How do protestants understand Jesus' statement that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man we will have no life? Catholics teach that they literally eat the body of Jesus during communion, a belief called Transubstantiation. Protestant churches mostly do not share this belief and there is no obligation to partake in the Holy Communion every Sunday. 


  Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. (John 6:53, NKJV)


What common interpretations do protestants have of this verse?



Here is how I understand this verse.


Given    


Jesus Christ = The Word of God (John 1:14)
The Word of God = Bible (2 Timothy 3:16)
Jesus Christ = Bread of Heaven (John 6:51)

Assuming read=intake=eat, we have


Reading Bible = Reading the Word of God
Reading the Word of God = Eating Bread of Heaven
Eating Bread of Heaven = Eating Jesus Christ

Therefore


Reading Bible = Eating Jesus Christ  




  But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4, NKJV)


This verse may imply that we need the Word of God every day. Therefore,

Reading Bible every day = Eating Jesus Christ every day


Is this a common understanding of "eating Jesus" by Protestant Christians?
I am aware of one protestant view that has not been brought up, so here it is for your consideration:

To interpret John 6:53 we examine the context, close to the beginning of the conversation, at John 6:35. 

"He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." In this verse Jesus sets up the interpretation for the "eating" and "drinking" analogy.

We "eat" to satisfy our "hunger"; we "drink" to satisfy our thirst. We partake of the benefit of His flesh and blood by "coming to Him" and "believing on Him". 

By this interpretation, John 6:53 is not talking at all about communion. Communion reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ which is the price paid for our salvation (in remembrance of me, Luke 22:19). We partake of His sacrifice ("eat His flesh" and "drink His blood"), not by communion, but by coming to Him and believing on Him (John 6:35).

I have encountered this interpretation in every protestant church I attended for any length of time including congregational, Baptist, Foursquare, and Assembly of God.