Ok, if you say so.
I showed you in the Greek where the verse about plucking out your eye was in the imperative form....a command. You replied it follows a conditional "if" in what appeared to be a dodge of the issue whether to take this verse literally or symbolically in relation to our discussion on John 6.
And I showed you where the statement begins with "if". Jesus spoke with a lot of conditionals. A careful reading of the Beatitudes shows it full of conditional language. "'If' you are poor in Spirit, the Kingdom of God is yours." A conditional statement isn't a statement of command, it is a declaration. The point of the Beatitude is the reward for those who are humble. The point to the "plucking" discourse is that it is better to lose offensive parts of ourselves rather than lose our whole selves. It is a challenge to perfection, not a command to dismemberment.
You also gave your opinion on other places where Jesus used a metaphor to describe Himself.
Except you double down on John 6 where He's doing the same thing if the passage is read in context.
Except that if you read John 6 in context you will see that his Jewish audience understood very well that Jesus meant what He said. When they pressed to be sure they heard what they thought they heard, Jesus doubled down and drove them away rather than explain He meant it figuratively. Flash forward to the Last Supper and you have the fulfillment of His Word in the literal fashion.
Your problem isn't with me. Your problem is with the Church Who takes Christ directly at His Word. The same Church Who taught all of us about the Bible and preserved it through history for our consumption. Unfortunately, my Protestant FRiends tend to be like kids in a classroom who, when they get their hands on the textbook, turn to the teacher to tell her why he understanding of the subject is incorrect.
You do know what a conditional is......right?
This is not a conditional statement in the Greek text at all!
No they don't. Christ said His words were spirit. He said "the flesh propheteth nothing". The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write the qualifications for leadership in the ekklesia. The Catholic Church didn't take that "directly at His Word". God said "don't eat the blood". Christ said there would be no "who is greatest among you". The list is long as far as the Catholic Church not taking "Christ directly at His Word".