No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
Show the surrounding paragraph
John 6:44-46 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father. Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Parallel Translations
-
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
-
No man can come to me except the father which hath sent me, drawe him. And I will rayse him vp at the last daye.
It is written in the Prophetes, that they shall all be taught of God. Every man therfore that hath hearde and hath learned of the father commeth vnto me.
Not that eny man hath sene the father save he which is of God: the same hath sene the father.
Show all 3 translations
-
No man can come to mee, except the Father, which hath sent mee, drawe him: and I will raise him vp at the last day.
It is written in the Prophetes, And they shalbe al taught of God. Euery man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, commeth vnto me:
Not that any man hath seene the Father, saue hee which is of God, hee hath seene the Father.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (51)
- Isaiah 54:13 (v45) All your children will be taught by Yahweh; and your children’s peace will be great.
- Jeremiah 31:33-34 (v45) “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward…
- John 6:65 (vv44–45) He said, “For this cause I have said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”
- Hebrews 10:16 (v45) “This is the covenant that I will make with them: ‘After those days,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write…
- Hebrews 8:10-11 (v45) “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind,…
Show all 49 cross-references
- 1 Thessalonians 4:9 (v45) But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that one write to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another,
- Matthew 11:25-27 (v44) At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding,…
- John 6:39-40 (v44) This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.…
- Micah 4:2 (v45) Many nations will go and say, “Come! Let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of…
- Isaiah 2:3 (v45) Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his…
- Ephesians 2:4-10 (v44) But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive…
- John 6:37 (v45) All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
- Matthew 17:5 (v45) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved…
- Ephesians 1:17 (v45) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,
- John 5:38-40 (v45) You don’t have his word living in you, because you don’t believe him whom he sent. “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in…
- Matthew 16:17 (v44) Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
- John 12:32 (v44) And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
- John 10:27 (v45) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- Ephesians 4:21-22 (v45) if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus: that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the…
- John 16:14-15 (v45) He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you. All things that the Father has are mine; therefore I…
- Matthew 11:27 (vv45–46) All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the…
- Luke 18:31 (v45) He took the twelve aside, and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets…
- John 6:45 (v44) It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me.
- Mark 1:2 (v45) As it is written in the prophets, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you:
- Luke 1:70 (v45) (as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
- 1 John 4:1-3 (v45) Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the…
- Titus 3:3-5 (v44) For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating…
- Jeremiah 31:3 (v44) Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.
- Hosea 11:4 (v44) I drew them with cords of a man, with ties of love; and I was to them like those who lift up the yoke on their necks; and I bent down to…
- John 5:44 (v44) How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- John 1:18 (v46) No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him.
- John 3:3-7 (v44) Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a…
- John 7:29 (v46) I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
- Colossians 2:12 (v44) having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the…
- Luke 10:22 (v46) Turning to the disciples, he said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and…
- John 12:37-40 (v44) But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled,…
- Romans 8:7-8 (v44) because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. Those who are in the…
- Philippians 1:29 (v44) Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf,
- Song of Solomon 1:4 (v44) Take me away with you. Let’s hurry. The king has brought me into his rooms. We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will praise your love…
- Isaiah 44:18-20 (v44) They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand.…
- John 8:43 (v44) Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word.
- 1 Timothy 6:16 (v46) He alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
- 1 John 4:12 (v46) No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
- John 14:9-10 (v46) Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do…
- Colossians 1:15 (v46) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
- John 5:37 (v46) The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.
- John 8:19 (v46) They said therefore to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my…
- John 8:55 (v46) You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word.
- John 15:24 (v46) If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and…
49 distinct cross-references across this passage (51 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv44–46 44. No man can come to me, unless the…
44. No man can come to me, unless the Father, who hath sent me, draw him. He does not merely accuse them of wickedness, but likewise reminds them, that it is a peculiar gift of God to embrace the doctrine which is exhibited by him; which he does, that their unbelief may not disturb weak minds. For many are so foolish that, in the things of God, they depend on the opinions of men; in consequence of which, they entertain suspicions about the Gospel, as soon as they see that it is not received by the world. Unbelievers, on the other hand, flattering themselves in their obstinacy, have the hardihood to condemn the Gospel because it does not please them. On the contrary, therefore, Christ declares that the doctrine of the Gospel, though it is preached to all without exception, cannot be embraced by all, but that a new understanding and a new perception are requisite; and, therefore, that faith does not depend on the will of men, but that it is God who gives it.
