John 6: 37
” All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
I am often amazed at how much information is included in the Bible texts. My tendency is to read the Bible like a story, which it is, but it is also a highly accurate account of God’s Word. What I am discovering is that each sentence has value and meaning.
Today’s verse is one such verse. The larger context is a story about bread. Jesus feeding thousands of people with five small barley loaves. Then the people come after Jesus to make him king, but he escapes. His disciples wander off looking for him and get stuck in a storm in the middle of the Sea of Galilee so Jesus comes to their rescue. The next day the crowds find them again and start pestering Jesus. Jesus responds by patiently explaining again who he is and what is needed to gain eternal life.
In the midst of all of this drama, Jesus says, “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
Jesus is not worried about who will be saved. Quite the opposite! He is confident that everyone the Father has given Him will come to Him.
Q: Is this saying of Jesus’ about all those God has given to him coming to him a comfort, a contradiction, or just confusing?
A comfort. We talk about how need to evangelize the world, but it’s really God who brings people to Jesus.
For me it is a comfort – people’s salvation is not dependent merely on my skill as a teacher, preacher, etc. This doesn’t mean I don’t have a role or responsibility (I focus on being faithful), but it does take away a weight which I am not capable of bearing.
At the same time this verse challenges me. Do I really approach life and ministry with the same confidence in the Father that Jesus had?
I find it a comfort that Jesus can keep me and my family and friends in the Lord (John 10: 27 – 30). I find it a comfort that He calls us to Himself and then cares for us moving forward. I find it a comfort that it is about a relationship and not a set of rules (Matthew 11: 28 – 30).