John 3:13

Translations

King James Version (KJV)

And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

American King James Version (AKJV)

And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

American Standard Version (ASV)

And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.

Basic English Translation (BBE)

And no one has ever gone up to heaven but he who came down from heaven, the Son of man.

Webster's Revision

And no man hath ascended to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven.

World English Bible

No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

English Revised Version (ERV)

And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.

Clarke's John 3:13 Bible Commentary

No man hath ascended - This seems a figurative expression for, No man hath known the mysteries of the kingdom of God; as in Deuteronomy 30:12; Psalm 73:17; Proverbs 30:4; Romans 11:34. And the expression is founded upon this generally received maxim: That to be perfectly acquainted with the concerns of a place, it is necessary for a person to be on the spot. But our Lord probably spoke to correct a false notion among the Jews, viz. that Moses had ascended to heaven, in order to get the law. It is not Moses who is to be heard now, but Jesus: Moses did not ascend to heaven; but the Son of man is come down from heaven to reveal the Divine will.

That came down - The incarnation of Christ is represented under the notion of his coming down from heaven, to dwell upon earth.

Which is in heaven - Lest a wrong meaning should be taken from the foregoing expression, and it should be imagined that, in order to manifest himself upon earth he must necessarily leave heaven; our blessed Lord qualifies it by adding, the Son of man who is in heaven; pointing out, by this, the ubiquity or omnipresence of his nature: a character essentially belonging to God; for no being can possibly exist in more places than one at a time, but He who fills the heavens and the earth.

Barnes's John 3:13 Bible Commentary

And no man hath ascended into heavens - No man, therefore, is qualified to speak of heavenly things, John 3:12. To speak of those things requires intimate acquaintance with them - demands that we have seen them; and as no one has ascended into heaven and returned, so no one is qualified to speak of them but He who came down from heaven. This does not mean that no one had Gone to heaven or had been saved, for Enoch and Elijah had been borne there (Genesis 5:24; compare Hebrews 11:5; 2 Kings 2:11); and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and others were there: but it means that no one had ascended and "returned," so as to be qualified to speak of the things there.

But he that came down ... - The Lord Jesus. He is represented as coming down, because, being equal with God, he took upon himself our nature, John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-7. He is represented as "sent" by the Father, John 3:17, John 3:34; Galatians 4:4; 1 John 4:9-10.

The Son of man - Called thus from his being "a man;" from his interest in man; and as expressive of his regard for man. It is a favorite title which the Lord Jesus gives to himself.

Which is in Heaven - This is a very remarkable expression. Jesus, the Son of man, was then bodily on earth conversing with Nicodemus; yet he declares that he is "at the same time" in heaven. This can be understood only as referring to the fact that he had two natures that his "divine nature" was in heaven, and his "human nature" on earth. Our Saviour is frequently spoken of in this manner. Compare John 6:62; John 17:5; 2 Corinthians 8:9. Since Jesus was "in" heaven - as his proper abode was there - he was fitted to speak of heavenly things, and to declare the will of God to man And we may learn:

1. that the truth about the deep things of God is not to be learned from "men." No one has ascended to heaven and returned to tell us what is there; and no infidel, no mere man, no prophet, is qualified of himself to speak of them.

2. that all the light which we are to expect on those subjects is to be sought in the Scriptures. It is only Jesus and his inspired apostles and evangelists that can speak of those things.

3. It is not wonderful that some things in the Scriptures are mysterious. They are about things which we have not seen, and we must receive them on the "testimony" of one who has seen them.

4. The Lord Jesus is divine. He was in heaven while on earth. He had, therefore, a nature far above the human, and is equal with the Father, John 1:1.

Wesley's John 3:13 Bible Commentary

3:13 For no one - For here you must rely on my single testimony, whereas there you have a cloud of witnesses: Hath gone up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven. Who is in heaven - Therefore he is omnipresent; else he could not be in heavenand on earth at once. This is a plain instance of what is usually termed the communication of properties between the Divine and human nature; whereby what is proper to the Divine nature is spoken concerning the human, and what is proper to the human is, as here, spoken of the Divine.

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