How do we understand John 3:13 given the others already taken into heaven in the Bible?

[ethereality]

Jesus says in John 3:13,

No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.

What does this mean? How can this have a literal meaning, since we know others have gone up to heaven? (If I’m not mistaken, Enoch, Elijah, possibly also Moses by tradition, whom we also see at the Transfiguration with Elijah.) If Jesus doesn’t literally mean what He says here, then how can we know He meant other things literally (e.g. Mark 11:23-24) if the Church hasn’t declared some authoritative interpretation? How can we quickly find if there is an authoritative interpretation for various controversial parts of the Bible?

The Haydock Commentary only discusses the divinity of Christ:

Ver. 13. No man hath ascended—but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man, who is in heaven. These words, divers times repeated by our Saviour, in their literal and obvious sense, shew that Christ was in heaven, and had a being before he was born of the Virgin Mary, against the Cerinthians, &c. That he descended from heaven: that when he was made man, and conversed with men on earth, he was at the same time in heaven. Some Socinians give us here their groundless fancy, that Jesus after his baptism took a journey to heaven, and returned again before his death. Nor yet would this make him in heaven, when he spoke this to his disciples. (Witham)

 

[ProdglArchitect]

It’s important to look at the greater context of the passage, and not just at a single individual sentence.

John 3 is about Nicodemus questioning Jesus, and Jesus telling him about being born again of water and the spirit.

7
Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’
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The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9
Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?”
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Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
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Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony.
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If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
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No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
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And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
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so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Moses, Enoch and Elijah may all have been assumed to heaven at their deaths, but only Chris originates in Heaven. No other person in the whole of human history has that distinction; and without the Holy Spirit which only Christ possess at this time, the truths of “heavenly things” are hidden from Nicodemus and the others.

In this instance, Christ probably isn’t speaking in a strictly literal sense, but rather he is emphasizing the unique nature of his ministry and teaching. It could also be that he is speaking about the current, living inhabitants of the Earth. Since Moses, Enoch and Elijah are all with God, then Christ is the only person on Earth at that time who has the distinction of going to and coming from Heaven.

I don’t think there’s a specific way of interpreting this sentence, but keep in mind that context is important in any Biblical passage. In this instance, the fact that Moses, Elijah and Enoch may already be in Heaven is inconsequential to the point Jesus is trying to make. As such, it’s not surprising that he would speaking in a way that is straightforward and emphasizes his uniqueness; instead of saying “No one has gone up to Heaven, except Moses, Elijah and Enoch, and the one who comes down from Heaven, the Son of Man.” While that could be a more technically accurate statement depending on what Jesus is trying to say here, including those clarifies really lessens the impact of the statement.

 

[DaveBj]

It’s important to look at the greater context of the passage, and not just at a single individual sentence.

John 3 is about Nicodemus questioning Jesus, and Jesus telling him about being born again of water and the spirit.

Moses, Enoch and Elijah may all have been assumed to heaven at their deaths, but only Chris originates in Heaven. No other person in the whole of human history has that distinction; and without the Holy Spirit which only Christ possess at this time, the truths of “heavenly things” are hidden from Nicodemus and the others.

In this instance, Christ probably isn’t speaking in a strictly literal sense, but rather he is emphasizing the unique nature of his ministry and teaching. It could also be that he is speaking about the current, living inhabitants of the Earth. Since Moses, Enoch and Elijah are all with God, then Christ is the only person on Earth at that time who has the distinction of going to and coming from Heaven.

I don’t think there’s a specific way of interpreting this sentence, but keep in mind that context is important in any Biblical passage. In this instance, the fact that Moses, Elijah and Enoch may already be in Heaven is inconsequential to the point Jesus is trying to make. As such, it’s not surprising that he would speaking in a way that is straightforward and emphasizes his uniqueness; instead of saying “No one has gone up to Heaven, except Moses, Elijah and Enoch, and the one who comes down from Heaven, the Son of Man.” While that could be a more technically accurate statement depending on what Jesus is trying to say here, including those clarifies really lessens the impact of the statement.

^^^This. Sometimes a seemingly blanket statement isn’t really intended to cover ALL situations.

 

[pianistclare]

It’s important to look at the greater context of the passage, and not just at a single individual sentence.

John 3 is about Nicodemus questioning Jesus, and Jesus telling him about being born again of water and the spirit.

Moses, Enoch and Elijah may all have been assumed to heaven at their deaths, but only Chris originates in Heaven. No other person in the whole of human history has that distinction; and without the Holy Spirit which only Christ possess at this time, the truths of “heavenly things” are hidden from Nicodemus and the others.

