In the synagogue at Capernaum Jesus told the remnant of the multitude he fed in Bethsaida that he is the Truth that all men hunger and thirst after (John 6:35, 59),[1] yet these folks who have been following after him don’t believe him (John 6:36). They want Jesus to be their Messiah, but they want him to prove himself at every turn of events. They don’t trust him enough to let him lead them. Instead, they wish to control both the course and thrust of his ministry, which is not unlike what supporters of political figures do today. If a person wishes to be elected or appointed to office, he is expected to cater to the desires of his (financial) supporters. This is how Jesus was seen in the first century AD and why he couldn’t get the support of the Jewish authorities. Power is always jealous of its position, and will not willingly surrender its authority to another, no matter who that may be.
These men wanted to crown Jesus king (John 6:15), but didn’t seem to care about what Jesus believed about himself. They were willing to mold the messiah into something they could support or a man after their own design. Nevertheless, Jesus spoke of his coming out of heaven, not to do their will, but the will of the Father (John 6:38). Even if Jesus wanted to do as these men asked, he couldn’t do that and fulfill the desires of the Father. Why? It is because no special interest group could ever wish to accommodate the good for all. The common good could never be the design of any particular group of folks who have organized behind a special label that distinguishes them from others in their community.
Jesus claimed: “Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.” (John 6:37). These are not the words of an exclusivist or a special interest group. By its own definition, an exclusivist or a special interest group must exclude at least some folks, but usually the term means many or most folks are excluded. This is not, and could never be, the will of the Father, who sent Jesus into the world to save mankind (1Timothy 2:4; 4:10), not just some small group of folks who want to lord it over those who aren’t of their pedigree.
Therefore, Jesus emphasized his mission, that he did not come out of heaven from the Father to be an exclusivist. No, he claimed that not only would the Father draw whomsoever to Jesus, but it was his will that Jesus shouldn’t lose whomsoever the Father had given him (John 6:39). Not only so, but just to emphasize the Father’s lack of exclusivity, no matter who it was who believed Jesus, that one would be given eternal life (John 6:40)! Therefore, the resurrection to eternal life was not the exclusive lot of a particular group, no matter how small or large that group might be. Rather, resurrection to eternal life is applicable to all who believe, no matter who that might be (John 6:39-40).
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[1] It seems evident that Jesus couldn’t have been speaking here to the entire multitude since he spoke to them in the synagogue at Capernaum, which couldn’t hold much more a couple hundred people. Therefore, the folks Jesus met and spoke with were the leaders of the 5000 Jesus fed at Bethsaida. Once more it seems Jesus accused the Jewish authorities, whether Pharisees, Sadducees or zealots, of not believing him, and wanting to use or even control his ministry for their own special interests.
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