Eating the Bread of Life (John 6)

John chapter 6 contains one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus. The disciples even complain of its difficulty right there in the story! Part of the difficulty seems to be the nature of the figures of speech Jesus uses. Jesus did not intend to be taken literally on this occasion, and yet his listeners had trouble getting away from attempting a literal interpretation. So, how can we make sense of the figures of speech here? As it turns out, Jesus explains himself, but it takes close attention to track his meaning. Let's seek out what Jesus was saying.