some point.

Why him and not the rest?

Is it because Peter is smarter than the others?

Is it because Peter is more gullible than the others?

Is it because Peter doesn't actually know,

but that he's just made up his mind that this is what he believes?

Or is there something else going on here?

Well, we already heard from Jesus that there is something else going on here,

something much bigger.

We heard it for the first time when Jesus said this in John 6, verse 36.

John 6:36

He said,

So the people in the crowd, they're not coming to Jesus because they don't believe in him.

And Jesus tells them that despite the fact that they're not coming,

some will come,

some will come, and not just some, but all of those who the Father gives to him will come to him.

There's this unseen story that we talked about unfolding here between Father and Son.

A story in which God the Father is giving people to his Son.

And Jesus seems to be expressing unshakable confidence that not a single one of those whom the Father intends to give to him

will fail to recognize Jesus and believe in him and come to him.

And from there, Jesus goes on in the conversation.

But then it comes up again.

Jesus says something and it further exposes their unbelief.

And they start grumbling about what he said.

Down in verse 41.

At this, the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said,

I am the bread that came down from heaven.

They said,

Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,

whose father and mother we know?

How can he now say,

I came down from heaven?

Stop grumbling among yourselves.

Jesus answered,

No one can come to me

unless the Father who sent me

draws them.

So first it's the statement

that all who the Father gives to Jesus

will come to him.

And now it's this statement

that no one can come to Jesus

unless the Father who sent him

draws them.

So there's more involved with coming to Jesus.

And that more that's involved

is what the Father must first do

to make it possible.

And then the conversation goes on from there.

And eventually we come to the conversation

that he has with his disciples.

And Jesus says almost the same thing again.

Right before a bunch of them leave,

they're grumbling about his words.

And Jesus says this.

He says,

There are some of you who do not believe.

For Jesus had known from the beginning

which of them did not believe

and who would betray him.

He went on to say,

This is why I told you

that no one can come to me

unless the Father

enables them to.

That's the NIV translation.

The more literal translation

that most Bible translations have

is unless it has been granted

to him

by the Father

or given to him

by the Father.

So a third time

we see that Jesus points out

the unbelief of some

who are there.

And then he gives an explanation for it.

He says,

There are some among you

who do not believe.

This is why I told you

that no one can come to me

unless it is granted to him

by the Father.

So here it seems

Jesus is making a parallel statement

to the one he made earlier

in verse 44

about how no one can come to him

unless the Father draws them.

It's the same kind of statement.

And it seems to be given

an explanation

for why some don't believe.

Only here,

the word used

is granted

or given

instead of drawn.

What the Father must

first do

for his part

is grant

that a person

may come to Jesus.

So a little bit

different wording

but a similar meaning.

So three times

in this conversation,

in this chapter,

Jesus speaks about

something that the Father does

which is deeply connected

to people

believing in Jesus

and coming to him.

All those

the Father gives me

will come to me.

No one

can come to me

unless the Father

who sent me

draws them.

And no one

can come to me

unless it is granted to him

by the Father.

So what do

these statements mean?

Let's try to bring them together.

What do they mean?

Well,

these particular

statements of Jesus

have been the subject

of much debate

amongst Christians.

And unfortunately,

it's a very ugly debate.

There are brothers and sisters

on all sides of it

and many of them

are denouncing one another

as heretics

or as false teachers.

In fact,

this debate

is not unlike

the coronavirus debate

that's swirling around us

today.

You've got people over here

saying one thing.

This is how we should read it.

You've got other people

over here saying,

no, you guys are wrong.

You should read it this way.

You've got this third group

saying,

you're both wrong.

I've got it figured out.

This is how it is.

And then you've got

a whole bunch more

of us

throwing our hands up

in the air in the middle

kind of wondering,

well, who do I trust?

We've got scholars

over here

that say this.

We've got scholars

over here.

We've got Greek experts

over here

and Greek experts

over here.

Who do I trust?

Who do I believe?

Which one is right?

And many of them

are pointing their fingers

at the others

and saying,

well,

those guys are taking

this out of context

or those guys

are imposing

their view

or their tradition

upon this passage

or we know

what the Greek words

really mean

here.