Unless the Father draw him. To come to Christ being here used metaphorically for believing, the Evangelist, in order to carry out the metaphor in the apposite clause, says that those persons are drawn whose understandings God enlightens, and whose hearts he bends and forms to the obedience of Christ. The statement amounts to this, that we ought not to wonder if many refuse to embrace the Gospel; because no man will ever of himself be able to come to Christ, but God must first approach him by his Spirit; and hence it follows that all are not drawn, but that God bestows this grace on those whom he has elected. True, indeed, as to the kind of drawing, it is not violent, so as to compel men by external force; but still it is a powerful impulse of the Holy Spirit, which makes men willing who formerly were unwilling and reluctant. It is a false and profane assertion, therefore, that none are drawn but those who are willing to be drawn, as if man made himself obedient to God by his own efforts; for the willingness with which men follow God is what they already have from himself, who has formed their hearts to obey him.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv45–46 To wit, they shall be children of the Church,…
To wit, they shall be children of the Church, for so the Prophet Isaiah expoundeth it, Isa. 54:13, that is to say, ordained to life, Acts 13:48, and therefore the knowledge of the heavenly truth, is the gift and work of God, and standeth not in any power of man.
In the book of the Prophets, for the old Testament was divided by them into three several parts, into the Law the Prophets, and the Holy writ.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv44–46 44 No man can come to me, except the…
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Ver. 44. No man can come to me, except, &c.] Down then goes the Dagon of free will, with all that vitreum acumen glass point of all the patrons thereof; whether Pagans or Papagans, Pelagians or Semi-pelagians. Let them say never so much Ignavis opus est auxilio divino; Quod vivimus Deorum munus est; quod bene sancteque vivimus, nostrum. Lazy work is with the help of God; we live because the service is of the gods; we live because it is well consecrated of us. (Sen.) A wiser than the wisest of them tells us here another tale; and elsewhere, Joh 15:5; "Without me ye can do nothing." Where Austin observes that our Saviour saith not perficere, to finish, but facere; to do; nor doth he say, Without me ye can do no hard thing, but nothing. And the same church father notes that sub laudibus naturae latent inimiei gratiae. The friends of free will are enemies to free grace.
Read full note →
God the Father draw him] By a merciful violence, ex nolentibus volentes facit. {See Trapp on "Son 1:4"} The Father draweth, and the man cometh; that notes the efficacy of grace, and this the sweetness of grace. Grace works strongly, and therefore God is said to draw; and it works sweetly too, and therefore man is said to come.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv44–46 That by drawing here is not to be understood…
That by drawing here is not to be understood any coaction, or force upon the will, is a thing on all hands out of question; but whether by it be only to be understood a rational drawing by arguments, (used in the ministry of the gospel), or a further powerful influence upon the soul, inclining it to be willing and obedient, that is the question. The patrons of a power in man’s will to do what is spiritually good and necessary in order to eternal life and salvation, understand it of the former only (of which the compelling, mentioned Luk 14:23, is to be understood, for the ministers of the gospel have no other power to compel); but in regard the drawing here mentioned is the act not of the servants, but of the Master; not of the ministers, but of the Father; it is more reasonably concluded that it here signifies a Divine power put forth upon the soul of man, by which it is made obedient to the heavenly call, and willing to close with the offer of Christ in the gospel; for though no such thing can necessarily be concluded from the word draw, yet it is easily concluded from the nature of the motion, in coming to Christ, which is the soul’s motion to a sublime, spiritual object, to which no soul hath any power of itself; such is the darkness of the human mind, the obstinacy of the will, the depravation of the affections, unless it be illuminated and drawn by the Spirit of God. No soul is able of itself to discern spiritual things, so as to see that goodness and excellency that is in them, much less to move towards the participation of them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv44–45 In which words we have something necessarily implied, and…
In which words we have something necessarily implied, and something positively expressed. The misery of man in his natural and unsanctified state is here implied; he is far distant from Christ, and unable of himself to come unto him. By nature we are strangers, yea, enemies, unto God; enemies to the holiness of his nature, and to the righteousness of his laws; and as the state of unregeneracy is a state of enmity, so consequently must it be a state of impotency; Without me, therefore says Christ, ye can do nothing, that is, without interest in me, and influences of grace derived from me. Joh 15:5
Again, the truth we have expressed are these:
Read full note →
1. That all those who come unto Christ are drawn unto him.
2. That the drawing of sinful souls unto Jesus Christ is the special and peculiar work of God. This drawing is a powerful act, but not a compulsory act; God doth not draw any against their wills to Christ, but he inclines the wills of sinners to come unto him. He draws by effectual persuasion, and not by violent compulsion.
