Did the disciples “leave” Jesus because God the Father chose to not “draw” them to his Son?

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John 6:44 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.”

• Some people believe the Father chose to not draw these disciples to his Son.

• They believe that was the reason why many disciples left Jesus and no longer accompanied him. 66

• Jesus defined “draw” in the very next verse…

• Everyone who “listens” to my Father and “learns” from him “comes to me.” 45

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Listen and learn from the Father

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• To be drawn, the disciples had to listen and learn from the Father.

• Do you notice how Jesus purposely explained the “Father’s will” right before verse 44?

• “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and “believes” in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” 40

• If the Jews did not interrupt the Lord by complaining (41-43), verse 40 and 44 would be “back-to-back” covering the same topic of being “raised on the last day.”

• There is nothing better to learn from than the “will of the Father.” The Father’s will gives instructions on how to be raised on the last day:

• Believe in his Son and you will be raised.

• Jesus then confirmed the will of the Father with verse 47: “Amen amen, I say to you, whoever “believes” has eternal life.” 47

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Many disciples did not believe

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• Roughly two years into his earthly ministry, Jesus taught some very difficult and disturbing new teachings that shook the faith of many disciples. 

• The Lord surprised his disciples with new strange teachings that were not only disturbing, but forbidden, like drinking blood. John 6:50-58

• During the Bread of Life Discourse, “Jesus gave instructions” from within his new teachings to follow on how to be raised on the last day. 

• To “believe” means to accept as “truth.” To believe in these new difficult teachings is to accept the instructions, the commands and consequences Jesus gave to his disciples as truth.

• According to Holy Scripture, many disciples did not believe in these new teachings and abandoned the Lord. 60,64,66

• For more information on why many disciples left Jesus, please refer to the homepage link at the bottom.

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Some people believe verse 65 supports the interpretation that God the Father chose to not draw the disciples to his Son

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• From verse 65 – For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me (raised on the last day) unless it is granted him by my Father.

• When Jesus said “for this reason” in verse 65, what is the reason?

• The reason is in verse 64, which Jesus said: “But there are some of you who do not believe.”

• In his “own words,” Jesus defined the “reason.” These verses are connected:

• But there are some of you who do not “believe”… “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” 64,65

• Though the “commentary” with verse 64 is important, connecting the Lord’s own words together gives you the true meaning of what Jesus taught at the Bread of Life Discourse.

• In order to be granted by the Father, the disciples had to believe in his Son.

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The New American Bible, Revised Edition

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