The manna in the wilderness was the miracle of heavenly bread feeding 1.4 million Jewish people for 40 years in the desert. This is 300 train cars worth of manna daily! And Jesus says that the Eucharist is greater still. The Eucharist cannot be a mere symbol, else it would not be more miraculous than the manna.
Three reasons why the Bread of Life discourse cannot be a metaphor:
1) Because of the words Jesus uses: "true food", "amen, amen", "true drink", etc.
2) Because of the reaction of the people present: Both the believers and the unbelievers knew that Jesus was speaking literally.
3) Because the saints of the ages have always interpreted this passage in the strict literal sense.
Listen online [here]!
