DEBATING JOHN 6:44

John 6:44 quotes Jesus as saying, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day."

A few days ago, a debate over this verse arrested the attention of that small sliver of the internet obsessed with Calvinism. (And, yes, I am among that crowd.) Dr. James White argued the Calvinist side and Dr. Leighton Flowers took what he calls the "Provisionist" side, aka Non Calvinist. 

Many a Calvinist points to John 6:44 as foundational to their entire systematic theology. It seems pretty straightforward: Nobody can come to Jesus unless they are chosen by the Father and irresistibly drawn to Him.

I would never argue that the verse couldn't be read in this way, especially in isolation. 

What I do argue against is the Calvinist interpretation being the only sensible way to read verse 44 or the most obvious way to read it. If you even take one more verse and consider the entire context of the opening chapters of John, the Calvinist interpretation begins to evaporate:

44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.

Jesus is talking to Jews who are not convinced He truly came from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Many of them were cultural Jews, following the Law and going through the motions but never having an authentic relationship with the Father. 

So which message sounds most appropriate for this crowd:

A. It's pretty obvious that I am sent by the Father - at least to those who have already been learning from the Father before they knew the Messiah had arrived. After all, we sound alike. So you can trust me.

Or

B. You can't come to me unless God has already chosen you - if He has, He will drag you to me and there is nothing on earth which will prevent it. On the other hand, if you were not chosen by the Father, your salvation is just not meant to be - and there is nothing you can do about that.

Which message sounds like Jesus and which one strikes you as "coming out of left field"?

I am not sure where the debate is.