João 6:61-62

Evidently Jesus spoke these words to a large group of His followers that included the Twelve. He suggested that He would yet reveal things to them that would be harder for them to accept than what they had heard so far. He had told them that He had come down from heaven (John 6:38), and this had scandalized (Gr. skandalizei) them. What would they think if they saw Him ascend into heaven?

Jesus may have been referring to His bodily ascension, but perhaps He was speaking of His crucifixion (cf. John 3:14). This explanation is in harmony with Jesus’ metaphorical language that He had been using throughout the previous discourse. Jesus’ crucifixion was in a sense the first step in His ascending back to the Father since it permitted Him to do so. Certainly Jesus’ crucifixion was the most humanly offensive aspect of His entire ministry (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23 where the same Greek word occurs).