3. That all those who are drawn to Christ here, shall be raised up gloriously by him hereafter: I will raise him up at the last day. Such as are brought to Christ by the Father, Christ shall never abandon them, till he has raised them up at the last day, and presented them blameless and complete before his Father; where they shall ever be with the Lord.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv44–46 It is written in the prophets,.... In the book…
It is written in the prophets,.... In the book of the prophets, as the Ethiopic version renders it: the Jews divided the books of the Old Testament into three parts, the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa; now in that division which was called the Prophets, are the following words: or in one of the prophets, namely, in Isa 54:13; so the Syriac version reads, "in the prophet"; though some think reference is had to more prophets, and more passages than one, as besides the above mentioned, Jer 31:34 Mic 4:2;
and they shall be all taught of God; by his Spirit to know themselves, and Jesus Christ; that is, all that are ordained to eternal life; all that are given to Christ, and are chosen in him; all the children of Zion, and who are the children of God; these are all, sooner or later, in a special manner, taught of God: and which does not intend mere external instructions, and objective teachings by the ministry of the word, for many are so taught, who never come to Christ; but special teachings, such as are attended with the energy of divine grace, and the power of the Spirit of God, who guides into all truth, savingly and spiritually: for this is to be understood of their being taught in the Gospel of Christ, and not in the law, as the Targum paraphrases it,
Read full note →
"all thy children shall learn in the law of the Lord.''
And that this prophecy refers to Gospel times, is clear from the citation and application of the first verse of it, to the church in the times of the apostles, Gal 4:27. The Jews themselves acknowledge the prophecy belongs to the times of the Messiah, to which they expressly apply (u) the words in Isa 54:5, "thy Maker is thy husband", &c. And one of their modern commentators allows (w), that this very passage, "all thy children shall be taught of God", refers, "to the time to come"; that is, to the times of the Messiah: in this citation, those words, "thy children", are left out, to show that the words are not to be restrained to the people of the Jews, as they might seem by that clause, and to whom the Jews would limit them: for so they say (x),
"they are truly taught of God from whom prophecy comes, which does not to all the world, but to Israel only, of whom it is written, "and all thy children are taught of God".''
But our Lord, by these words, instructs us, and would have us observe, that all that the Father hath given him, whether Jews or Gentiles, of whom he had been speaking in the preceding verses, should be taught of God; and so taught, as to be drawn and brought to him, and believe in him, and have everlasting life: wherefore he infers from hence, that every man, whether a Jew or a Gentile, that is taught of God, will come to him in a spiritual way, and trust in him for eternal life and happiness, as follows:
every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me; everyone that has heard the voice of the Father's love, grace, and mercy in the Gospel, and has learned of him the way of peace, life, and salvation by Christ, under the influence of his grace, comes unto Christ; being encouraged by the declarations and promises of grace he has heard and learned, and ventures his soul on Christ, and commits it to him; trusting and relying on his person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, for justification, pardon, atonement, acceptance with God, and eternal life.
(u) Shemot Rabba, sect. 15. fol. 102. 4. (w) Kimichi in loc. (x) Zohar in Exod. fol. 70. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv44–46 Christ having checked their murmuring, continues what he was…
Christ having checked their murmuring, continues what he was saying, ver. 40. No man comes to me, unless my Father draw him - No man can believe in Christ, unless God give him power: he draws us first, by good desires. Not by compulsion, not by laying the will under any necessity; but by the strong and sweet, yet still resistible, motions of his heavenly grace.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv44–46 Verse 44. Except the Father - draw him] But…
Verse 44. Except the Father - draw him] But how is a man drawn? St. Augustin answers from the poet, Trahit sua quemque voluptas; a man is attracted by that which he delights in. Show green herbage to a sheep, he is drawn by it: show nuts to a child, and he is drawn by them. They run wherever the person runs who shows these things: they run after him, but they are not forced to follow; they run, through the desire they feel to get the things they delight in. So God draws man: he shows him his wants - he shows the Saviour whom he has provided for him: the man feels himself a lost sinner; and, through the desire which he finds to escape hell, and get to heaven, he comes unto Christ, that he may be justified by his blood. Unless God thus draw, no man will ever come to Christ; because none could, without this drawing, ever feel the need of a Saviour. See August. Tract. 26, in Joan. and Calmet.