In this instance, Christ probably isn’t speaking in a strictly literal sense, but rather he is emphasizing the unique nature of his ministry and teaching. It could also be that he is speaking about the current, living inhabitants of the Earth. Since Moses, Enoch and Elijah are all with God, then Christ is the only person on Earth at that time who has the distinction of going to and coming from Heaven.

I don’t think there’s a specific way of interpreting this sentence, but keep in mind that context is important in any Biblical passage. In this instance, the fact that Moses, Elijah and Enoch may already be in Heaven is inconsequential to the point Jesus is trying to make. As such, it’s not surprising that he would speaking in a way that is straightforward and emphasizes his uniqueness; instead of saying “No one has gone up to Heaven, except Moses, Elijah and Enoch, and the one who comes down from Heaven, the Son of Man.” While that could be a more technically accurate statement depending on what Jesus is trying to say here, including those clarifies really lessens the impact of the statement.

Yes. Excellent answer. There’s few instances where taking just one verse satisfies.
If that were so, we’d be memorizing single verses and reading a single verse daily.

 

[Telstar]

Jesus says in John 3:13, What does this mean? How can this have a literal meaning, since we know others have gone up to heaven? (If I’m not mistaken, Enoch, Elijah, possibly also Moses by tradition, whom we also see at the Transfiguration with Elijah.) If Jesus doesn’t literally mean what He says here, then how can we know He meant other things literally (e.g. Mark 11:23-24) if the Church hasn’t declared some authoritative interpretation? How can we quickly find if there is an authoritative interpretation for various controversial parts of the Bible?

The Haydock Commentary only discusses the divinity of Christ:

I think this might be one of those occasions where the translation of a verse can imply a difference in meaning. Here’s the DR version:" [13] And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven."
In this translation, Jesus says that, “no man has ascended” except, “he that descended”. Jesus is the only one who has ever ascended into Heaven by His own power. Even if Enoch and Ellijah were said to have been ‘taken up’ into Heaven, they did not “ascend”. They were “assumed” into Heaven by the power of God, in a similar way as Mary was “assumed” into Heaven. The Haydock Commentary also uses the word “ascended”.

Then, in the last part of the verse Jesus says, “the Son of man who is in Heaven.”, even though He’s standing right there. We have to remember that God is not subject to time, so even while Jesus walked the earth as a man, He was still in Heaven as the Son of God. It’s certainly mind boggling to think about it, but it’s true. Jesus is the only one that has, descended from Heaven and ascended into Heaven, by His own power, while still remaining in Heaven at the same ‘time’.

The power of God is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

 

[thistle]

Jesus says in John 3:13, What does this mean? How can this have a literal meaning, since we know others have gone up to heaven? (If I’m not mistaken, Enoch, Elijah, possibly also Moses by tradition, whom we also see at the Transfiguration with Elijah.) If Jesus doesn’t literally mean what He says here, then how can we know He meant other things literally (e.g. Mark 11:23-24) if the Church hasn’t declared some authoritative interpretation? How can we quickly find if there is an authoritative interpretation for various controversial parts of the Bible?

The Haydock Commentary only discusses the divinity of Christ:

Nobody entered Heaven before the death and resurrection of Jesus. He opened the gates of Heaven which were closed before to everyone.

 

[Robbinson]

Nobody entered Heaven before the death and resurrection of Jesus. He opened the gates of Heaven which were closed before to everyone.

I agree with this. I beleve that before the resurrection of Christ, the saints (including Enoch and Elijah who were assumed) did not enter heaven, but “Abraham’s Bossom” (a place, not heaven, where saints went) until they were released to heaven with the resurrection.

So Jesus statement to Nicodemous was correct - at that point in time, noone else had been in heaven and enjoyed the glory of God, the Father.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains,

Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell”—Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek—because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into “Abraham’s bosom”: It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell. Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him. (CCC 633)

Blessings,

Brian

 

[Louie1983]

I agree with this. I beleve that before the resurrection of Christ, the saints (including Enoch and Elijah who were assumed) did not enter heaven, but “Abraham’s Bossom” (a place, not heaven, where saints went) until they were released to heaven with the resurrection.

So Jesus statement to Nicodemous was correct - at that point in time, noone else had been in heaven and enjoyed the glory of God, the Father.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains,

Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell”—Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek—because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into “Abraham’s bosom”: It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell. Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him. (CCC 633)

Blessings,

Brian

This was always my understanding also.

No-one entered heaven until Our Lord defeated death on the cross.