Don't believe it. Yes, Jesus said it. And again I say, don't believe it. Why? Because there are conditions on the pronoun "whoever". Obviously, one must have faith and believe. Otherwise he would join the many (estimated as many as 20,000) disciples who couldn't accept it and "returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him" (Jn 6:66). There are other conditions to be discussed later. But first it is necessary to examine the issue of whether or not Jesus is speaking literally or figuratively.
In the sixth chapter of John's gospel, Jesus says repeatedly "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood...". To those who do, he promises eternal life. To those who do not, he says they have no life within them. "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." True food and true drink. This is clearly not the language of symbolism. In Mattthew 16: 5-12, the disciples are warned by Jesus to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples think He's referring to bread. Jesus clarifies what he is teaching them, "then they understood that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." In John chapter 6, the disciples weren't confused about what Jesus said but had difficulty in accepting it. So much difficulty that "many left and no longer accompanied him." So much difficulty that he asked the twelve "Do you also want to leave?" If He was only speaking figuratively, He would have clarified his words as he did in Mt. 16: 5-12 and also in Jn. 4:31-34.
Some misunderstandings and misinterpretations arise when one refers to Jn 6:63 where Jesus says "it is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail" Is Jesus confusing us? On the one hand He tells us his flesh and blood give us life, verse 54, and then in verse 63, he says that the flesh is of no avail. Closer scrutiny of the passages reveal that in verses 51-59, Jesus is clear on what his flesh will do for us. Notice in verse 54 he refers to flesh as "my" flesh. And in verse 63, the reference to flesh is "the" flesh. Jesus is saying "the" flesh of carnal man is of no avail. If he was speaking of his own flesh being of no avail, then why did he die on the cross?
At the Last Supper, Jesus takes bread, says the blessing, breaks the bread and says, "This is my body, which will be given for you" (Luke 22:19). Then he commands the Apostles to "do this in memory of me." Did they comprehend what they were to do and how they were to do it? St. Paul understood. He writes in his first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 11:23-24, "for I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
So it is evident that Jesus initiated the Eucharist at the Last Supper. The Apostles passed it on as Paul bears witness, And Paul reminds the Corinthians what they had already been taught. The Catholic Church has always been obedient to Jesus' command. How do we know this? Let's read some quotations from some of the early Church fathers.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple and contemporary of the apostle John wrote in 110 A.D. concerning certain heretics: "They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again" (letter to the Smyrnaeans). Some 40 years later, St. Justin Martyr wrote in his apology to the emperor of Rome, "We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; bur since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the Word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is both the Flesh and Blood of the incarnate Jesus." And St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in a catechetical lecture given in the middle of the fourth century (350 A.D.) said: "Do not, therefore, regard the bread and wine as simply that; for they are, according to the Master's declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ. Even though the senses suggest to you the other, let faith make you firm."
St. Paul, again in his first letter to the Corinthians, 11:26, tells us that "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes." The Catholic Church has encouraged frequent reception since the beginning. In Acts 2:42, the early church "devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles... to the breaking of the bread."
So, what are the conditions or requirements in order to receive this real Body and Blood of Jesus which we call Eucharist? As previously stated, St. Justin Martyr wrote "only those who believe our teaching to be true" can partake. That is the first requirement, to believe in the teaching of the Catholic Church. The second and perhaps the most overlooked requirement is receiving in a state of worthiness. What does this mean? How can we truly be worthy to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord? The truth is, we can not. We can only beg the Lord as the Centurion did in Matthew 8:8 to "only say the word and my servant will be healed." But there still are conditions to worthiness. Paul says " therefore, he who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord "(1Cor 11:27). Paul is calling this sacrilege, a heinous crime, in a certain sense, guilty of the murder of our Lord. Extravagant? Harsh? He continues in verses 28-29, a "person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself." Pretty serious implications for abuse for those who believe the Eucharist to be only a symbol.
St. Cyprian of Carthage, writing in 251 A. D. during the persecution of Decius, warns against leniency in those who had lapsed in various ways. Making reference to the same letter of Paul to the Corinthians, he writes "but they spurn and despise all these warnings: and before sins are expiated, before they have made a confession of their crime, before their conscience has been purged in the ceremony and at the hand of the priest, before the offense against an angry and threatening Lord has been appeased, they do violence to his Body and Blood; and with their hands and mouth they sin against the Lord more than when they denied him."
It is evident the early Church fathers clearly understood Paul's warning. The Eucharist is not to be taken for granted. There are consequences for abuse, for the unrepentant Catholic as well as for the unauthorized Protestant. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be revered, adored, honored, and worthily consumed.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." (Rev 3:20)