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. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
If we understand this passage to be speaking to the Jews at that time instead of for all time, similar as Jesus speaks in Mathew 15:24. We understand that Jesus is referring to the passing off of God's people (those who are true followers him) to Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-2 says that in the past God used prophets to speak to our fathers but now he does so through his son. During this transitional period of Jesus' ministry - God is Drawing all of his true followers to Jesus (I might even argue here that he does so irresistibly) so he does not lose even one of his sheep. We can easily tell through a perfect litmus test those who are true followers of God by if they believe Jesus. No one can believe Jesus but simultaneously not be a true follower of God, and vice versa. That is what Jesus is saying. Why is God not giving these people to Jesus, because they are not his sheep to give. Jesus even references that there are sheep not of this fold who is most likely referencing situations like we see in Acts 10-11 with Cornelius and other Gentiles who are followers of God; but, it is not yet time to bring them into the fold until after Calvary.
At some point in time in Jesus' ministry, he goes from teaching from a more straightforward way into teaching parables, We can this shift drastically in Mathew where we go from the Sermon on the mount style teaching that doesn't have a single parable, to now teaching only in Parables. In all three of the synoptic gospels, Jesus himself says that he teaches in Parables as a means of judicially hardening and blinding those who have already rejected his teaching. As a note, if these people were born in a hardened state as part of their nature. Then the teaching to them would be irrelevant and the challenging nature of speaking in parables would not be needed. There would not need to be a means to the hardening if their hearts were already such.
The most crucial point to understand is that Jesus is not hardening them into rejection, but is hardening them in their rejection. This judgment of hardening is to bring about calvary and after this transition period of Jesus' time on earth, he will then be lifted up and will Draw all men through himself as John 12:32 says. Thankfully as an aside, Paul even references these Jews and says there is still hope for them after the resurrection.
Old Notes (Most likely to be removed) { I believe this viewpoint actually is not the correct one. }
In the debate between Calvinism and non-Calvinist viewpoints, John 6:44-51 emerges as a pivotal scripture. Often cited to support Calvinist doctrines, a closer analysis reveals nuances that challenge this interpretation. We'll explore how this passage, when examined thoughtfully, does not uniquely endorse Calvinist beliefs.
The Calvinist Interpretation of 'Drawing':
Calvinists interpret the word "draw" in John 6:44 as an indication of God's effectual and irresistible regeneration. They view it as God compelling certain individuals to come to faith, suggesting a limited and predetermined selection.
This interpretation hinges on two notions:
In contrast, non-Calvinistic interpretation likens "drawing" to an invitation or enabling rather than compulsion. This perspective views God's call as a necessary for salvation but ultimately mankind is responsible for accepting God's call. It argues that while God invites all to salvation, not everyone accepts this invitation. The responsibility for acceptance or rejection, therefore, lies with the individual, not with God's selective drawing.
The BAUER-Danker, Greek-English Lexicon of the NT assigns the following definition to (helkō; "draw"): "to draw a person in the direction of values for inner life, draw, attract". The Hebrew equivalent of the word is "mashak".
The book of John records Jesus speaking of "drawing" people on two occasions. Interpretations of these two passages have been a long source of debate and controversy. What did Jesus mean?
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws (helkō) him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw (helkō) all men to Myself. (John 12:32)
The Greek verb "helkō" is translated literally in English as "to draw" or "to drag." In addition to the above two passages, "helkō" is used in seven other instances in the New Testament. In these seven instances, the literal meaning of "helkō" can be easily seen:
The "drawing" of a sword (John 18:10).
The "drawing" of fishing nets (John 21:6, 11).
The "dragging" in the sense of "seizing" of people to some form of imprisonment (Acts 16:19; 21:30; James 2:6).
When talking about literal objects or people, draw is more forceful, but when talking figuratively it is more relational; to attract, to invite, or to enable.
In Nehemiah 9:30 of the Septuagint this Greek word for "draw" is used and the verse is translated as:
"And You have drawn them for many years and testified against them by Your Spirit, by the hand of your prophets, and they have not listened and you have given them into the hand of peoples of the lands (Nehemiah 9:30).
This is a clear example of how this word does not necessarily imply an irresistible drawing.
No Man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on that last day.
Non-Calvinist example:
No man can come to the Son's wedding banquet unless the Father draws (invites/enables) HIM, and HE (the man who comes) will have a great feast.
Can someone come to the banquet and have a great feast unless their invited? No!
But if they are invited does that mean they necessarily will come? No!
The Father's invitation, like His drawing, is a NECESSARY condition for the man to come, but that does not mean everyone who is invited will Necessarily come, some will reject the invitation. And whose fault is that?
Calvinist example:
No man can come to the Son's wedding banquet unless the Father compels HIM, and HE (the man who is compelled to come) will have a great feast.
Implications of the Calvinist Interpretation
That those who never come to saving faith were born unable to hear and learn from the Father or believe in Jesus for reasons beyond their control and there is no rational or legitimate basis for which unbelievers can be held blameworthy for their unbelief.It would mean God doesn't legitimately desire for all to come to repentance and faith so as to be saved. (Which flies in the face of many scriptures and the teaching of the bible)It means that someone must have LIFE before coming to Christ, and the Bible always tell sus that it is by coming to Christ that we get LIFE.
No referenced verses found.
Can someone love God, without knowing who Jesus is?
The knee-jerk reaction of most Christians today would say obviously not; however, this response reveals the challenge with being 2000 years removed from the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant. Although this answer is a resounding yes for those of us in the new covenant; saying this is true before the life of Jesus would be challenging to prove.
Calvinists would say nothing
The bible says otherwise
keywords:
Monergism, Semi-Palgeisum, Palegisum.
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