No man can come to me, except the Father who has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Read Chapter 6
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
No man can come to Me, &c. Observe, (1.) Christ might, as S. Chrysostom observes, have answered and said, "It is not wonderful that you, 0 ye Jews, neither understand nor believe the things which I say, namely, that I am the Bread of Life who came down from heaven: it is because ye are hard and carnal. But He prefers to answer more sweetly and divinely, thus, that no one could believe in Him unless it were given them of His Father; that Song of Solomon , those who believed might not contend against the others who did not believe; and that the unbelievers might acknowledge that they were in want of Divine light, as needful plainly to believe; and that they should ask for this by humble prayer to God in Christ and not murmur, or certainly they would be without the light of God which was offered to them.
The meaning therefore Isaiah , "Do not, 0 ye who believe in Me, murmur against the unbelieving, because they do not believe My doctrine, which is confirmed by so many miracles; for faith...
Draw him. Not by compulsion, nor by laying the free-will under any necessity, but by the strong and sweet motions of his heavenly grace. (Challoner)
We are drawn to the Father by some secret pleasure, delight, or love, which brings us to the Father. "Believe and you come to the Father "says St. Augustine, "Love, and you are drawn. The Jews could not believe, because they would not. "God, by his power, could have overcome their hardness of heart; but he was not bound to do it; neither had they any right to expect this favour, after the many miracles which they had seen. (Calmet)
The Manichæans spring upon these words, saying, that nothing lies in our own power; yet the expression shows that we are masters of our will. For if a man comes to Him, says some one, what need is there of drawing? But the words do not take away our free will, but show that we greatly need assistance. And He implies not an unwilling comer, but one enjoying much succor. Then He shows also the manner in which He draws; for that men may not, again, form any material idea of God, He adds,
Not slight here is the authority of the Son, if so be that the Father leads, He raises up. He distinguishes not His working from that of the Father, (how could that be?) but shows equality of power. As, therefore, after saying in that other place, The Father which has sent Me bears witness of Me, He then, that they might not be over-curious about the utterance, referred them to the Scriptures; so here, that they may not entertain similar suspicions, He referrs them to the Prophets, whom He continually and everywhere quotes, to show that He is not opposed to the Father.
But what of those, says some one, who were before His time? Were not they taught of God? Why then the special application of the words here? Because of old they learned the things of God by the hands of men, but now by the Only-begotten Son of God, and by the Holy Ghost. Then He adds, Not that any man has seen the Father, save He which is of God, using this expression here not with reference to the cause, but to...
