‘Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying. Who can hear it?” '
Some of the wider group of disciples, those who were following Him around to learn and to consider His teaching, now began to question (not the twelve as John 6:67-70 make clear). ‘This is a hard saying,' they said. ‘Who can listen to it?' They had been very happy with the idea of Jesus being ‘the bread of life', and with Jesus as the coming king and prophet, but they were not happy with this talk of benefiting by, and participating in, His death. So Jesus was now deliberately facing all who followed Him with the realities involved. They must consider their inward hearts, and recognise that the way to God led through a cross. He was really saying again, that ‘if any man will come after me let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me' (Luke 9:23). He would never deny that to follow Him was hard and could lead into danger and suffering. The question was, could they face the fact that He must die in order to triumph? That was what they found difficult.