And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “For this cause I have said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”
- BSB Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”
- NKJV And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
- NASB And He was saying, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
- NLT Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus restates that no one can come to Him unless it is granted by the Father. He grounds the disciples' unbelief in the absence of the Father's gracious enabling.
Overview
Returning to verse 44, Jesus explains the falling away by appeal to divine grace: coming to Him is a gift the Father gives. This does not excuse unbelief but locates the source of faith in God's mercy. The verse reaffirms the Reformed conviction that salvation begins with the Father's sovereign, gracious work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 6:44–45No 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 6:37All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
- John 3:27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
- John 10:26–27But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
- Eph 2:8–9For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
- 2 Tim 2:25In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
- Jas 1:16–18Do not err, my beloved brethren.
- Titus 3:3–7For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
- John 12:37–41But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
- Phil 1:29For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
- 1 Tim 1:14And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
- Heb 12:2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- John 10:16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 6:65 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.