1/3/2024 0 Comments Ascended to heaven![]() ![]() He would later make the claim that He saw and interacted with Abraham (John 8:56–58). It is noteworthy that Jesus lists the ascending before the descending. Jesus affirms that the only one who has done this is the Son of Man (a title Jesus uses often of Himself). Jesus says that no one has ascended to heaven but the one who has descended. Jesus alludes to Agur’s words in order to help Nicodemus understand who He is. What is his name, and what is his son’s name?Īgur challenges his audience to look to this One who controls the weather and to His Son. Who has established all the ends of the earth? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? In showing our dependence on God’s Word, Agur explains that he doesn’t have any special knowledge, and neither does anyone else (Proverbs 30:2–3). In Proverbs 30, Agur argues the importance of God’s Word (Proverbs 30:5–6). The Lord adds that no one has ascended to heaven but the one who descended from heaven, namely, the Son of Man. So, Jesus focuses Nicodemus’s attention on the identity of Jesus. For Nicodemus to understand what Jesus is teaching, Nicodemus needs to understand who Jesus really is. Then Jesus challenges him further: if he doesn’t believe Jesus when He speaks of earthly things, how would he believe Him when He speaks of heavenly things (John 3:12)? Jesus’ statement invites one to consider the authority of Jesus to speak on these things. Jesus chides Nicodemus that he should understand these things if he is a teacher of Israel (John 3:10). Nicodemus still doesn’t understand Jesus’ words (John 3:9). The new birth makes a person alive in his or her spirit, not just in the flesh. Being born in the flesh is not enough one must also be born of the Spirit (John 3:6). Jesus explains that one must be born of water and the Spirit in order to enter the kingdom (John 3:5–6). Nicodemus doesn’t understand what Jesus means, asking how a second physical birth is possible (John 3:4). Jesus, knowing why Nicodemus had really come, challenges him with the statement that, in order to enter the kingdom of God, one must be born again (John 3:3). Nicodemus, one of the Jewish rulers, comes to Jesus in secret at night and admits that Jesus is from God (John 3:2). Among many pivotal statements in this context, Jesus reminds Nicodemus that “no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” (John 3:13, ESV). Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 is perhaps one of the most profound conversations ever recorded. ![]()
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