On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?
5 sermons cite this verse
… He says, I gotta tell you, I was there on hearing it. Many of his disciples, not the apostles, the general crowd that followed Jesus, many of his disciples said, this is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? We're like, no kidding. But a lot of Jesus' teaching is hard And some of it comes across as harsh. And John tells us what happened. He said, from that day, because of that one sermon, from this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. They did what I don't want you to do. They missed Jesus because of something they misunderstood. They missed Jesus. They missed the Messiah. They missed the son of God. from that point on, as the story continues, they're out of the picture. They miss Jesus because of something they misunderstood. And here's what happens next. As the crowd is leaving, the 12 apostles, Jesus' closest followers, they're thinking about leaving too because this is about to get hard. If we lose the crowd, we lose our cover. …
… Oh, verse 60 says, many of the disciples when they heard this said, this is a difficult statement. Not difficult in unclear, but difficult in the sense of objectionable, hard to accept. I can't tolerate that thought. You want to talk about taking care of the people's needs? You want to talk about world problems? You want to talk about nice gatherings where we give the children little verses, where we sing and have a good time and even see buildings built? That's great, but don't ask me to limit my life of faith to the narrow plan of Jesus Christ and him only for salvation. Verse 66 tells us that as a result of this, many withdrew and were not walking anymore with him. You know, when you come and bear down on the rigidity, the narrowness of the gospel, it's amazing how it thins the ranks. Many of you love to come and be a part of the excitement and the movement of the ministry here or some other place. …
… Himself. Therefore, verse 60, many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a difficult statement. Who can listen to it? But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, does this cause you to stumble? What then, if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. As a result of this, many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. And there's a finality in the Greek construction of that statement. So Jesus said to the twelve, "'You do not want to go away also, do you?' Simon Peter answered Him, "'Lord, to whom shall we go? …
… These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a difficult statement. Who can listen to it? Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "'Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you, our spirit and our life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, You do not want to go away also, do you? …
… These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying. Who can understand it? And when Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. But Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who would betray Him. And He said, Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. And from that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. And then Jesus said to the twelve, Do you also want to go away? …