John 6:36-38 - Doing the will of the Father

6:36

This verse expresses the tragedy of the Jews and the tragedy of the human race. They had seen Jesus and yet still did not believe. They had seen the miracles and heard the teaching, they had seen the man, but still did not believe. Atheists are forever complaining that there isn’t enough evidence. This is not the problem. The problem is that we refuse to believe, even when there is evidence.

6:37

We now get the start of the description of how salvation works. What have we had so far? Jesus is the bread of life, if anyone will go to Him he will receive life. But people will not go to Him for they refuse to believe. So how can anyone be saved? The Father has given some to Jesus, and these people will go to Him. So we see the centrality of God’s part in the process. And those who go to Jesus will never be driven away.

So the Father is at work too. Salvation is not a man centred process, but man is involved. The Father is at work and we need to respond to that work. Now Jesus here is talking about salvation, but the principle has wider application. We can look at ourselves and think the situation is hopeless because we know the double mindedness within ourselves. Have you ever despaired at your inability to believe Jesus, to trust in Him? We should not despair, for the Father is at work, causing us to do His will. And when we sense that happening we should respond with faith and obedience.

6:38

This is a crucial verse in understanding who Jesus is and what He is about. “I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me”. There are some who see Jesus as somehow appeasing a reluctant God so we can be spared. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Father sent the Son with the explicit purpose of providing our justification, of redeeming us and making us children of God. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are completely united. There is one God in three persons.