John 6:45-47 45It 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. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; this one has seen the Father. 47Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life.
Jesus connects himself more with God the Father and adds support for his claims. He appeals to the Prophets, more specifically, a paraphrase from Isaiah 54:13. The passage from Isaiah is a prophecy of how the Lord would restore Jerusalem, and the people would come to know him. That prophecy was fulfilled long ago with the restoration of Jerusalem after the Babylonian destruction, but it was being fulfilled in an even greater way with Jesus. If the people would listen and believe, the Old Testament prophecy would make sense to them. They would see how Jesus was the fulfillment of Israel’s longing. He was their prophesied Messiah.
Three key requirements are given in verses 45-46: hearing, learning, and believing. Each is crucial to the path to eternal life. It is not enough just to hear the words; one must actively respond by learning, which implies some type of action. The crowds following Jesus had heard from the Father through Jesus, the Son. The message was clear; therefore, they were accountable for learning its meaning. Jesus gave the message in three visible ways. First, he performed great miracles, like the feeding of the five thousand. Second, he used metaphors and parables from everyday life that people could understand and connect with. Third, he spoke the message plainly in words. It was then up to the people to believe in Jesus and the message he brought.
The message was simple: believe in him as the Son of God. Believing in John always has a practical aspect, which Jesus shows later as loving one another. Being connected to Jesus through faith is the crucial step to eternal life. Verse 47 contains the core theme of John’s Gospel and the Christian message: believing in Jesus is the only way to eternal life (see 3:15).
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