The passage
      v51. In this verse, Jesus advances his argument a step further. He is now explicit about the necessity of eating the "living bread" (the phrase means the same as the "bread of life"). Jesus also makes the point that he gives this bread and that the bread that he gives, bread which this generation must eat, is his flesh. The image of eating Jesus' flesh serves to illustrate the necessity of believing in Christ's pascal sacrifice for the sins, and as a consequence, the life of the world. It is possible, although unlikely, that this verse belongs to the previous section, v35-50.
      v52. The stark nature of Jesus' words causes an argument to develop among the Jews and leads to offence. Jesus' words are obviously figurative, but a figure of what? Their concern is focused on how Jesus intends giving his flesh for them to eat. We are being led to see this giving in terms of Christ's giving of himself as a sacrifice for sin.
      v53. As for Christ's sacrifice for sin, we must eat and drink it, that is, believe in Christ the crucified messiah. Without this belief we have no life within us, we do not possess eternal life.
      v54. Believing, putting our trust in the crucified Christ (eating and drinking his body and blood), brings life eternal, and this life will be experienced in all its wonder and majesty in the day of resurrection.
      v55. Manna was amazing food, but not the real thing, not life-giving. Faith in Christ is the real thing; it is the life-giving food.
      v56. The person who believes in Christ is one with Christ, united to Christ - indwells Christ and is indwelt by Christ. The person identified with Christ, dies with Christ, rises with Christ and reigns with Christ.
      v57. The Father possesses life in himself, and in union with the Father, the Son possesses life in himself. Those who believe on the Son become one with him, and so similarly possess life in themselves.
      v58. Jesus' sacrifice is the true heavenly bread, the life-giving bread. The people of Israel ate manna in the wilderness, but this bread from heaven only sustained them in their journey to the promised land. Those who eat the bread that Jesus gives, who believe in the lifted-up one, will be sustained to life eternal.
      v59. In concluding this discourse on the bread from heaven, John notes that it was delivered to the congregation at the synagogue in Capernaum.

John, the evangelist's gospel
      The theologian C.H. Dodd commented long ago that the discourses, or if you like, sermons that are found in John's gospel, are simply evangelistic presentations. Each sermon, in a slightly different way, proclaims the gospel. Our passage for study comes from one such sermon which is often titled The Bread of Life.
      In the sermon The Bread of Life we are reminded that Jesus is the bread of life. As the people of Israel journeyed to the promised land, they were sustained with heavenly food, manna. Yet, this miraculous food only sustained them for the journey; it had no spiritual function. Jesus, on the other hand, supplies a spiritually miraculous food, a food for eternal life. The food Jesus supplies is the offering of himself upon the cross for the sins of broken humanity. If we eat this food, that is, if we believe on the crucified Jesus, then we are sustained to eternal life.
      With evangelistic sermons like this, it's no wonder John's gospel was often given to people enquiring about Christianity, yet today, enquirers are usually given Mark's gospel. The shift from John's gospel is usually down to its metaphorical nature. A reader can easily get confused with John's metaphors, for example, in our passage for study the metaphor of eating Jesus' flesh and drinking his blood.
      Yet, it is interesting how Jesus is quite happy to proclaim the gospel in metaphors, or more particularly, parables. John tells us that the Jews were unable to understand the image of eating Jesus' flesh. Any fool would realize it was a figurative image and not literal, but what was it an image of? Did they understand that Jesus was speaking of the giving up of himself upon the cross as a sacrifice for sin? They were certainly offended and the cross is offensive to the Jew, just as it is foolishness to the Gentile.
      Jesus' words, on this occasion, sent some disciples on their way, but filtered out a remnant who stayed. Jesus asked, "do you also wish to go away?", Peter answered, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life."
      "The gospel is the power of God unto salvation"; it is a message that transcends both the words with which it is conveyed and the speaker who conveys it. We need not be concerned for the metaphorical language of John's gospel, for the truth of the gospel transcends the metaphor. If the gospel of John is the evangelist's gospel, then maybe we should keep using it as our preferred gospel tract.

v52
      oun "then" - thus, therefore. Probably expressing the effect of Jesus' words in v21; "therefore", "this led to", NEB.
      emaconto (macomai) imperf. "[the Jews] began to argue sharply" - were arguing, wrangling, quarreling. A very strong word, "strove". Note the possible allusion to Num.20:3. Probably an inceptive imperfect where the stress is on the beginning of the action, as NIV. The reaction of the Jews to Jesus' words is understandable, see below, v53. "This led to a fierce dispute among the Jews", REB.
      dunatai (dunamai) pres. pas. "can" - is able.
      ouJtoV pro. "this man" - this one. Probably derogatory. "This fellow", Morris.
      dounai (didwmi) aor. inf. "give" - to give [us]. Complementary infinitive, complementing the verb "can" [is able]. Note, the problem is not expressed in the terms "how are we meant to eat his flesh?", but "how can he give us his flesh?" The giving of Christ's flesh and blood serves to cue us to the sense behind the image, namely, the giving of Christ's body on the cross - Christ gives himself as a sacrifice for sin.
      autou "his" - Missing in many manuscripts, but probably original. Obviously Jesus' flesh is intended.