And at the end

of the day,

much like with

the coronavirus,

you can almost

just decide for yourself

whatever you want

them to mean

and then go on Google

and you'll be able

to find a whole host

of people

who agree with you

and are saying

the same thing.

It's a little bit

frustrating.

Even this week,

I'll be honest,

as I was studying

into this,

there were a couple

moments where I just

thought,

I just want to skip

this verse.

there are elements

of all sides

that sound reasonable.

But as I worked

through all of this,

it came clear to me

that there are really

two questions here.

The central question

here is,

what did Jesus

mean

by these statements?

The secondary

question here is,

who do these

statements apply to?

Who does the

Father draw

or who does the

Father grant

to come to Jesus?

And it's mostly

that question

which sparks

all the debate.

For this morning,

we really only have

time to look

at the central question.

And so we're going

to kind of skirt

the edges of the

debate as much

as possible.

And if you want

to talk about

the second question

later,

I invite you to

come have that

conversation later

after the service.

So what did

Jesus mean

by these

two similar

statements

that he made?

No one

can come

to me

unless the

Father who

sent me

draws him.

And no one

can come

to me

unless it

is granted

to him

by the

Father.

Perhaps the

first thing

that we notice

is that word

unless.

There's a

condition,

there's a

requirement

in both

of these

statements.

A person

cannot come

to Jesus

unless

Jesus says

that person

is first

drawn

by the

Father.

A person

cannot come

to Jesus

unless

that person

is first

granted

to come

by the

Father.

In both

cases,

something is

required of

the Father

to do

so that a

person may

come to

Jesus.

A second

thing that

we see

here is

the word

can.

Now in

English,

this is a

pretty small

word,

just three

letters,

but in

the original

language,

it's a

full-blown

verb,

and it

basically

means to

have the

ability to

do something.

Can,

to be

able to,

we might

paraphrase

it as

no one

is able

to come

to me.

unless

the Father

does his

part.

So it

seems,

at least

to me,

that Jesus

is talking

about an

inability

that

everyone

has.

No one

can come

unless.

No one

is able

to come

unless the

Father

does his

part.

Drawing

and granting

us to

come.

We have

an inability.

Let's

make it

personal

and really

press these

words into

our hearts

this morning.

Do you

realize,

according to

Jesus,

even to

come to

him,

even to

come to

him,

as he's

been calling

people to

do,

you are

at the

mercy

of God.

God,

Jesus

wants you

to know

that it's

something

you cannot

do on

your own

without

God's

help.

Unless the

Father draws

you,

unless he

grants it

to you

to come,

you cannot.

God.

These are

pretty sobering

words,

aren't they?

I mean,

it's through

Jesus that

we get to

the Father.

No one

comes to

the Father

but by

me.

It's through

Jesus that

we get

this eternal

life and

are raised

up at the

last day,

as Jesus

has been

talking about.

It's through

him that

we are

spared

God's

judgment

at the

end.

These are

all good

things that

Jesus has

been talking

about and

he's told

us that

in order

to receive

them,

we must

believe in

him.

We must

come to

him.

And now

he tells

us that

we cannot

come to

him unless

God

acts

first

to draw

us

and

grants

us

to come

to Jesus.

What

Jesus is

saying is

that we

are totally

at the

mercy

of God.

Not only

for the

way of

salvation,

but also

to be

able to

get to

the way

of

salvation.

Do you

hear that

in these

words?

Do you

see that

in these

words?

Does your

heart feel

the weight

of that

in these

words of

Jesus?

Jesus,

these words

speak of

how lost

I am.

And it's

worse than

it maybe

feels or

perhaps than

I originally

thought.

I have an

inability,

according to

Jesus,

to grab a

hold of the

lifeline that

is Jesus

apart from

the drawing

and granting

of God

the Father.

What this

means to me

is that I

am saved

from start

to finish

by God's

grace as

an unearned

gift of

God.

And not

simply because

I managed

in my own

ability to

get to

Jesus,

to figure

out who

he was,

who's the

Messiah,

to see what

others could

not see.

Now I'm

not sure at

this point

if Peter

understands what

Jesus is

saying.

