Did you ever notice that the last verse in John 1 connects with the famous account of Jacob’s ladder? Let’s take a look:
“And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it” (Genesis 28:10–12).
Now compare that passage with the conversation between Christ and Nathanael:
“Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1:49–51).
These are the only two verses in all of scripture where the words “angels,” “ascending,” and “descending” all appear together, so clearly it’s an intentional connection. In Jacob’s vision angels are using a ladder to get back and forth from heaven – the ladder is the connection point. But Jesus changes that. He says that angels will ascend and descend on the Son of man. In other words, the link between heaven and earth is not the ladder – it’s the Savior. Seeing this connection helped deepen my understanding of both passages and my appreciation of Christ’s role as our Savior.
Jesus is the ladder–what does this mean to you?
Learn more about Jesus as the ladder and other insights into teaching John 1 here: https://johnhiltoniii.com/teaching-helps-for-come-follow-me-john-1/
