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SUBJECT: John 3:13—last 4 words
QUESTION: It says "the Son of Man which is in
heaven". He had not yet been crucified and was clearly on
earth when speaking. Could you please explain this verse to
me?
ANSWER:
Here is the verse in question:
John 3:13
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down
from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
One commentary says…
John 3:11-13
The last four words of John 3:13 are not contained in the
leading manuscripts. ~from
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary
Whether these last 4 words are in the original manuscripts
or not, they were not words of Jesus to Nicodemus, but added
by John when he wrote this gospel AFTER the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The phrase is denoting that
Jesus is presently in heaven, as he writes this account.
Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament says this…
John 3:13
Which is in heaven ho (NT:3588) oon (NT:5607) en (NT:1722)
too (NT:3588) ouranoo (NT:3772). This phrase is added by
some manuscripts, not by 'Aleph, B, L, W, and 33.
~from Robertson's Word Pictures
in the New Testament.
Here is another comment by Vincent’s Word Studies of the New
Testament…
John 3:13
“Which is in heaven.” Many authorities omit.
In my Companion Bible for John 3:13, it states:
“Which is” = Who was there when John wrote.
So whether these last four words are not in the earlier
transcripts or we see clearly that it is an added notation
by John after the death and resurrection of Jesus and not
the words of Jesus to Nicodemus, the verse is not a
contradiction of any kind.
The NIV renders the verse this way---
John 3:13 -NIV
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came
from heaven-the Son of Man.
The New American Standard version has this:
John 3:13--NASU
No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from
heaven: the Son of Man.
The New American Standard Bible has...
John 3:13--NAS
And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended
from heaven, even the Son of Man.
The Revised Standard version has...
John 3:13--RSV
No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from
heaven, the Son of man.
The Living Bible has...
John 3:13--TLB
For only I, the Messiah, have come to earth and will return
to heaven again.
I do not recommend any of these versions for more than
occasional reference, but they make a point that the words
were not in the original texts.
Here is a quote by Bible scholar Fenton:
The last four words of John 3:13, "which is in heaven,"
would not have been spoken by Jesus, who was then on earth.
They do not appear in "the oldest and best manuscripts."--F.
Fenton
We have two verses showing that Christ did ascend to
heaven after the resurrection and after His talk with
Nicodemus:
Ephesians 4:10
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far
above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Mark 16:19
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received
up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
FROM STRONG'S
Here is the breakdown of John 3:13 in Strong's which gives a
definition number for each word in the Bible. However, the
designation "9999" means the word was added to the original
text:
John 3:13
2532 And
3762 no man
305 hath ascended up
1519 to
3772 heaven,
1508 but
2597 he that came down
1537 from
3772 heaven,
9999 even
3588 the
5207 Son
3588 of
444 man
<9999 > which
<9999 > is
<9999 > in
<9999 > heaven.
(Interlinear Transliterated Bible)
ENGLISHMAN'S CONCORDANCE
My Englishman's Concordance shows no less that 5,000 words
added to the original texts and with designations of
"9999". Clearly, most are added to help make the sentence
or verse clear to the reader, but several are so designated
as not being in the original texts. |