Let's pull

Peter into

focus here.

He's the

one who

we looked

at last

Sunday.

I wonder

if Peter

perhaps isn't

somewhat

congratulating

himself on

having found

Jesus,

the Messiah.

He said,

we have

come to

believe and

to know

that you

are the

Holy One

of God.

And he

says this

right after

many,

probably the

majority of

Jesus'

disciples just

walked out

the door

on him.

We have

come to

believe and

to know

that you

are the

Holy One

of God.

But I

think if

we're listening

to Jesus

in these

words,

what he

wants Peter

to know

is that he

hasn't figured

this out

all by

himself

without

God's

help.

Peter

makes his

declaration

of faith.

Somehow,

we talked

last Sunday,

he sees the

truth about

Jesus that

many do

not.

And we

might be

tempted,

perhaps Peter

was tempted

to think,

at least I

have made

the right

choice.

He makes

his declaration.

we've come

to believe

and to

know that

you are

the Holy

One of

God.

And maybe

we might

be expecting

Jesus to

say,

well done,

Peter.

You have

chosen well.

But instead,

Jesus says

somewhat

an unexpected

response.

He says,

have I

not chosen

you?

maybe not

what we

were expecting

to hear.

And this

kind of a

moment

happens again,

another time

for Peter.

As Matthew

records in

his gospel,

Matthew

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16,

you're probably

familiar with

it.

Jesus

says to

his disciples,

who do

people say

the Son

of Man

is?

And there's

a conversation

about,

you know,

who is

Jesus?

They give

some of the

answers.

Then Jesus

narrows it

down and

he says,

what about

you to

his disciples?

Who do

you say

that I

am?

And this

is Peter's

response.

You are

the Messiah,

the Son

of the

living God.

Again,

we might

be expecting

Jesus to

congratulate

Peter.

Well done.

You figured

it out.

And again,

Jesus says

this,

similar kind

of a thing.

He says,

blessed

are you,

Simon,

for this

was not

revealed to

you by

flesh and

blood,

but by my

Father in

heaven.

Jesus gives

his Father

the credit

for Peter's

understanding

the truth

of who

Jesus is.

God

is.

It's kind

of a

deflating

moment.

It takes

away from

Peter the

opportunity to

brag or to

boast about

the fact that

I have

figured it

out,

while everybody

else seems to

have missed

it.

It's as though

Jesus is saying,

yes, you have

come to me.

Yes, you have

figured out the

truth about me,

but not on

your own,

not without

the blessing

and the

revealing,

the granting

and the

drawing

of my

Father.

Without that,

you'd be in the

same spot as

the rest.

There is more

going on here

than just the

people and

Jesus.

The Father

is at work

in unseen

ways,

blessing

and revealing,

granting

and drawing

people.

And what

he is doing

factors in

hugely

to what's

going on

here.

No one

can come

to me

unless

the Father

who sent

me

draws him.

No one

can come

to me

unless

it is

granted

to him

by

the

Father.

We might

imagine

that we

are

drowning

in the

ocean

and that

God

throws out

one of

those

life rings

to us.

That's

Jesus.

And the

life ring

is there

in the

water,

right in

front of

us.

Jesus

has come

into our

world,

but we're

unable to

get to

it.

For some

reason,

it's just

out of reach.

we have

this

inability

that Jesus

speaks of.

And there's

all kind of

debate as

to what's

the reason

for this

inability.

What is

this

inability?

Perhaps it's

like the

people of the

crowd,

even some

of the

disciples who

left that

day,

like a

blindness,

where we're

just unable

to see

Jesus as

the special

provision of

God that

he is.

or perhaps

it's a

stubborn

heartedness,

a deeply

rooted

unwillingness

to acknowledge

that Jesus

is the

life ring

that God

has provided.

Whatever it

is,

it seems

clear from

Jesus'

words that

we need

more than

just the

life ring

to be

saved.

We need

help from

God,

the Father,

to come

to the

life ring

so we can

grab a hold

of it.

God must

work first

with his

power in

us,

or else

we will

remain

unable

to come

to Jesus.

And so

we truly

are at

the mercy

of God.

We need

the Father

to draw

us.

