“But I” = is emphatic and declares the work can be done by Christ and Christ alone. It is not the message of the cross that draws men; it is Jesus Himself.

Jesus mentions three times in the book of John that He is going to be lifted up in His death. The first shows that His coming death is a sacrifice that will bring salvation to those who are perishing (John 3:14-15); the second is the evidence that will show that He was from God and everything He said was what God told Him to say (John 8:28); and the third is the present passage which indicates the exact process by which men will be saved.

John 3:14-15  Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

John 8:28  So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.

“draw” = helkuo = to draw or drag, as a net.

It is impossible for the natural man to come to God all by himself (John 6:44). This is called the doctrine of the divine initiative in salvation. Men like to feel independent and capable of coming to Christ based on their own will, but such is not the case; it is impossible for man to come to Christ unless God first draws him. Godet states: “the God who sends Jesus for souls, on the other hand, draws souls to Jesus. The two divine works, external and internal, answer to and complete each other. The happy moment in which they meet in the heart and in which the will is thus gained, is that of the gift on God’s part, of faith on man’s part.” The divine initiative requires a human response. God through Jesus says “come” but we must exercise our will in doing so (Mat 23:37; Rev 22:17). But God’s grace is also overflowing in this area of the exercising of our will, for He even works in us “to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Calvin talks of “an effectual movement of the Holy Spirit, turning men from being unwilling and reluctant into willing.”

John 6:44  “No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Matthew 23:37  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Revelation 22:17  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Philippians 2:13  for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

“all men” = Jesus is not saying that all men will get saved, but that all who get saved will be saved in this way. Chrysostom thought that Christ used this universal word because He was going to save men from both the Jews and the Gentiles.

The “when” (“if” KJV) that Jesus uses is not conditional in the sense that it might not happen. The lifting up is the condition necessary for men to be drawn to Him. In other words, it is through the cross that Jesus is enabled to draw men to Him. He did many miracles—He had healed the sick, driven out demons, fed thousands from little, and even raised the dead, but these are only attention-getters. They are just the appetizers in the bringing of men into a relationship with Christ; the real meat of the meal is the cross. People who become Christians only because of the miracles of Christ or only due to His words will never be fully drawn to Him until they see Him lifted up by His substitutionary death on the cross and its resulting glory. It is only through the cross that men are truly drawn to Jesus.

So what is it that makes this cross of Christ the universal magnet of the world? It is love. You may drive men with many things but you can only draw them with love (Hosea 11:4). Jesus chose to die a horrible death He didn’t deserve because He and His Father loved the entire human race and wanted to provide a way for all of us to come into a close, loving relationship with them. His substitutionary death was not only necessary to deal with our sin and enable us to come into the presence of God, but also that we might see how much He truly loves us.

Hosea 11:4  I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.

On a side note, this verse also shows us the only effective method in evangelizing the lost. We can use many different programs and touch people in a variety of ways, but the only way people are going to get saved is if we lift Jesus up in a way that they can see Him. Salvation is not a series of steps we must do, but instead it is throwing ourselves upon the feet of Jesus and accepting what He has done for us.