⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

Both the work of God and the reception by faith by some are interwoven in verses 44 and 45.

For the first time Jesus quoted the Old Testament in this gospel. The apostle John previously quoted Scripture in his book. The purpose of Jesus’ quotation was to interpret the metaphor of drawing people to Himself (Jn 6:44). People are drawn by being “taught by God.” God not only draws men to Himself but He speaks to them through words.

Verse 45 shows how the drawing takes place. God works by teaching the soul so that a person is disposed to accept Christ. The Holy Spirit speaks to his heart by special attraction.

⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets,

In verse 45 Jesus explained the kind of drawing shown in verse 44 the Father exercises. It is not by constraint but by influence and inner illumination.

Jesus paraphrased Isaiah 54:13 here to support the idea that true disciples will recognize Him as the Messiah and believe on Him.

‘And they shall all be taught by God.’

People are taught by God through internal illumination, which is the drawing of the Father (Jn 6:44).

Note the word “all.” God universally teaches everyone about Jesus. He gives inward, immediate illumination to “all.” This is the operation of the Holy Spirit on the heart. Illumination to all does not mean that all will believe on Him.

Therefore everyone [all] who has heard

Everyone whom God draws and efficaciously teaches will come to Christ. Two qualifications are necessary: people need to (1) hear and (2) learn from the Father.

A person hears and learns from the Father by something from within. It is a deep conviction planted by the Father. The one who spoke at Sinai now speaks through the Son. If people do not listen to the Son, they will not listen to the Father.

and learned from the Father

It is not enough to hear God’s voice; we need to respond to it. The person who goes positive in volition toward God’s message comes to Christ.

comes to Me.

“Heard” and “learned” convey the process of coming to Christ. The Father’s drawing is the beginning point. The verb “heard” means to learn something by hearing. “Learned” makes explicit what is implied in “heard.” No one can come to the Son without having been taught by the Father. Also, no one can hear and learn from the Father except through the Son. There is a connection between the inward attraction from the Father and the external hearing of His Son in whom He shows Himself.

PRINCIPLE:

God draws people to Jesus by illumination.

APPLICATION:

A prerequisite for becoming a Christian is knowledge. We cannot understand divine knowledge without illumination from God by the Holy Spirit found in Scripture.

Both the divine (v. 44) and the human side (v.45) of coming to Christ are put side by side. It is God who takes the initiative by drawing men to Himself. Unless the Father draws, no one can come to Him. Those who are positive in volition to the drawing will come.

God appeals to the grumblers to believe in our passage, to respond to His drawing. People who abandon their own judgment but “hear” and “learn” from the Father believe. It is only those who are humble and teachable that God brings to Himself.