What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Parallel translations
- WEB Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
- BSB Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to 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 3:13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
- Mark 16:19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
- Eph 4:8–10Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
- Luke 24:51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
- 1 Pet 3:22Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
- Acts 1:9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
- John 17:4–5I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
- John 16:28I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
- John 17:11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
- John 6:27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
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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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