It is interesting that Martin Luther called those who could not discern the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist DEVILS. And this verse is 6:66. You share beliefs with some interesting company - devils and those that abandoned Christ.
And you now begin to show your inconsistency.
I thought that your claim was that those that left Jesus believed that He was speaking of offering to them (to consume) His physical flesh and blood.
That is exactly what you believe, ... not I.
I would take more care in presenting my ad hominems.
And though I do not base my christian belief upon Luther (he was a fallible believer ... as am I), ... I would claim to discern the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. For indeed I do ...
Jesus said that where two or more are gathered in His Name, ... He is there present.
As for the bread and wine, I believe that it is a spiritual representation of His body and blood. I have no problem in disagreeing with Luther ... or any other fallible creature ... on that issue.
"those that left Jesus believed that He was speaking of offering to them (to consume) His physical flesh and blood. That is exactly what you believe, ... not I."
OK. Lets look at exactly what Christ said:
I am the living bread…
whoever eats this bread will live forever…
the bread that I will give is my flesh…
unless you eat the flesh…
drink his blood…
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life…
my flesh is true food…
Whoever eats my flesh…
Christ said he is the Bread. Christ said the bread is His flesh. Christ said we must eat His flesh.
This is what Christ said. This is what the followers heard. Those disciples who did not believe it left him.
I am exactly consistent with Scripture and the actual words of Christ. It is you, my friend, who is changing the words of Christ to fit your personal beliefs and traditions.
You can believe “is” means “represents”, but that is not what Christ said.
In your response to FatherofFive:
**I thought that your claim was that those that left Jesus believed that He was speaking of offering to them (to consume) His physical flesh and blood.**
That's the way it appears. The ones that stopped following the Lord must have been thinking something like: "We're going to eat this man, as though he's a lamb or a calf?? Eat a man? What would Moses say?". They just let the words, found in verse 63, go in one ear and out the other.
I explained in previous posts (most recently #292) how one gets Jesus inside. Lord knows I tried.