This essay, “Jesus, Nathanael, and Jacob’s Ladder,” appeared in CGG Weekly on December 15, 2023.
And He said to [Nathanael], “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
—John 1:51
A distinctive facet of the book of John is the apostle’s characterization of Jesus as the fulfillment or antitype of many Old Testament symbols or types. John writes of Him as the Light, the Lamb, the Son of Man, the Prophet, the Judge, the King, the High Priest, the Manna, the Shepherd, the Suffering Servant, and several others. A reader cannot turn a page in John’s gospel without confronting another type introduced by prophets of old that finds its realization in Jesus Christ.
One of these ancient types, not recognized as often as others, appears in John 1:51: “And He said to [Nathanael], ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” This verse concludes His encounter with Nathanael, whom He called “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” (verse 47), a true rarity. When Jesus says He saw him under a fig tree, presumably alone and hidden, Nathanael exclaims, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
This context is essential to understanding Jesus’ final declaration. In it, Israel appears twice, suggesting both the man, Jacob, the “heel-catcher,” whom God renamed “Israel,” and the people and nation that descended from him. Jesus’ appreciative exclamation characterizes Nathanael as an anti-Jacob, a man without guile who spoke the truth without trying to gain advantage. On one point at least, his character paralleled that of the later, converted Jacob, who, instead of resorting to cheating as had been his habit, had “struggled with God,” overcame and endured, and received God’s blessing and a new name (see Genesis 32:22-29).
Nathanael’s quick belief and recognition of Jesus as both Son of God and King of Israel in John 1:49—as opposed to Thomas’ later slowness to believe in His resurrection (John 20:24-31)—cause Jesus to marvel that he was convinced by such a minor proof of His supernatural perception (John 1:50; the first part of His reply reads better as a statement than a question as it does not disparage Nathanael’s belief). Christ then promises him he will see far more significant displays of His divinity and sovereignty.
Then comes verse 51, an example of what His disciples would witness and understand about Him. For this, He reaches further back into the Bible’s account of Jacob’s conversion, to its beginning when God appeared to him in a dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-22). In His example, Jesus refers specifically to Genesis 28:12: “Then [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, a ladder [better, stair orstairway] was set up on earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”
Jacob’s reaction to the dream in verses 16-17 is telling: “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it. . . . How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!'” Like Nathanael, Jacob quickly recognizes that Deity was present, giving him access to God Himself. It awes and energizes him, so he vows to worship God and follow Him. He and Nathanael stand at a similar point in the conversion process, where both begin to see God and have a relationship with Him.
However, in His example, Jesus concentrates not on Jacob but on the image of the ladder or stairway reaching to heaven and angels going up and down upon it. In Jacob’s story, the Lord stands above it (some think it reads “above him,” Jacob), indicating both separation and superiority. The angels, God’s messengers and servants (Psalm 103:20; Daniel 7:10; Hebrews 1:14), constantly travel between earth and heaven, carrying out His will and reporting their findings.
But in John 1:51, the angels ascend and descend upon the Son of Man. He is the ladder, the stairway, the link, the means of contact, between earth and heaven! The Lord does not stand remote in heaven, removed from His people, sending and receiving second hand through His angelic messengers (though He still uses them for His purposes), but now He Himself bridges the gap between God and man. In Him, God, as the Son of Man, has come down to earth as a human, dwelt or tabernacled among us (John 1:14), and by His sacrificial death opened the way into the very throne room of God in heaven (see Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 10:19-22).
Jesus says His disciples would “see heaven open.” Where this idea appears elsewhere in Scripture (see Matthew 3:16; Luke 3:21; Acts 7:56; 10:11; Revelation 19:11), it speaks to a revelation of divine activity in heaven, a peek behind the curtain, as it were. Its meaning in John 1:51 is that, with the coming of the Son of Man, the way had opened to receive answers to the spiritual mysteries that humanity had long sought yet could never find. By His teachings during His ministry and later by His Spirit given to them to “guide [them] into all truth” (John 16:13), Jesus Christ would disclose once-secret, heavenly things (see John 3:12-13; I Corinthians 2:9-16; Colossians 1:1-2). Spiritual Israel, the church, which the apostle Paul calls “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16), would not be limited in their access or understanding of God and His ways as physical Israel was.
During His final discourse to His disciples, Jesus expounds on the image of His being the conduit between men on earth and God in heaven:
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:5-6)
By calling Himself “the way,” Jesus shows that the means of access to eternal life is a true and living Person, just as the stair ascending to heaven is a Person, described in the context of John 1 as “full of grace and truth” (verse 14) and in whom is life (verse 4). And just as the stairway led to a Person, the LORD, in Genesis 28, so the way also leads to a Person, the Father.
By these metaphors, Jesus explains Christianity not as much as a religion—which by definition is “a system of belief and worship”—but more as a relationship. Certainly, Christianity has true teachings and practices, which are necessary, but its primary focus, its central figure, is Christ. His people’s relationship with Him, and thus with the Father, makes all the difference.
Consider the many roles He fills. His work makes our reconciliation with the Father possible. He provides the teaching and the Holy Spirit to understand it. As our High Priest and Mediator, He provides access and intercession before the God of the Universe and oversees our development into fruitful children of God. He is our Master and soon-coming King, providing leadership, direction, and strength. And on it goes.
While we, as His disciples today, do not literally see God’s angels “ascending and descending upon the Son of Man,” we recognize it in the centrality of Christ to our salvation. In our lives, we have experienced the opening of our minds to heavenly things and taken advantage of Christ’s access behind the veil to kneel before the heavenly Mercy Seat. And we have seen results due to our relationship with Christ: forgiveness, understanding, healing, growth, blessings, and so much more. He is the true and living way, the ladder or stairway, to eternal life in God’s Kingdom.
