For I came down from heaven not to do anything other than the will of the Father. He says this so that they would know that the one who does not accept Him is opposed to God, as one who resists the will of the Father. Since they called Him an opponent of God, He turns this accusation back on them and says, though not openly: by not accepting the One who follows the will of the Father, you make yourselves opponents of God.
Where is Nestorius here, who says that Christ was deified after the resurrection? Do you not hear, wretch, that He came down from heaven? And He who came down from heaven was evidently not a mere man, but God. For a mere man does not descend, but sometimes ascends to heaven, when God grants him this for his virtue. Since the Lord's descent preceded the resurrection, He Himself both came down from heaven as God, having descended for the incarnation, and ascended to heaven with flesh as man, where He was before as God. Therefore, Christ is not a mere man who was subsequently deified, as Nestorius babbled, but the pre-eternal God, who became incarnate in the last times.
Jn. 6:39. And the will of the Father who sent Me is this: that of all that He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it all up at the last day.
He constantly says "The Father has given Me" in order to strike their hearts and so that they would know that they are unworthy of this gift of God. For if the Father gives faith in Christ as something great, and they do not have it, then obviously they have been deprived of the gift of God.
Jn. 6:40. The will of Him who sent Me is that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.
"So I," He says, "will not destroy those whom the Father gives Me, that is, those who believe in Me, but will raise them up, that is, will deem them worthy of a glorious resurrection." The resurrection is of two kinds: one is general and universal, by which all sinners also will be raised, and the other is that by which only the righteous will be raised, being caught up on clouds through the air to meet the Lord and encountering the Lord with boldness.
This last resurrection Paul calls an exaltation because of the lifting up from the earth. For sinners, although they will rise from their graves, will not be lifted up from the earth into the air, but will remain below, as those condemned. Therefore the righteous will both rise and be lifted up, caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17), while sinners will only rise.
The Lord, explaining the meaning of the words "I will lose nothing of all that the Father has given Me," expresses the same thought in other words: "that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life." For He says nothing other than what He said above. The words "all that the Father has given Me" are identical to the words "everyone who sees the Son and believes," and the word "I will not lose" is identical to the words "has eternal life."
He frequently mentions the resurrection so that people would not limit God's Providence to the visible order of things alone, but would know that there is also another state in which they will undoubtedly receive rewards for virtue, and would not abandon the pursuit of virtue because recompense is not apparent in the present life.
Jn. 6:41. The Jews then murmured against Him, because He said: I am the bread which came down from heaven.
When the Lord said, "I am the bread," the Jews murmured against Him, because they were deceived. For as long as they thought He was speaking of sensible bread, they behaved meekly, hoping that He would give them this bread and satisfy their belly. But when He revealed to them that His speech was not about sensible bread, but about spiritual bread, they murmur in despair. For how could they think of spiritual food, life, and resurrection? They were offended at Him, seeing on the one hand His Mother, and on the other hand hearing "I came down from heaven."
Jn. 6:42. And they said: Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, Whose father and Mother we know? How is it then that He says: I came down from heaven?
Looking at what was visible and not understanding that He is also God, they murmured as though the Lord were deceiving them, and said, "Is not this the son of Joseph?" But the Savior Himself does not answer them, "I am not the son of Joseph," for they could not comprehend the ineffable birth from the Virgin. And if their mind could not grasp the birth according to the flesh, still less could it grasp the pre-eternal birth from the Father.
Jn. 6:43. Jesus answered and said to them: Do not murmur among yourselves.
Jn. 6:44. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
What then does He answer them? "No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him." He says this not to destroy free will, but to show that the one who is to believe needs much assistance from God.
Otherwise: The Father draws those who have the capacity according to their free will, but does not draw to faith those who have made themselves incapable. For just as a magnet does not attract everything it approaches, but only iron, so too God approaches all, but attracts only those who are capable and show a certain kinship with Him. The Father draws and leads to the Son; and the Son raises and gives life, granting the breath of goodness and the life which is the Holy Spirit. Thus, the entire Holy Trinity bestows blessings upon believers, and not individually the Father alone or the Son alone, but as the Nature is one, so also the act of beneficence is one: the Father leads, the Son gives life, and the Holy Spirit serves as the breath for those given life; for every living being also has breath.
Jn. 6:44. And I will raise him up on the last day.
See what authority the Son has. "I," He says, "will raise it up." He did not say "My Father will raise it up," but "I." For He does not always speak of Himself in a lowly manner, but sometimes also reveals the loftiness of His Divinity.
Jn. 6:45. In the prophets it is written: "And they shall all be taught by God."
Above He said that whoever the Father draws comes to Me. Wishing to confirm this, He refers to the prophets. "It is written in the prophets," He says, "and they shall all be taught by God" (Isa. 54:13); all, of course, meaning those who are willing.
Jn. 6:45. Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned comes to Me.
The Father is the common Teacher, through revelation making His Son known to those who are worthy. For, touching the hearts of the simple and guileless, He reveals the Son to them, just as He also revealed Him to Peter (Matt. 16:17). Therefore, he who hears from the Father, that is, he who receives the revelation of the Father and becomes His true disciple, comes to Me. See with what precision He speaks about everything. He did not say that he who hears from the Father comes to Me, but added further "and who has learned." For it is not enough to hear; one must also remain and learn.
What then? Were they not taught by God before this in the Old Testament? They were, but not in the same way. For here, that is in the New Testament, there is a distinction. Then they learned the knowledge of God through men, but now, when the Only-Begotten became incarnate, knowledge comes from the Father Himself in the Holy Spirit, so that the prophetic word is fulfilled: "In Your light, O Father, that is in the Spirit, we shall see Light, which is the Son" (Ps. 35:10).
Jn. 6:46. This is not that anyone has seen the Father, except He Who is from God; He has seen the Father.