“Jesus said it was NOT the real, physical flesh”.
So what is there about these very simple words that you can’t understand? The first Christians understood, and for 2,000 years Christians have been participating in the Blood and Body of the Our Lord and Savior. You need to read the instructions of Saint Paul.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16). So when we receive Communion, we actually participate in the body and blood of Christ, not just eat symbols of them. Paul also said, “Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. . . . For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor. 11:27, 29). “To answer for the body and blood” of someone meant to be guilty of a crime as serious as homicide. How could eating mere bread and wine “unworthily” be so serious? Paul’s comment makes sense only if the bread and wine became the real body and blood of Christ.
You’re not answering my question. Was Jesus drinking His own blood at the last supper in direct disobedience of the law?