Drawing, or alluring, not dragging is here to be understood. "He," say the rabbins, "who desires to cleave to the holy and blessed God, God lays hold of him, and will not cast him off." Synops. Sohar. p. 87. The best Greek writers use the verb in the same sense of alluring, inciting, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv44–46 No man can come to me - This was…
No man can come to me - This was spoken by Jesus to reprove their complaints - “Murmur not among yourselves.” They objected to his doctrine, or complained 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. Jesus does not deny that these things appeared difficult, and hence he said that if any man believed, it was proof that God had inclined him. It was not to be expected that of themselves they would embrace the doctrine. If any man believed, it would be because he had been influenced by God. When we inquire what the reasons were why they did not believe, they appear to have been:
1. Their improper regard for Moses, as if no one could be superior to him.
Read full note →
2. Their unwillingness to believe that Jesus, whom they knew to be the reputed son of a carpenter, should be superior to Moses.
3. The difficulty was explained by Jesus Joh 5:40 as consisting in the opposition of their will; and Joh 5:44 when he said that their love of honor prevented their believing on him. The difficulty in the case was not, therefore, a want of natural faculties, or of power to do their duty, but erroneous opinions, pride, obstinacy, self-conceit, and a deep-felt contempt for Jesus. The word cannot is often used to denote a strong and violent opposition of the will. Thus we say a man is so great a liar that he cannot speak the truth, or he is so profane that he cannot but swear. We mean by it that he is so wicked that while he has that disposition the other effects will follow, but we do not mean to say that he could not break off from the habit. Thus it is said Gen 37:4 of the brethren of Joseph that they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Thus Mat 12:34, “How can ye, being evil, speak good things?” See Luk 14:33; 1Sa 16:2.
Come to me - The same as believe on me.
Draw him - This word is used here, evidently, to denote such an influence from God as to secure the result, or as to incline the mind to believe; yet the manner in which this is done is not determined by the use of the word. It is used in the New Testament six times. Once it is applied to a compulsory drawing of Paul and Silas to the market-place, Act 16:19. Twice it is used to denote the drawing of a net, Joh 21:6, Joh 21:11. Once to the drawing of a sword Joh 18:10; and once in a sense similar to its use here Joh 12:32; “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” What is its meaning here must be determined by the facts about the sinner’s conversion. See the notes at Joh 6:40. In the conversion of the sinner God enlightens the mind Joh 6:45, he inclines the will Psa 110:3, and he influences the soul by motives, by just views of his law, by his love, his commands, and his threatenings; by a desire of happiness, and a consciousness of danger; by the Holy Spirit applying truth to the mind, and urging him to yield himself to the Saviour. So that, while God inclines him, and will have all the glory, man yields without compulsion; the obstacles are removed, and he becomes a willing servant of God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv44–45 Draw him. Not by compulsion, nor by laying the…
Draw him. Not by compulsion, nor by laying the free-will under any necessity, but by the strong and sweet motions of his heavenly grace. (Challoner) --- We are drawn to the Father by some secret pleasure, delight, or love, which brings us to the Father. "Believe and you come to the Father," says St. Augustine, "Love, and you are drawn. The Jews could not believe, because they would not." God, by his power, could have overcome their hardness of heart; but he was not bound to do it; neither had they any right to expect this favour, after the many miracles which they had seen. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv44–46 can come to me--in the sense of Joh 6:35.
can come to me--in the sense of Joh 6:35.
except the Father which hath sent me--that is, the Father as the Sender of Me and to carry out the design of My mission.
Read full note →
draw him--by an internal and efficacious operation; though by all the means of rational conviction, and in a way altogether consonant to their moral nature (Sol 1:4; Jer 31:3; Hos 11:3-4).
raise him up, &c.--(See on Joh 6:54).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv44–46 44. No man can come to me—Men are by…
44. No man can come to me—Men are by nature so depraved and lost that they have no power to attain salvation, but for a gracious ability bestowed. (Joh_1:4-5.) That ability consists in a great degree of those special drawings purchased for them by the atonement.
