. . . the language of 6:54-56, with its mention also of
blood, is unmistakably focused on Jesus’ death. Better, then, to interpret
feeding on Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood as a metaphorical way of
referring to relational trust in his sacrificial death, an essential aspect of
the more multifaceted trust that constitutes belief in him. There is no life
(or belief) without such relational feeding and drinking (6:53, 55). (Clive Bowsher,
Life in the Son: Exploring Participation and Union with Christ in John’s
Gospel and Letters [New Studies in Biblical Theology 61; Downers Grove,
Ill.: IVP Academic, 2023], 27)
