Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?
Parallel translations
- WEB Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
- KJV What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
- NKJV What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
- NASB What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
- NLT Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks what they will think when they see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before. He points to His heavenly origin and coming exaltation as further grounds for faith.
Overview
If His claim to have come down from heaven offends them, His ascension back to glory would confront them even more. The reference to ascending affirms His preexistence and anticipates His return to the Father. Properly understood, the ascension confirms rather than undermines His claims, calling for faith in the heavenly Son of Man.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- John 3:13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- Mark 16:19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
- Eph 4:8–10This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”
- Luke 24:51While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.
- 1 Pet 3:22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
- Acts 1:9After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.
- John 17:4–5I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
- John 16:28I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”
- John 17:11I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
- John 6:27Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 6:62 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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