The Context and the Gift
All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. - John 6:37
Earlier in this chapter, you can read that the Lord Jesus walked on the sea to reach Capernaum, having sent His disciples ahead in a boat. But the winds were against them, which slowed the boat's progress. Around the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came walking on the sea and caught up with them. When they saw Him, they were terrified.
Notice this: when circumstances turn dark and frightening for God's people, the Lord Jesus reveals Himself to them in extraordinary ways. Sometimes they can barely handle His appearance any better than they could handle the troubles that scared them before. They were afraid of the wind and the water, but they were also afraid of their Lord and Savior when He appeared to them in that condition.
But He said, "Don't be afraid. It's me." Notice that the purpose of the Lord Jesus appearing to His people (no matter how terrifying the manner of His appearance) is to calm their fears and confusion.
Then they welcomed Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where it was headed.
Notice this: when Christ is absent from His people, they make slow progress and face great difficulty. But when He joins them, how quickly they steer their course! How soon they reach their destination!
The people among whom He had last preached, when they saw that both Jesus and His disciples were gone, also took boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found Him, they asked in amazement, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" But the Lord Jesus, dismissing their greeting, answered, "I tell you the truth: you're looking for me not because you saw the miracles, but because you ate the loaves and were filled."
Note: A people may follow Christ a long way for selfish reasons, just as these people crossed the sea after Him for bread. A person's stomach will carry him far in religion. Yes, a person's stomach will make him risk much for Christ.
Note again: What wins Christ's approval is not false flattery but genuine intentions. Or to put it another way: It's not the hard work and busyness of religious people, but their love for Him, that makes Him approve of them.
Note again: When people expect a friendly welcome from Christ (if their hearts are corrupt), they will instead meet with a sharp rebuke: "You seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled."
Yet observe again: He doesn't refuse to give even these people good counsel. He tells them to work for the food that lasts to eternal life. How willingly Jesus Christ would have even those religious people who come to Him with false motives come to Him sincerely, so they might be saved.
The text, you will find, comes after much more discussion with and about these people. The Lord Jesus speaks it as the conclusion of the whole matter, suggesting that since they were religious only in pretense, and therefore not the kind His soul could delight in, He would content Himself with a remnant that His Father had given Him. As if to say, "I am not likely to be honored in your salvation, but the Father has given me a people, and they will come to me in truth. In them I will be satisfied." The text therefore may be called Christ's place of rest. In its fulfillment, He finds contentment after much labor and many sermons spent, as it were, in vain. As He says through the prophet: "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing, and in vain" (Isa 49:4).
But just as he said there, "My judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God," so in our text he says, "All the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." With these words, then, the Lord Jesus comforts himself when he considers how some of his followers are only pretending.
He also found rest in this truth when he thought about how little his ministry had accomplished even in Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida. "I thank you, O Father," he said, "Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight" (Matt 11:25; Luke 10:21).
The text, taken as a whole, consists of two parts and has special reference to the Father and the Son, as well as to their joint management of the salvation of their people. "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." The first part of the text, as is clear, concerns the Father and his gift. The other part concerns the Son and his reception of that gift.
First, regarding the Father's gift, there is this to consider about it: namely, The gift itself, which is a gift of certain persons to the Son. The Father gives, and that gift will come. "And whoever comes." The gift, then, is of persons. The Father gives persons to Jesus Christ.
Second, next you have the Son's reception of this gift, and that shows itself in these particulars: In his sincere acknowledgment of it as a gift: "The Father gives me." In his taking notice, in a deliberate manner, of all and every part of the gift: "All that the Father gives me." In his resolution to bring them to himself: "All the Father gives me will come to me." And in his determination that nothing will make him reject them when they come: "And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out."
First, by way of explanation. "All that the Father gives me." This word "all" appears frequently in Scripture, and we need to understand it more broadly or more narrowly depending on the truth or argument it's being used to support. To better grasp what Christ means by using it here, we should recognize that it's limited and restricted only to those who will be saved—specifically, to those who will come to Christ, those He will never cast out.
This word "all" must be limited and expanded according to the truth and argument for which it's being used. Otherwise, we'll misuse Scripture, mislead readers, and confuse ourselves and everyone else. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth," Christ said, "will draw all men after me" (John 12:32). Can anyone seriously imagine that by "all" in this passage, he meant every single individual person in the world? Wouldn't he rather mean "all" in a way that fits the context of the passage?
Those intended as the gift in the text, then, are those given by covenant to the Son. These are the ones called elsewhere the elect, the chosen, the sheep, and the children of the promise.
These are the ones the Father has given to Christ to keep. These are the ones Christ has promised eternal life to, those to whom He has given His word, and those He will have with Him in His kingdom to behold His glory.
By using the word "Father," Christ identifies the one who gives, and from this we can learn several useful things:
First, the Lord God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is equally involved with the Son in saving His people. True, His actions in our salvation differ from those of the Son. He wasn't able to do what the Son did for us. He didn't die or shed blood for our redemption as the Son did. But He still has a hand, a great hand, in our salvation too. As Christ says, the Father Himself loves you, and His love shows itself in choosing us, in giving us to His Son, and even in giving His Son as a ransom for us.
Secondly, Christ Jesus the Lord uses the word Father to make this gift personal and accessible to us. By nature, the name of God frightens us, especially when He reveals Himself through names that emphasize His justice, holiness, power, and glory. But the word Father is different. It's a familiar word that doesn't terrify the sinner but instead draws his heart to love God and find pleasure in remembering Him.
