Then He must have had an "Oh; WAIT... there's MORE!" moment, because just earlier in the discourse He was asked a DIRECT question and He gave a DIRECT answer: Neither of which can be metaphorically whiffed away by the Imperial Hand.
John 6:28-29
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
"Believe in the One He has sent."
And later in the very same chapter:
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. "
We believe that..BECAUSE it was taught by the Holy One of God: we believe in the One He sent.
This was taught by Him in whom we believe, and in the Church which is His Body. As He said to His 72 disciples, the nucleus of His Church: “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Berean Study Bible
Tagline.
"Believe in the One He has sent."
OK, believe Him. Later in the very same chapter:
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. "
You believe that?
We believe that..BECAUSE it was taught by the Holy One of God: we believe in the One He sent.
This was taught by Him in whom we believe, and in the Church which is His Body. As He said to His 72 disciples, the nucleus of His Church: “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Berean Study Bible
Tagline.