John 6:60

Πολλοὶ οὖν … ἀκούειν; many of His disciples [i.e., of the larger and more loosely attached circle of His followers, as distinct from the Twelve, John 6:67] having heard the foregoing utterances, said Σκληρός ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ λόγος. Σκληρός is rather “hard to receive” than “hard to understand”. Abraham found the command to cast out Hagar σκληρός, Genesis 21:11. Euripides opposes σκληρʼ ἀληθῆ, distasteful, uncompromising truths to μαλθακὰ ψευδή, flattering falsehoods (Frag., 75, Wetstein). The λόγος referred to was especially, John 6:58, οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς as is proved by John 6:61-62. But this must be taken together with His statement in John 6:51, that He would give His flesh, and the development of this idea in John 6:53-54, τίς δύναται αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν; “who can listen to Him?”