John 6:59-62 59He said these things in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum. 60So, when many of his disciples heard, they said, “This word is hard; who is able to listen to it?”
After Jesus finished his powerful teaching session in the Capernaum synagogue, he had a mixed reception. What John recorded next was likely typical of Jesus’ experiences in the synagogues where he regularly taught. The audience has shifted throughout chapter 6, from the large crowd across the lake to now a smaller crowd that could fit in a synagogue. John focuses his narrative even further to Jesus’ disciples who have been part of the crowd ever since coming ashore in verse 21. John as an author was not so concerned about the small details but with the major ideas, with the central focus of helping his readers put their faith in Jesus.
As the disciples listened to Jesus teach and dialogue with the Jews, their thinking was greatly expanded to the point of where they could not understand what Jesus was teaching. Jesus had many disciples by this point. The number or description of those who ask the question in verse 60 is not stated, but verses 66-67 differentiate between the core twelve and the many. This passage serves as the equivalent of the cost of discipleship found in the Synoptic Gospels. This situation was a crisis of faith for those who had been following Jesus. Would they humble themselves and believe in Jesus’ words, and thus believe in him? Or would they struggle because they were stuck in earthly thinking and were following him only for selfish reasons?
The word of the gospel seems foolish to those without faith. As time goes on and faith grows, the mystery becomes clear and makes perfectly logical sense. But logic itself cannot fully comprehend what Jesus has said in this chapter. There will always be a mystery to the revelation of Jesus because he represents God’s perfect will for humanity and all creation. Theologians have wrestled with the meaning of the Incarnation and how all of creation somehow is impacted by the physical life of a wandering itinerant preacher from Galilee. Believing in this man brings life eternal because we can trust in what he said and what he represents.
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