[PugetSoundSoldier]

Well, there are two ways to consider this:

1. Context meaning metaphorical - Jesus is calling himself Bread of life, as compared to other Heavenly-provided bread (manna) which did not provide the same kind of life. Thus Jesus is speaking metaphorically.

2. Context meaning literal - you must eat His body; not a representation (such as the Eucharist). His actual flesh, not a replacement, but His actual flesh.

If you want to be literal, the it must be Jesus’ actual flesh, not some representation or supposed transformation. Unless it is the literal, physical flesh (meat and skin) of Jesus, you cannot take the literal interpretation.

[Mr Rogers]

You mean, like “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

[Servant of the Cross]

"it must be Jesus’ actual flesh"

And it is! Praise be to God! It is called transubstantiation in which Christ, through the hands of His priest, transforms simple bread into the body of Christ! Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! Our God is an awesome God!

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“1. Context meaning metaphorical - Jesus is calling himself Bread of life, as compared to other Heavenly-provided bread (manna) which did not provide the same kind of life. Thus Jesus is speaking metaphorically.”

The problem is that we already know what the metaphor means when someone is said to be eating a man’s flesh: Look at Psalms 27:2. According to the metaphoric usage in scripture, to eat someone’s flesh is to hate him, to revile him. We have a similar expression in English, “What’s eating you?” Jesus could not have been saying, “He who reviles me has eternal life.” See also Isaiah 9:20; 49:26; Micah 3:3; 2 Sam. 23:17; Rev. 16:6; 17:6, 16.

Thus, if Jesus is speaking metaphorically in John 6, He doesn’t make sense. It is wiser to believe the Son of God made sense and that the audience He had gathered around Him, but didn’t pursue when it misunderstood Him actually was on to something.

[Uri’el-2012]

1. Context meaning metaphorical - Jesus is calling himself Bread of life, as compared to other Heavenly-provided bread (manna) which did not provide the same kind of life. Thus Jesus is speaking metaphorically.

Another Metaphorical understanding might be that Yah'shua
is the Word of G-d and it is to be eaten each day for life,
not unlike manna.

Ezekiel says that the Word tastes like honey. (Eze 3:3)

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach