One of the problems in understanding the bible is the use of "idoms". The word idiom comes from the greek word "idioma" which means peculiarity or peculiar phraseology. Scholars have estimated that there are more than 1000 idioms used in the bible. Anyone who has studied spanish knows that phrases used in Mexico may not be understood in Spain or Puerto Rico. Even though you understand every single word in the phrase, you may miss the meaning if you are not familiar with the idiom. It was a problem even in Jesus' day. The aramaic spoken in northern palestine where Jesus was from was differen't from the aramaic spoken in Jerusalem. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again, Nicodemus was confused because he was not familiar with the idiom which means 'come to a new understanding". Another example is "turn the other cheek" which means "look at things from a different perspective". They weren't meant to be taken literally. Another familiar one is the phrase "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." In aramaic, the root word for camel and hemp(the material used for rope) are the same. The greek translators of aramaic were apparently not familiar with this and used the wrong word in their translation. The phrase makes a lot more sense if the word rope is used. Nevertheless, there are tourist guides in Jerusalem today who will show gullable tourists a very small entrance and explain that it is the one referred to in the bible.
John 6:53 has Jesus saying "Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you". John then reports "then many of his disciples who heard it were saying: This is a difficult saying! Who can listen to it? Yet modern day Assyrians and Chaldeans still use this idom which refers to one's own body and blood according to Rocco Errico, Phd. They would say "I have eaten my body and drunk my blood" which means "I have worked long and hard and suffered greatly." According to Errico, another common saying is "I have eaten the body of my dead people" and refers to "working under great hardships".
The statement of Jesus can then be properly understood in this manner: Unless you incorporate my teachings into your daily living and be willing to work long and hard; and be ready to endure difficulty, opposition, and great sufferings (which will be the result of this teaching), you will have no life in yourselves.
Although the greek translators of the now lost aramaic accounts were faithful in their renderings, their unfamiliarity with aramaic culture, customs, and idoms may have caused much of the original meaning to be lost. The situation is further compounded when the greek is further translated into other languages. One should therefore be cautious about taking the wording in the bible literially. You may be dealing with an idiom.