Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”
Parallel translations
- KJV Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
- BSB On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
- ESV When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
- NKJV Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”
- NASB So then many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This statement is very unpleasant; who can listen to it?”
- NLT Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Many disciples call this a hard saying and ask who can listen to it. His teaching exposes the limits of their commitment.
Overview
The difficulty is not that the words are obscure but that they offend, demanding faith in Christ's heavenly origin and sacrificial death. These were broader followers, not the Twelve. Their complaint reveals that crowds may follow Jesus for benefits yet recoil when His true claims confront them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- John 6:66At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
- John 8:43Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word.
- John 8:31Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples.
- Matt 11:6Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”
- John 6:41–42The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”
- 2 Pet 3:16as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
- Heb 5:11About him we have many words to say, and hard to interpret, seeing you have become dull of hearing.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 6:60 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.