44 ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’
The passage we read from John's Gospel is one of the Lectionary readings for today's Communion Service. I noted when looking at my files that I preached on very similar verses at a Thursday Communion Service almost exactly a year ago. But I am glad to return to these verses and to take a look at them from a different perspective. I want to look at what it means to be "drawn" to Jesus.
Jesus had miraculously fed a vast crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children. Not surprisingly there were many who were now following him: they wanted to listen to his teaching; they wanted to see and experience his miracles; many hoped for more free food.
Jesus spoke to the crowds. He sought to point people away from the free picnic they had received and to point them to the far greater blessings that they could find in him. He is the bread of life his Father God has sent down from heaven to give life to the world. He urges the people to feed on him.
At this there are many in the crowds who begin to grumble and argue with Jesus – perhaps particularly the Jewish leaders. "Who does this chap think he is?" they say. "He's just the carpenter's son from Nazareth. How can he say that he has come down from heaven?" And with this, many begin to turn their back on Jesus and drift away.
It's against this background that we read these words of Jesus, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day… Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me."
So I want us to think about what it means to be "drawn to Christ".
During his earthly ministry, crowds of ordinary people were drawn to Christ. We read that "the common people heard him gladly." What was it that attracted them to him?
You might think from this passage that they only came because he performed miracles for them –feeding them or healing their sick. But I believe that there was more to it than that. We read that they said of Jesus that he "taught with authority, not like the scribes." He was not like the religious leaders they were used to who were always condemning them for their lack of detailed obedience to the law and to their detailed and exacting interpretations and additions to the law. He was one who cared about them. He viewed and treated them with compassion. He saw them as people who were needy and confused, not knowing where to turn – like sheep without a shepherd. He cared about them and wanted to show them that God cares for them. He spoke of himself as the good shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep.
He taught with authority and some had come to sense that when they listened to him it was as if they heard the voice of God and were being taught by God. They came to see God in a different light and so were drawn to the Lord Jesus because of the loving God they saw revealed in and through him.
Listen again to these words:
44 ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.
As they listened to Jesus, they felt that they were being taught by God. He told them that the poor in spirit would be blessed; they would see God. He told them that those who mourned would be comforted and that the meek would inherit the earth. As they looked at Jesus and witnessed the things he did, they saw that God cared about them – God loved them. They were drawn by the love of God to Jesus in whom that love was made visible and tangible.
But some could not see this. They simply say a man making outrageous and even blasphemous claims about himself. Many in the crowds were offended at the things Jesus was saying and began to drift away. But when Jesus asked his disciples if they also would leave him, Peter answered for them all when he said:
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. (John 6:68-69)
There is no one else like Jesus: No one else who spoke as he spoke, revealing the heart and character of God; No one else who had compassion on the crowds as he did and longed for them to find peace and rest and eternal life in him.
What drew the crowds to Jesus? Love: his great love for them. And that love is displayed particularly and supremely at the cross, where he gave his life for us. It is recorded in John 12:32 that Jesus said, "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." His love for the lost took him to the cross and this love draws people to him and fills them with love for him.
What kept many following Jesus? The realisation that there was no one else like him, no one else to whom they could turn; no one else who cared for them as he did, no one else who showed them so clearly what God is like.
So let me ask you, why are you here this morning? I hope it's not just out of habit or that you see it as an opportunity to meet with friends or to be able to have a chocolate biscuit or piece of delicious bread pudding. I hope it's because you are drawn to Christ. You have recognised that there is no one else like him and you want more of him; you love him because he has first loved you.
Jesus declares that he is the bread of life and he calls us to come and feast on him. He gives life to all who come to him and promises to raise us up on the last day. We who are drawn to him know that not even death can separate us from his love.
As I was preparing this, the words of a lovely old hymn went through my head
I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him;
And round my heart still closely twine
Those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine,
Forever and forever.
I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend!
He bled, He died to save me;
And not alone the gift of life,
But His own self He gave me...
From Him who loves me now so well,
What power my soul shall sever?
Shall life or death, shall earth or hell?
No! I am His forever.
I trust that this is why you are here today, drawn to Christ, the one who loved you and gave himself for you. Knowing that you are his and he is yours. Holding firmly onto him but knowing, far more wonderfully, that he is holding on to you and will never let you go. Knowing that you are his in life and in death. Coming this morning to reaffirm and enjoy that communion you have with him in the eating of bread and drinking of wine – celebrating his dying love for you and his risen power that holds you tight.
Drawn to Christ.
You can. You can by reflecting the character of the Lord Jesus Christ – showing compassion for those around you who are confused and worn down by life's demands and don’t know where to turn, who are like sheep without a shepherd. You can listen to them and talk to them and show them that you care about them. You can show them the love of Christ and by so doing show them the great love of God for them.
Through the Christlike concern and care we show towards others, they may be drawn to us, and drawn to the Saviour, wanting to have a part in the fellowship of God's people and wanting to come to know our Saviour – wanting him to be their Saviour too. Remember what the Lord Jesus said when he called Peter and his brother Andrew to leave their fishing nets behind and follow him, he said "Come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people" (Matthew 4:19). Jesus calls us to draw others to him.
What can draw others to Christ? We can through Christ-like compassion for others in their need, showing them that God cares about them. Let this be our aim and our preoccupation.
Peter Misselbrook
Christ Church, 18/4/2024 Thursday Communion