One Protestant Argument Against the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and Why It Fails Miserably

My favorite verse of Scripture is John 6:63:

“It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.”

In this passage, Jesus has just spoken to a crowd of disciples.  Moments before He utters the words in 6:63, He makes some bold claims: He is the bread of life.  He is the bread came down from heaven.  His flesh is real food and His blood real drink.  He who eats Him will live forever.  His disciples responded with disgust and outrage.  ”How can this man give us His flesh to eat?  This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”  They murmered and complained.  After Jesus’ words in verse 63, many of his disciples “drew back and no longer walked with him.”  Men who had left their homes, their families, their jobs, and given up all their worldly possessions to follow Jesus suddenly deserted him over this single teaching.  In no other Gospel account do Jesus’ disciples leave in such large numbers.  Jesus makes no attempt to change His message.  He makes no effort to clarify His teaching and call the disciples back.
Catholics believe that Jesus’ sermon in John 6 is difficult to accept because it is true, both metaphorically (Jn 6:35-47) and literally (Jn 6:48-58).  Jesus’ flesh is true food and His blood true drink.  We believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is made substantially present in the bread and wine on the altar through the words of a priest.  We worship what appears to be bread and wine, but is actually the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ Himself.  Small wonder that I love my Catholic faith so much.  Can a “personal relationship with Jesus” be more personal than this?
Today there are millions of Christians who, though pure in heart and genuinely faithful, reject the message of the Eucharist found in John 6.  These Christians love the Lord and love His Church, but interpret Jesus’ sermon in a strictly metaphorical way.  They reject our doctrine of transubstantiation and construct complex theological concepts to support an alternative, metaphorical exegesis of John’s sixth chapter.  In rejecting the Eucharist, they reject the Catholic Church and so consider themselves Protestant.  They “protest” our Authority, they protest our Eucharist, they protest our worship.  Some Protestants even reject Catholicism as a legitimate Christian faith and suggest that Catholics “pervert the Gospel,” continually re-sacrifice Christ on the altar (a horrid misconception), and even engage in “cannibalism.”  As a former anti-Catholic, I am guilty of all these crimes against Christ’s Church.  It was a long road to Rome as I re-examined every preconceived notion I ever had about the Eucharist.  My discoveries led me straight to the Catholic Church.  I will never “protest” again.
What I find so ironic about my favorite verse in Scripture, John 6:63, is that it used to be my favorite verse for decrying the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence!  I was not alone, either.  I had been well-trained by Christian pastors and teachers to point to this single proof-text.  ”Just show those Catholics verse 63.  It unravels the whole thing.”  The logic goes like this: Jesus is saying things that are confusing.  His disciples think he’s being literal.  Jesus clears it up by saying “No no guys, I’m not saying that you should eat my  flesh.  My flesh profits nothing!  I’m speaking with Spirit and life, which is metaphorical in nature.”
This is an absolutely horrendous interpretation for two distinct reasons.
1) If Jesus has indeed cleared up the confusion in verse 63, then this places the Bread of Life discourse on the same level of controversy as any other metaphor that Jesus used.  Despite the supposed clarification, his disciples left him in larger numbers than in any other passage of the Gospels.  When did they leave?  Immediately following verse 63!  Why such outcry over a mere metaphor?
2) This interpretation is blasphemous.  The Protestant who asserts that the phrase  ”the flesh is of no avail” is referring to Jesus’ own flesh is actually denying the necessity of Christ’s flesh sacrificed on Calvary for our salvation.  Christ’s flesh is of much avail.  Christ’s flesh is our salvation.  His flesh gives life to the world.  It is impossible to interpret John 6:63 to mean that Christ’s flesh is useless without accepting straight-up heresy.
What is Jesus really saying in John 6:63?  Jesus is drawing a distinction
between the Spirit’s ability to enlighten our minds (Jn 14:26) and human reason’s inability to comprehend revealed truths apart from faith. (8:15)  It is this earthbound perspective that is profitless in the face of divine mystery.*  Jesus’ disciples said “This is a hard saying.”  It is a hard saying because our limited human reasoning makes it impossible to fully comprehend the idea of Christ being present under the form of ordinary bread and wine.  Only by “Spirit and life” can we have faith to believe it.  And when we are given “Spirit and life,” we cannot help but respond in faith to Jesus’ words.  ”This is my body…This is my blood.”  Not a metaphor.  Not a figure of speech.  Him.
Praise be to God for the most precious gift of Himself in the Eucharist.  John 6:63 is my favorite verse of Scripture because it is such strong evidence for the Eucharist, and it is a testament to the “Spirit and life” God has granted me to accept it.  I pray that all who read this may accept it too.
In this post, I’ve touched upon just one Protestant argument against the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  It is certainly not an exhaustive analysis of Protestant thought on the matter.  There are some Protestant readers who may reject this proof-text (and if so, good for you).  There are other Protestant arguments for a metaphorical interpretation of John 6, and I will address them in future posts.  (I can hardly write about much else these days!)