John 6:36-37 36But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 37All who the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.
The problem with the situation in Capernaum, as Jesus talked with the crowd, is that the people had seen Jesus’ miracles and heard him preaching but refused to believe. They had all the evidence they needed. The people of Galilee had the same problem as the people of Jerusalem in 5:36-38: they misunderstood Jesus and refused to believe in him. They saw someone who could free them from the Romans and become their king (verse 19). They only saw things from an earthly perspective, which is natural and easy. Jesus was challenging them to see from a heavenly and spiritual perspective. They had tunnel vision of their own making and attempted to put Jesus into their own convenient box. Jesus states the universal human problem of not believing. The evidence is available but requires faith to accept.
Verse 37 poses several theological challenges focused on the issue of God’s election of those who will be saved. The tension that divides some Christian groups is indicated in this verse. First, God the Father gives all (pan) to the Son. This verse does not necessarily need to be interpreted as God’s election of only certain people for salvation but emphasizes the Son’s sovereignty and God’s grace extended through him. The all is in emphatic position as first in the sentence and stresses the connection between Father and Son. The Son has full sovereignty as King and does everything the Father does. The Son is fully divine yet fully human as “God with us.” The all used here functions as a pronoun for people. The Father has given all people to the Son who will judge them according to how they have responded to him.
The second part of the verse indicates the necessary human response to God’s grace through the Son. The invitation goes out to all people through the gospel but people must come to Jesus. Jesus uses the figure of speech called litotes, which is when something is stated negatively to emphasize the positive. Jesus will not turn away anyone who comes to him. The key thought is in coming, which assumes repentance, faith, and obedience. Those who believe in Jesus and come to him in humility will find a loving Shepherd with open arms of welcome. Jesus will never turn someone with faith away. The permanent kind of food the people were looking for was right in front of them. They would never need to search for any other answers to their deepest spiritual hunger. The theology is not complex in this verse but is an open invitation to whoever will listen and believe and a strong assurance of what the believer will find.
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