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Wrestling with John 6: The Father, the Son, and the Struggle to Believe

John 6 has been one of the most difficult chapters for me to understand. It’s packed with signs, huge crowds, grumbling, confusion, and eventually, a lot of people walking away from Jesus. But what really made me stop and wrestle with it was how Jesus talks about the Father’s role in people coming to Him, and what that means for belief.

Jesus says:

  • "Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me" (John 6:37)

  • "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (6:44)

  • "No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by the Father" (6:65)

Then, in the same chapter, He says:

  • "Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life" (6:40)

  • "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me" (6:45)

  • "He who believes has eternal life" (6:47)

These two sets of statements felt like they were pulling in opposite directions. On one hand, it sounds like we can’t come to Jesus at all unless God does something first. On the other, belief seems to be the key to receiving eternal life. So I asked: Is Jesus saying that we can’t believe unless the Father first draws us? And if that’s true, does belief depend entirely on something God does beforehand?

A Timeless Truth Applied in a Moment of Unbelief

As I sat with these verses longer, I started to see that Jesus is teaching something timeless about how salvation works, and at the same time He's applying it to this specific group of people who were rejecting Him. The crowd had seen the miracle of the loaves and fishes, but they missed what the sign was pointing to: Jesus as the Bread of Life. When He taught them hard things, like eating His flesh and drinking His blood, many of them grumbled and walked away.

Jesus doesn’t chase after them or soften His teaching. Instead, He explains why they’re leaving: they haven’t truly heard or learned from the Father.

Jesus says that everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Him (6:45). That means those who come are the ones the Father has drawn and given to the Son. And those who don’t come are those who haven’t responded rightly to the Father’s teaching. This isn’t mechanical or automatic. It’s relational. It shows that true belief is a response to God’s initiative.

What Does It Mean to Hear and Learn from the Father?

That led to more questions. If hearing and learning from the Father leads to belief in Jesus, what does that actually involve? Is it just being exposed to a Bible verse or hearing a sermon? That didn’t seem to fit.

I think it means something more active. It means listening with an open mind and heart. Being willing to ask hard questions. Struggling to understand. Being honest. Wrestling with ideas that don’t make sense right away. It means not tuning out.

And learning from the Father doesn’t mean we figure it out on our own. It’s not about being smart or moral or religious. It’s about being teachable. God is the one teaching. We choose whether to engage or ignore it.

So this kind of hearing and learning isn’t earning salvation. It’s the opposite. It’s repenting: turning away from whatever we thought would save us, and turning toward Jesus. Believing in who He is and what He has done.

God Initiates. We Respond.

Thinking about Acts helped a lot. Cornelius and Lydia were both already seeking God before Peter and Paul shared the gospel with them. Paul himself, though completely wrong about Jesus, was zealously trying to serve God when Jesus confronted him.

In every case, God took the first step: sending the message, opening hearts, intervening. But people still had to respond. That helped me see that God’s initiative and human response are not at odds. They go together.

God draws, grants, teaches, gives. But He doesn’t force. Those who respond to the Father’s teaching come to Jesus. Those who reject Jesus reveal that they were never truly listening to the Father.

Why This Matters

Even though I am already a believer, this changed how I think about three key parts of following Jesus:

Evangelism: Speak Boldly, Trust God, Be Patient

I'm beginning to see how crucial evangelism really is. If no one shares the good news, how can people even begin to hear and learn from God? But even as we speak, we need to remember that we aren't the ones saving people. God is the one teaching. The other person is responsible for how they respond.

That takes the pressure off. Evangelism isn't about winning arguments or closing deals. It's about bearing witness to what Jesus has done. We speak clearly and passionately, and then trust that God is working through our words to help others hear and learn and believe.

Discipleship: We're Never Done Learning

Believing in Jesus is not the finish line. It's the beginning. We continue to hear and learn from the Father as we follow Jesus day by day. Discipleship is a lifelong process of transformation.

We won't always understand everything right away. That's okay. The point is to keep listening, keep learning, keep growing. Faith isn't static. It's dynamic.

God's Word: The Primary Way God Teaches

There are many ways God can speak to us—through people, circumstances, even conscience. But the primary way God teaches His disciples is through His Word.

If we want to hear and learn from the Father, we need to read and study Scripture. We need to sit under sound teaching. We need to engage with what God has already revealed. Scripture isn't just information. It's the voice of the living God, speaking to His people.

See my bible study process to learn how I approach scripture.

Final Thoughts

John 6 has been a tough chapter for me. But the more I wrestled with it, the more it started to make sense. Belief in Jesus isn’t something I can manufacture. It’s a response to what God is doing. At the same time, I’m responsible for how I respond.

Some walked away from Jesus because they couldn’t accept what He was saying. Others stayed, even without fully understanding, because they trusted Him. I want to be in that second group.

If I want to follow Jesus, I have to keep hearing and learning from the Father. Not once, but over and over again, for the rest of my life.

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