The Irresistible Call of the Gospel (1)

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44

The reader of our Newsletter who sent in this text, submitted it without an question attached, and apparently would like to have some general comments made on the text. This I am happy to do because it is such a crucially important text in the Gospel according to John.

However, we should consider this passage in connection with the verse which follows it and forms a part of it. That verse reads: "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."

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I recall reading a book many years ago in which the author was explaining what led him to believe the doctrines of sovereign and particular grace. He told the story of being isolated an entire winter in the frozen wastes of Alaska. While in a cabin by himself he had a great deal of time to study his Bible. He wrote that the one book which, more than any other, convinced him of the truths of sovereign and particular grace was the Gospel according to John.

I have no difficulty believing this. If we may summarize the doctrines of grace as consisting of the five points of Calvinism, we find every one of these five points writ large in John's beautiful gospel. Sovereign predestination, including election and reprobation, are throughout the book, but especially in John 10:4, 26; 12:37-41. A denial of the free will of man because of his depravity is taught in 6:44, the passage which we are considering. Particular redemption is taught in John 10:15. Irresistible grace is also taught in the verse we are treating. Perseverance of the saints is explicitly taught in John 10:27-30. But these are only a few passages where these truths are specifically mentioned. And notice how often John 10 is a key chapter.

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John 10:44 is part of Jesus' discourse which He spoke to the unbelieving Jews in Capernaum. We ought to have the setting clearly in our minds.

The first part of the chapter records the miracle which Jesus performed of feeding 5000 men with five loaves and two fishes. That Scripture considers this to be one of the most important of Jesus' miracles is evident from the fact that it is the only miracle, other than the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, which is recorded in all four gospel narratives.

The people were astounded at the miracle and delighted by it. They were so delighted in fact that they decided to make Jesus their king. What could be better than a king who could miraculously create bread? They would never have to work again; their rather barren land would be changed into a virtual Paradise; they would be the envy of every country in the world; they would have a king who could, conceivably, drive out the hated Romans.

They were even prepared to take Jesus by force if He showed any reluctance to do what they desired (see verse 15). And the disciples were as eager as the people to have Jesus seize His crown.

The trouble was that they wanted an earthly king who could fill their stomachs; and Jesus was not that kind of a king. And so, Jesus sent His disciples away over the Sea of Galilee, and He disappeared into the surrounding mountains to pray -- as He often did in times of crisis.

The whole narrative suggests a series of miracles which surrounded this one miracle. Jesus not only created food for the people out of nothing -- just as God had done when He created the worlds and formed things that were not as though they were. But Jesus sent a terrible contrary wind upon the sea so that His disciples could make no progress in their efforts to cross the sea. That was a second miracle.

And when they were desperate in the teeth of the gale, Jesus came to them, walking on the storm-tossed seas, showing the disciples in dramatic fashion that the storms of life were all under his sovereign control. That was a third miracle.

When Peter began to sink beneath the waves, Jesus took Peter by the hand and enabled him also to walk on the water. That was the fourth miracle.

When Jesus was in the ship with them, the fierce and relentless winds ceased. That was the fifth miracle.

And when He entered the boat, "immediately" the ship was at land. That was the sixth miracle.

This is enough for now. We shall continue next time.