Hi!
I don’t know what you mean by justification… but consider the wording of the text… as I understand it, Jesus did not just say eat my body but actually said “masticate” or “chew.” So how can this term be applied to a symbolic referencing of Scriptural text (inking of the New Covenant’s Sacred Scriptures)… and consider that when Christ states that the Word He Speak and Spirit and Life the New Covenant Writing did not exist as they were inked at least a couple of decades after His death, resurrection and Ascension.
Then there’s the insistence. Was Christ slow-minded? Did He not understand the confusion and frustration of His audience? Why does He insist that they must EAT MY FLESH and DRINK MY BLOOD? He further qualifies: “my body/flesh is food indeed; my blood is drink indeed.” Unless we want to ignore the Word of God (Scriptures) we must be true to the “held belief” that we are obedient to the Word of God and not just choose when to accept Christ at His Word and when to determine, for Christ, when He is simply being figurative.
Consider also how simple it would have been for Christ to call all of His audience back and clarify, ‘please, people, hold on… I was not being literal…’ Christ rather insisted… “What about you (the Twelve), are you too going to leave Me?” (paraphrased)
…as for the different understanding of the Word of God, did not Satan quote Scriptures from the beginning? It is not enough to think that one knows what God is saying, we must accept God’s Revelation about God through God’s Holy Spirit–He, the Third Person of God, will not Teach a different Gospel than Christ!
Maran atha!
Angel