We need

the Father

to grant

it to us

that we

come

to Jesus,

or else

we can't.

God

to pray.

Now this

is perhaps

a surprising

and unexpected

thing to

many of

us.

Not for

all of

us.

Some of

us may

remember a

time before

we became

a follower

of Jesus

where we

felt drawn

by God.

You hear

that in

testimonies

from time

to time,

this

unexplainable

pull that

a person

feels to

go to

church or

to an

evangelistic

meeting or

simply to

open their

Bible and

read it,

or to

pray,

when for

years before

that they

didn't want

to do

any of

that.

They

thought it

was a

waste of

time.

But for

others of

us,

maybe we

don't

remember

feeling

drawn.

Maybe it

felt more

like a

careful

investigation

or a

long-thought-out

decision

to follow

Jesus.

Or maybe it

was something

that we

just remember

believing

ever since

we were

a kid.

Every person

has a

different

story and

different

feelings that

went along

with that

story of

how they

first came

to be a

follower of

Jesus.

But however

it happened

for you that

you came to

confess,

like Peter

does,

that Jesus

is the

Holy One

of God,

Jesus wants

you to

know that

you didn't

come to

that all

by yourself.

Whether you

realized it or

felt it or

not,

you had

help,

God the

Father was

acting,

granting,

blessing,

revealing,

and drawing

you.

And so

trusting these

words of

Jesus as

the truth,

we ought

to thank

God that

he has

drawn us,

that he

has granted

it to us

to come

to Jesus

and have

life.

Perhaps

we've taken

this for

granted.

Maybe we've

even been

guilty of

thinking that

God is

obligated to

draw us,

to grant

us to

come.

Maybe even

that he owes

it to us.

But the

very fact that

Jesus says

it like this,

that he brings

it up,

should make it

clear that God

doesn't owe

it to us

at all.

It's a

gift of

grace.

Maybe you're

here this

morning and

you're not

sure where

you stand

with Jesus.

Maybe you're

worried about

whether God

has drawn

you or is

drawing you

or whether

he has

granted you

to come to

Jesus or

whether he

will grant

you to

come.

If that's

you this

morning,

I want to

encourage you.

Jesus himself

seemed quite

content to

leave what

God the

Father does

in the

Father's

capable hands.

And so

should we.

Try as we

may, we

may not be

able to

detect or

to feel the

unseen work

of God

inside of us

or inside of

other people.

But we can

rest assured,

as Jesus did,

that he is

at work in

the hearts of

people.

Granting,

revealing,

blessing,

drawing.

And we

can have

confidence from

many of the

other scriptures,

we're not

going to look

at them this

morning,

that God

is merciful,

he is

gracious,

he is

compassionate,

and he is

loving,

and he

desires to

save people.

And so

at the end

of it all,

we need only

concern

ourselves

with this.

Do I

believe

that Jesus

is the

Holy One

of God?

Do I

believe it?

Will I

follow him

and accept

him as my

Messiah?

God

God

God

will

do I

know?

There's a

beautiful promise

of assurance

that Jesus

gives in the

midst of all

this.

Down in

verse

37,

he says,

whoever comes

to me,

I will never

drive away.

God

and so if

you have

not come

to Jesus,

come to

him.

Believe in

him.

Whoever

does,

if you

do,

he will

never

drive you

away or

cast you

out.

That's the

promise of

the Lord

Jesus.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Father in

heaven,

we thank

you for

these words

and we

ask that

you would

press them

into our

hearts.

We say

thank you

to you

for drawing

us and

for granting

to us who

have come

to you

that we

have come,

that we

do see,

as Peter

saw,

what many

did not

and do

not today.

We pray

and ask

that you

would help

us to

keep this

in mind

as we

think of

others

around us

who don't

know you

and who

do not

believe.

Help us

to understand

how we

ought to

reach out

to them

and speak

to them

in light

of these

words.

Give us

wisdom

and help

us to be

salt and

light,

as we've

talked about

earlier this

morning in

Sunday

school,

to our

world,

to our

community,

to our

neighbors.

We thank

you that

you are

a gracious

and merciful

and loving

God.

And we

say this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.