No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
The people listening to Jesus were grumbling at what He said. His answer goes past their complaint to its root. Nobody comes to Him under their own power. The words raise two questions at once — if the Father must draw, where does that leave the person who wants to come? And why does a saying about coming to Christ end with a promise about resurrection?
The Answer to Grumbling
Jesus does not argue with the complaint. He points to what unbelief does, and to where the power to come actually comes from.
William KellyUnbelief can only destroy and trouble; it cannot give life or comfort. Man under Satan is the source of unbelief, which always leads away from Christ, not to Him. But as the Father sent Christ, so He draws the believer to Christ, who raises him up at the last day. It is not man's worth or work or will, therefore, but the Father's grace, by which one comes to Christ. The whole blessing, in short, is of sovereign mercy.
Unable, Yet Responsible
"Cannot" here does not mean a locked door. God turns nobody away. The problem is the person's own unwillingness — and they are still responsible for it.
J. N. DarbyNotice that Jesus says, "You will not come." I fully believe that they are responsible for it... Now certainly God does not stop anyone from coming, but the disposition of man's heart is such that he will not. This is why the work of God is necessary, and why it is said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." Perhaps you will say, everyone is drawn. No — the one who is drawn comes, and Jesus will raise him up on the last day: he is saved.
Both Sides Held Together
The verse has a matching half. The Father gives people to Christ, and Christ welcomes each one who comes. Commentators warn against holding one half without the other.
William KellyThis then is the key, and it is twofold; and only in this largeness do we know the truth. If either side is taken to the exclusion of the other, the teaching is imperfect... The theologian who sees only the divine decrees pays little attention to the encouragement the Lord gives to the individual who comes to Him. The advocate of what he calls free will tries to neutralise, if he does not completely ignore, the declaration that all the Father gives to Christ will come to Him.
What the Drawing Feels Like
The drawing does not work like force. From the inside it feels like hunger, and like an honest look at oneself.
W. TrotterNo one hungers for the bread of life enough to come to the Saviour unless a sense of urgent need draws him. That sense of need is found only in those whom the Father draws... God deals with the soul in this way. These humbling discoveries of self and sin lead to open confession of total ruin. That is what accounted for anyone coming to Christ.
Three Persons at Work in One Coming
The drawing is not the Father's work alone.
Hamilton SmithThe Father draws (verse 44); the Son speaks (verse 63); and the Spirit gives life by applying His words in power to the soul.
A Test You Can Apply to Yourself
The verse can sound like a lock on the door. Turn it around, and it becomes evidence: if you have come, the Father drew you.
G. V. WigramNotice: if you come to Jesus, it is proof of two things. First, that the Father has given you to Him (v. 37). For "no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (v. 44), and no one comes unless the Father grants it to him (v. 65). Second, it is proof that you are taught of God (v. 45). If you have not come, is it not because you do not believe God?
Raised Up at the Last Day
The promise attached to the drawing reaches past the soul to the body.
C E StuartHere we learn that the teaching about the Bread from heaven involves the truth of the resurrection of the body. For the body, as well as the soul of the believer, is to share in everlasting life. So four times over in this chapter (6:39-40, 44, 54) the Lord declares, "I will raise him up on the last day."
But when is that day?
James BoydThe last day is the last day of the present age. It is a general term for the end of that age, not just the final twenty-four hours.
Summary
- Cannot — the barrier to Christ is not a shut door but a heart that will not move; God stops nobody, yet nobody starts alone.
- Drawn — the Father's grace brings a person to the Son — not human worth, work, or will. The whole blessing is sovereign mercy.
- Taught — from the inside, the drawing feels like hunger and an honest sight of one's own ruin. Father, Son, and Spirit all work in it.
- Both — hold two truths together — the Father gives, and Christ welcomes everyone who comes. Drop either half and the teaching goes wrong.
- Raised — if you have come, your coming is the evidence that He drew you. And the same verse promises your body's resurrection at the close of this age.