Had the Son of Man already ascended in John 3:13?

Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars

Click to get our FREE MOBILE APP and stay connected

John 3:13, 14

¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up (NRSVue)

My real question is whether δεῖ + infinitive always refers to a future event. If the crucifixion of Jesus still lies in the future from the perspective of verse 14, then 3:13 suggests the Son of Man had already ascended from the perspective of the speaker. However, it is widely recognized that the shift to the plural starting in verse 11 indicates these are the words of the evangelist. Thus, perhaps the Son of Man has already ascended from the evangelist’s perspective. However, if 3:14 views the crucifixion as a future event, how could this be the evangelist speaking? Does anyone have a Greek grammar citation that could answer this question for me?