While he blessed them, he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven.
Parallel translations
- KJV And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
- BSB While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.
- NKJV Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
- NASB While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
- NLT While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.
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
While blessing them, Jesus is carried up into heaven. The ascension marks his exaltation to the Father's right hand.
Overview
In the very act of blessing, Jesus withdraws and is taken up into heaven, an event Luke recounts more fully in Acts 1. The ascension declares that the risen Christ is exalted to reign and to intercede at the Father's right hand. His departure is not abandonment but enthronement, with the promise of the Spirit and his return.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Acts 1:9When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
- Mark 16:19So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
- John 20:17Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
- 2 Kgs 2:11As they continued on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
- Eph 4:8–10Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”
- Heb 4:14Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession.
- Heb 1:3His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 24:51 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.