The Jewish religious leaders habitually complain about Jesus—what he says, what he does—because they are looking for the kind of Messiah who will give them what they want. But Jesus explains in John 6:35ff that this isn’t how God’s program of salvation and kingdom life is organized. The whole thing operates on his desire and initiative, not ours. God always makes the first move.

He makes this clear when he says in v. 44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me.” Father and Son are in complete unity in their wooing, loving, and inviting. Just as no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him, so also “No one can come to the Father except through Me.” [John 14:6b]