Except the Father… draw him—That is, attract him; shed drawing influences upon him, and inwardly empower him to a full obedience; but not obliging or securing that obedience. Nor will that drawing avail unless the man freely use his natural and grace-given power to obey.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv44–46 44. draw him] It is the same word as…
44. draw him] It is the same word as is used Joh_12:32; ‘will draw all men unto Me.’ The word does not necessarily imply force, still less irresistible force, but merely attraction of some kind, some inducement to come. Comp. ‘with loving-kindness have I drawn thee’ (Jer_31:3), and Virgil’s trahit sua quemque voluptas.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv44–46 (44) No man can come to me.—The subject is…
(44) No man can come to me.—The subject is still the mystery of the varying effects of His revelation on the minds of men. These depend upon their present mental state, which is itself the result of acceptance of, or rejection of, divine influence. The Father which sent Him had, by law, and prophets, and worship, been preparing them. The history of each individual life had been a succession, in every conscious hour, of influences for good or for evil. The mind stood between these, and willed for one or other. He who day by day, with all his light and strength, however little that all might have been, had sought the pure, and true, and good—had sought really to know God—was drawn of God, and he only it was who could now come to Him whom God sent. Others were drawn of evil, because they had submitted themselves to its power. They had chosen darkness, and could not now see the light; they had bound themselves in the silken cords of sin, which had hardened into fetters of iron; they had lost themselves in the labyrinths of what they thought wisdom, and did not recognise the true and living way which was opened for them.
The word “draw” need not perplex us; and all the theories opposed to the width of divine love and influence, and to the freedom of human will and action, which have been built upon it, are at once seen to be without support, when we remember that the only other passage in the New Testament where it occurs in a moral sense is in the declaration: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me” (Joh_12:32).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv45–46 It is written in the prophets; either in the…
It is written in the prophets; either in the division of Scripture called "the prophets," or because the substance of the statement is found to pervade the prophets, and to receive express, if not literal, utterance in Isa_54:13. The prophet, on describing the glorioustriumphs of the Servant of the Lord in his new kingdom, added (LXX), Kai pantav tou en pollh eirhnh ta tekna sou , "And all thy sons I will make to be taught of God, and in much great peace thy children". (cf. also Jer 31 Jer 34, for the same thought in other words) Godet suggests that the former passage was in the haphtora, from the prophets the lesson for the day. If the discourse was uttered in the synagogue of Capernaum, this is not impossible. At all events, the "and" (kai) which here follows suggests that the quotation is taken from Isaiah. And they shall all be taught of God; i.e. direct teaching by God is the prime requisite of any spiritual apprehension, even of the mysteries of Christ the Revealer. This solemn truth is affirmed by the entire history of Christ. The vision of his majesty, even contact with his ineffable love, the sight of his humiliation and of the shedding of his precious blood, did not, by any necessarily acting law of mind, induce faith. Divine teaching by the Spirit of the Father and Son is the preliminary (see notes on Joh_16:5-8, on the mission of the Comforter) to believing on Christ. "Taught of God" (didaktoi Yeou), translated in Vulgate, docibiles Dei, (cf. 1Th_4:9) means more than the reception of one lesson in the school of God, and suggests a prolonged experience and a rich communion between the Teacher and the taught. Every one (therefore) pav , referring to the pantev of ver. 45 a, and to the quotation, is not so much every human being, as the "all" of the Messianic kingdom the "all" of God"s "sons" and children" that hath heardfrom the Father, and hath learned (of him), cometh unto me. Hearing may end in heedlessness, even when the Lord God Almighty speaks with us. His revelations at great epochs, his inner voice at special moments in our religious history, may be disregarded. The voice of God may be heard, yet not obeyed; the voice of conscience and revelation and inspiration, the sacred monitions and warnings of the heart, may all be slighted. But every one that hath heard the Father, and has also accepted the lesson has felt the Divine drawing; being willing to do the will of the Father, he knows of the doctrine, whether it be of God, and he comes to Christ. Later on, Christ said, "Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." It is one thing to "hear," another to "learn," another to "come." These three stages still further illumine the "drawing" of the Father, and the method which the Father has adopted of so giving men to Christ that he may ultimately fold them in his arms and press them to his heart. Lest, however, the hearers of Jesus, then or now, should conclude that the kind of direct teaching of which the prophets spake, and which he endorsed, was of that immediate kind which himself enjoyed, and which alone justifies this language, he continued
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv44–46 44. No man can come to me, except the…
44. No man can come to me, except the Father … draw him. Their obstinacy and unbelief (verses 41, 42) called out this. Two things are needful to come to Christ, the human will to come and the divine drawing (see John 5:40; Matt. 23:37; Rev. 22:17). God “draws” by the gospel. “It is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). If our will consents, so that we yield to the drawing, we will come to Christ.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v46 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus now continues speaking to the crowd and the Jewish leaders.
Read full note →
Truly, truly
See how you translated this in John 1:51.
Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God
Although no human who is alive on earth has seen God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God, has seen the Father.
Father
This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
he who believes has eternal life
God gives "eternal life" to those who trust in Jesus, the Son of God.
translationWords
amen
believe
eternity
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.