"Those that left were not yet, if ever, disciples of Jesus"
Unless, of course, you read and believe the words of the Bible.John 6:66 "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."Okay ... I guess that I thinking 'true' disciple, ... as opposed to simply a follower.
When I speak of a 'true disciple', ... I am referring to whatever it is that distinguished those that stayed with Jesus ... from those that left.
I would propose that the quality which made for the difference is 'faith' (in Jesus), ... which expresses itself in a followship of Jesus, ... whether you understand where He's going or not.
Remember, .... Judas too was 'called' a disciple, ... but Jesus said that He knew that he (Judas) was a devil from the beginning.
“When I speak of a 'true disciple', ... I am referring to whatever it is that distinguished those that stayed with Jesus ... from those that left.”
Exactly the point! Those that left found it “hard” to accept the words of Christ.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” John 51-56
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
The “true” disciples believed and accepted His literal words.