John 6: 52-58, Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood

Jesus has identified himself as the "Bread of Life" and claimed the this "Bread" is his body which he gives for the life of the world.

John 6: 52-58, Take a bite; drink my blood!

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 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. 
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 
57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 

The religious leaders continue to take Jesus literally. If this saying is taken literally, Jesus is suggesting something rather gross, that people literally take a bite out of him!

The speech is rather strange. Eternal life is being equated with eating flesh and drinking blood; these are "real food" and "real drink." This appears to be some type of deep identification with Jesus' upcoming sacrifice, clarified when he speaks at the last supper of being the Passover lamb.

The last verse summarizes the teaching through several chapters: Jesus offered the woman of Sychar living water is she believed in him and offered the people living bread is they believe in him.

I find this passage strange.