Peter McKenzie

One last comment: I don’t think you have considered the ramifications of your view to the extent of its logical conclusion. Given (there’s that word again 🙂 that the “giving” of the passage is a unique situation, it seems like a stretch to try to force that as a template going forward from the text. Here’s why: The giving from the Father was a unique situation because it involved Jewish people (and perhaps Gentile converts) who believed in a coming Messiah – and when Jesus arrived, they believed He was that Messiah. They believed this way because they were taught by the Father. IOW they were the ones spoken of in 6:45. They knew and accepted the OT scriptures that prophecied the coming of Jesus. They may also have been ones that heard the message of John the Baptist. When Jesus actually did come, and they heard his message they did not waiver from their previous belief. They knew it was him who the scriptures had foretold of. To insist that this same scenario carries on today as you suggest, is not an impossible one. The question, though, is it a likely one? It seems that there are some serious hoops to jump through to get to that way of thinking. If no one can come to Jesus unless the Father is giving them to Jesus in today’s world, that would mean that Jews and Gentiles alike would have to be in a scenario whereby they are being taught by Him. So, they would be in the Father’s “care” before they heard and embraced the gospel. They would be kind of in a strange environment of knowing the Jewish scriptures but not knowing about the New Testament. In that sense, when these ones hear the gospel, they are turned over to Jesus by the Father. Of course, they are hearing about the coming Messiah after the fact – after he has come. One would have to envision a notion of them living in a vacuum – given that the gospel has gone out to most nations. Another option is that your view might encompass only Jews today – those who know the OT but then come to have a revelation of Jesus and put their faith in Him. But this narrows the scope of this verse to Jews only, and I think you will agree that that is not likely. Another option, is to view people who have a general belief in a creator God (IOW they are not atheists) who come to faith when they hear the gospel, and, as such, can be viewed as being cared for by the Father. In this scenario, if one were to hold to this view they would have to accept the premise that these ones in the “Father’s care” are being cared for without them knowing about it. IE. their general belief is an uninformed one. They are ones who say they believe in God in a casual sense when queried by someone else. Perhaps they haven’t even read the Bible. Surely, no one would venture to make a claim that these people were being cared for by the Father. In our world today, people hear the gospel and then put their faith in Jesus. There is no prerequisite for them to have read and understood the Jewish scriptures before they can embrace Jesus. To force that take away from the text is a questionable practise IMO.