So, Where Exactly Did Jesus Go?

So, where exactly did Jesus go? Christians believe that Jesus ascended into heaven. At least, if we go by The Nicene Creed from 325 AD, the relevant portion reads:

“…For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.”

Well, this foregoing affirmation or belief was derived from canonized Scriptures. What exactly do these Scriptures say with relevance to the question in the title of this post? In the New Testament, the Book of Acts 1: 9-11 reads:

“[9] And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

[10] And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,

[11] and said,  ‘"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (RSV Bible)."’

The original language translation for heaven used in this passage is the word "ouranos" which means sky or air. Well, that doesn’t really give us a specific location because obviously if he went into our Earth’s atmosphere, we probably would have spotted him by now with all the planes we have flying around now days. The truth is that Jesus must have gone much further away. The other issue is that he has been gone about two thousand years which is a long time with relevance to the average lifespan of humans these days, not that this couldn’t change in the future if one listens to a lecture by Aubrey de Grey. What did Jesus himself supposedly say about where he was going?

In the Gospel of John chapter twenty,  Mary Mag'dalene encounters the risen Jesus, and he said to her:  "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."The translation is very clear; Jesus was basically telling her not to touch him because he had not gone up, yet. But, where was he going that he did not want her to touch him? Honestly, we have no idea what the answer to this question is based on this passage, and many other Scripture references to Heaven. A few chapters before this encounter with Mary Mag'dalene, Jesus also spoke about where he was going. In John 14: 2-7, Jesus said:

“[2] In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 
[3] And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 
[4] And you know the way where I am going." 
[5] Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" 
[6] Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. 
[7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him (RSV Bible)." 

Thomas was right in speaking collectively “we do not know where you are going.” Of course, many these days believe they understand what Jesus was saying in the text, but that is exactly what it is, a belief. There is no certainty in the meaning of his words, but one can believe by faith that Jesus was speaking truthfully.  In fact, many have created a doctrine out of “no one comes to the Father, but by me” assuming they understand what that means thus promoting a theology of exclusivity; however, this same Jesus also said: "...and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself (John 12: 32, RSV Bible)." Obviously, there is very little exclusiveness in this previous quote, but this is another topic altogether. What we want to know here is where exactly did Jesus go?

I suppose when you read the title, you thought I had the answer. Well, I don’t know for certain, but maybe I have part of the answer. I can speculate briefly, and share some thoughts and ideas I have on the possible answer to the question. I think that if we use some modern science theories, we can probably come up with some ideas that are not too farfetched. Einstein is probably one of the first to offer some answers, and it is highly possible that the idea of where Jesus went never crossed his mind. Okay, so what did Einstein have to say about my speculation? Here is where we start the logical speculation, and I will try to be brief.

"One of Albert Einstein's greatest insights was realizing that time is relative. It speeds up or slows down depending on how fast one thing is moving relative to something else (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova )."

I am going to ask some other questions, and then provide an illustration. How far did Jesus go when he ascended? Did he travel within our Galaxy? Did he travel to the edge of our universe? Did he travel to another dimension or a parallel universe? Jesus has definitely been gone for two thousand years, but keep in mind that with relevance to God, Psalm 90:4 says:  "For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night (JPS Tanakh)." Below is an illustration from PBS’ NOVA explaining the “twin paradox.”

"Einstein came up with an example to show the effects of time dilation that he called the "twin paradox." It's a lot like the Time Traveler game you just played. Let's try it out with a pair of pretend twins, Al and Bert, both of whom are 10 years old in their highly futuristic universe.

Al's parents decide to send him to summer camp in the Alpha-3 star system, which is 25 light-years away (a light-year is the distance light travels in a year). Bert doesn't want to go and stays home on Earth. So Al sets out on his own. Wanting him to get there as quickly as possible, his parents pay extra and send him at 99.99 percent the speed of light.

The trip to the star and back takes 50 years. What happens when Al returns? His twin brother is now 60 years old, but Al is only 10 and a half. How can this be? Al was away for 50 years but only aged by half a year. Has Al just discovered the fountain of youth?

Not at all. Al's trip into space lasted only a half year for him, but on Earth 50 years passed. Does this mean that Al can live forever? Nope. He may have aged by only half a year in the time it took 50 years to pass on Earth, but he also only lived half a year. And since time can slow down but never goes backwards, there's no way he could grow younger (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova )."

After reading this brief story, we still do not know where Jesus went, but we can definitely begin to understand the possible time dilation that may be taking place in his delay to return if he travelled extremely far to prepare this place he spoke about in the Gospel. I think that when we start to use some of today’s scientific theories to try to get answers about Jesus, some of the things he said do not seem farfetched at all. In fact, some of these scientific theories today on the multiverse, and such seem more farfetched than many religious ideas, although it is understood that the arrival at many of those ideas are very scientific indeed. To conclude, I apologize if you feel disappointed that I did not fully answer the question asked in the title of where exactly Jesus went. But, I do hope that now the idea that Jesus ascended into heaven seems a bit more believable than perhaps you would have imagined before otherwise. Blessings and I hope you enjoyed reading!

   

References:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/hotsciencetwin/#game

JPS Tanakh

RSV Bible