Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

John 6:45

John 6:45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Jesus confirms His word by a testimony from the Old Testament, not now taken from the Law (comp. John 6:31), but from the Prophets. The use of the plural ‘prophets' has been thought to prove that the reference does not belong to any one passage; and we may certainly say that an inclusive expression like this may have been used designedly, as implying that there are many such promises, and that this tone of promise is characteristic of the book of the Prophets. Still the word which introduces the quotation, ‘And,' a word quite needless for the Speaker's purpose, shows conclusively that the quotation is direct. There can be no doubt that the words are taken from Isaiah 54:13, with one or two slight alterations. They describe the great and general privilege of Messianic times. The retention of the words ‘thy children' (addressed to Jerusalem in Isaiah 54:13) might have seemed to limit the promise, which, belonging to the ‘latter days,' is really free from all such limitations. It has been suggested (by Godet) that the synagogue lesson for the day (see John 6:59) may have included these very words (comp. Luke 4:17-21). Be this as it may (and there is no improbability in the conjecture), the quotation was well known, and carries out and illustrates the words of John 6:44. The truth of that verse is set in a new light, presented on its human rather than on its Divine side. The ‘drawing' is a ‘teaching:' he that hath been drawn by the Father, is he that hath truly received the teaching of the Father.

Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me. Such true reception of the teaching is emphatically described in these words. Two stages in human experience, implied in the successful result of teaching, are separated from each other. All who hear may also learn, but many hear who will not heed, and therefore cannot learn; just as there are many who see the Son but will not remain to ‘behold the Son' and to believe in Him (John 6:40). These varied expressions illustrate one another with wonderful beauty and power. Not one allows us to think of compulsion or the forcing of man's will: all with one voice give glory to the Father as the source of every impulse towards the light and the life. The variety of expressions used by Jesus in the inculcation of this truth, so characteristic of the present chapter, may well remind us of the variety of the means employed by the Father in the prosecution of the work. Thus the ‘drawing' may present to our thought especially an inward influence; the ‘teaching' may suggest the application of Scripture truth; whilst the giving brings into view the final act of the Father when the design of His love has been fulfilled. But while each term may lead us to think most of one aspect of the Father's work, every term really includes all its aspects and denotes the whole work.

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

John 6:45

Old Testament

New Testament