What makes the teachings of Jesus hard to accept?

In John 6:60, many of Jesus' disciples found His teachings hard to accept, responding with, 'This is a hard saying; who can hear it?' This reaction underscores the natural offense that the gospel presents to the flesh, as it demands total reliance on Christ and rejects any notion of self-sufficiency. The truth of our own sinful condition and inability to save ourselves is a hard truth for many to accept. Yet, it is through the revelation of God's holiness and our need for grace that we come to know Christ more fully as our only hope.