John 3: 13 Commentary

1. No teacher on earth ascended into heaven
a. And then came back to earth
b. And started teaching what they heard
2. In fact later on Paul was caught up
a. Into the 3rd heaven (2 Cor 12:2-4)
3. But it was NOT proper for him
a. To speak of what he heard
b. Unlike many today selling books
c. Detailing their ‘journey to heaven’ experience
4. But Jesus is God and came down from heaven
a. He can fully teach about heavenly things
b. Revealing God’s heart to mankind

By Tractorman (wrote 3584 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 5/10/2012 13:19 pm

In this entire encounter with Jesus, Nicodemus asks no more than two direct questions. However; Jesus does not give him direct answers; rather, He first corrects Nicodemus’ false assumptions. This verse is a direct response to Nicodemus’ first basic error in verse 2 where he says;

“we know that thou art a teacher COME FROM GOD: for NO MAN can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

Nicodemus rightly thinks that Jesus has actually come from God in heaven; but he wrongly thinks that OTHER men can also come from God in heaven. This is why Jesus responds the way he does in verse 3 by basically saying that in order to be able to enter or even see the Kingdom of God, a man must FIRST be “born from above”. But throughout the conversation, Nicodemus is simply not tracking with what Jesus is saying.

Finally, the conversation gets to verse 13 where Jesus addresses Nicodemus directly and he basically says; “Look Nicodemus, NO man hath ascended up to heaven, but (only) he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man.”

In other words, no mere mortal can come from or GO TO heaven unless he is the Son of Man OR unless he is “born from above” by being transformed by the resurrection at the end of the age.

By Scott Dale (wrote 581 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 7/31/2010 14:16 pm

Jesus is telling here about himself.(Jesus uses the phrase “the Son of man” for himself). He was then talking to Nicodemas. He was very much on the earth. He says, “He has come down fromheaven.”-an already accomplished fact. But then he says, “The son of man which is heaven.” It is in the present tense! Jesus, the Son of man is both in heaven and on the earth at the same time! This is something to be taken note of!

By Jayant Christian (wrote 287 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 2/18/2010 01:32 am

No man has gone up to heaven of his own power. Truly, Enoch was translated and Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind, but only Jesus who came down from heaven could ascend back up of his own power.

By jk (wrote 36 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 4/19/2008 21:55 pm