v53
      amhn amhn "[I tell you] the truth" - truly truly [I say to you]. Used to reinforce the importance of a statement. The 4th time the phrase is used in this chapter.
      ean mh + subj. "unless" - Conditional clause 3rd. class.
      pihte (pinw) aor. subj. "drink" - The aorist indicating a once only action of drinking. Restating the necessity of eating his flesh, which statement has already caused problems with the Jews, Jesus adds that it is necessary to drink his blood. The statement is clearly intended to confront his audience, in like manner to the kingdom parables, and so draw out the true seeker from the crowd. In this discourse so far, Jesus has made the point that for the people of Israel in the wilderness, manna was certainly a miraculous bread, but once eaten, hunger returned, and inevitably death. The heavenly bread that God gives in Jesus, once eaten, results in eternal life. Therefore, a person must eat this bread, that is, "come" to Jesus, "look on" Jesus, or in simple terms, "believe" in Jesus, the heavenly Word of God. The next step in this imagery came in v51 where Jesus aligned the bread with his flesh. The Jews naturally balk at the image, even though obviously figurative, v52. Now Jesus restates the idea and reinforces it with "drink his blood." Although numerous interpretations have been suggested, especially in relating this verse to the eucharist, "blood" most likely represents "shed blood, and therefore, violent death", Dodd. So, Jesus is making the point that belief in him entails belief in a crucified messiah.
      tou uiJou tou anqrwpou "the Son of Man" - Note the shift to a third person self identification by Jesus, a common messianic ploy used by Jesus.
      ouk ecete (ecw) pres. "you have no [life in you]" - you do not have. If we fail to believe in the crucified Christ then we fail to possess eternal life. Possibly, having life has an intended future sense, so NEB, although eternal life can be possessed now, as NIV.

v54
      oJ trwgwn (trwgw) pres. part. "whoever eats" - the one feeding on, nibbling, munching, gnawing. Now the eating is present tense, rather than aorist. The verb was originally used of animals eating, later of humans, but of eating in a rough manner. Brown sees this literalism as an evidence that the eating and drinking is a reference to the Lord's Supper. Again, this seems unlikely. The present tense may indicate continued action. "Our Lord meant the habit of continually feeding on him all day long by faith. He did not mean the occasional eating of material food in an ordinance", Ryle.

v55
      gar "for" - for, because. Establishing cause or reason.
      alhqhV adj. "real" - true, honest, genuine. A variant adverb exists, but is probably not original. The spiritual sustenance for eternal life is not manna etc. but rather the genuine item supplied by Christ, namely, his sacrifice. Jesus sacrifice is "the only genuine/real" spiritual food for eternal life.

v56
      A eucharistic editorial note follows "in him" in some texts.
      menei (menw) pres. "remains" - abides. Present tense indicating a continuing state. The one who eats and drinks of Christ, that is, believes in Christ the crucified messiah, is united to Christ, becomes one with Christ, and thus identified with Christ, shares the reward of his obedience.

v57
      kaqwV "just as" = as. "In the same way that ....."
      oJ zwn pathr "the living Father" - The Father possesses life in himself and it is he who has granted the Son to possess life in himself. "The Father who is life", Brown, probably better than "source of life."
      dia + acc. "because of [the Father]" - because of, on account of. With the genitive this preposition takes the meaning "through / by means of" and is suggested by some commentators in that Christ's life is mediated through/by means of the Father. "On account of" is best and is correct grammar, ie. i] Jesus' life is one with the Father's life; the Father is Jesus' life-source, and ii] Jesus lives to do the will of the Father; Jesus lives for the Father, cf. Morris. Possibly, "I live for the sake of the Father."
      me "[the one who eats] me" - Note the move from eating the body and drinking the blood to eating "me".
      kakeinoV "-" - even that one [will live because of me]. Emphatic.

v58
      ouJtoV "this" - The antecedent is obviously Jesus, "me".
      ex ouranou "from heaven" - out of heaven. The manna supposedly came down from heaven and this action is compared with Jesus' coming from heaven. This is the tenth reference to such a coming in this chapter.
      oiJ patereV "your forefathers" - the fathers. They ate and died. "Those ancestors", Brown.
      ou kaqwV "but" - not as. The comparison is unclear. Is the comparison between the ancestors and those who eat the bread Christ supplies, so NAB, or is the comparison between the bread the ancestors ate and the bread that Jesus gives, so NEB, JB, etc.?
      oJ trwgwn "he who feeds" - the one feeding. Again, a singular person is used of personal faith in Christ, although the individual is part of a community of believers. The one who believes lives.