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John 1:43-51

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Again, these words of Jesus, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

I want to tell you a nasty story. It is about a whole family that was sneaking around and backstabbing each other. Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons – Esau and Jacob. Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob (Gen. 25:28). Esau and Jacob had been fighting since they were in Rebekah’s womb. Two brothers fighting is hardly a new phenomenon, but this was bigger than a typical sibling rivalry. Jacob and his mother Rebekah had plotted to lie to Isaac in order to steal Esau’s blessing. They planned every last detail. Rebekah would cook Isaac’s favorite meal, like Esau would have prepared. Isaac had become blind in his old age, so Rebekah told Jacob to wear animal skins so that he would feel hairy like his brother Esau. Rebekah even had Jacob put on some of Esau’s cloths so that Jacob would smell like Esau.

When Jacob came into Isaac’s room to steal the blessing, Isaac was unsure at first. He recognized the voice as Jacob’s. But twice Jacob lied, insisting that he was Esau. When Isaac felt the hairy animal skins, which felt like Esau, and when he smelled Esau’s cloths, he took the bait and blessed Jacob.

When Esau found out, he was so enraged that he decided he would kill his brother. But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plot. She told Jacob to flee to her relatives who lived far north.

With his life in danger, Jacob flees alone with only the cloths on his back. When the sun set, Jacob stopped. He lied down to sleep with a rock for his pillow. His own actions had brought him to this lonely place. His head is filled with regrets, and his future is one of fear. Finally, he falls asleep and has a dream – a strange dream.
In this dream, Jacob sees a ladder touching the earth and reaching up to heaven. On that ladder, angels ascend and descend – up and down, down and up. From earth to heaven, from heaven to earth. Jacob sees the bridge between Creator and creature. He hears God speak to him.

God had watched as Jacob maliciously plotted with his mother, stole from his brother, lied to his father, and ran away. So what would you expect God would say to little, wretched Jacob? Something like, “You little twerp, you’ve really done it now. You’re alone, alienated from your family. You have a rock for a pillow. But you sure do deserve it.” But God doesn’t say anything like that.

Listen to what God actually says, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather and the God of Isaac your father. I am your God too. I am with you. I will keep you wherever you go. I will give you so many offspring that they will be like the dust of the earth. And in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you.”

After this, Jacob woke up. He set up that stone that he used as a pillow as a pillar, and named that place Bethel – “house of God.” That very spot became a place of worship for the people of Israel when they were taking possession of the Promised Land. The Israelites knew that when you worshiped at Bethel, at the “house of God,” God was present there.

Jacob’s dream is what Jesus is referring to when He tells Nathaniel and the other disciples (the ‘you’ here is plural) ”Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Nathaniel was impressed when Jesus knew about him before they even met – so impressed that he confesses that Jesus is the Son of God and King of Israel. But that’s just the beginning of what Nathaniel and the other disciples will see. They will see that Jesus is what Jacob’s ladder was pointing to. They will see the reality of what Jacob saw in a dream. They will see what it actually looks like when God makes His house on earth. They will see that Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, is the link between heaven and earth, between God and man. They will see that Jesus has fused heaven and earth together in His very body (Rev. Chad Bird).

Nathaniel and the disciples saw many miracles: Jesus turning water into wine, feeding the hungry, cleansing lepers, making the lame to walk, giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead. But they saw and heard even greater things than these. They heard God Himself forgiving sins. They ate Jesus’ very body and blood. They saw God delivering Himself into the hands of evil, wicked men. They saw God die. They saw God’s corpse placed into the ground. They saw Jesus raised from the dead. They saw the physical body of Christ ascend into heaven.

Jesus has come and heaven is opened to you. Heaven is just a short ladder away. A ladder with one rung – the ladder of the cross. Through the cross, Jesus has united heaven and earth. Even if you may not see it with your eyes, you see it through faith. When you were baptized, when you eat and drink Communion, when you receive the absolution, or listen to a sermon, heaven is open. You hear the voice of your heavenly Father.

Just as God knew what Jacob had done – all his deceit, all his trickery, all this thieving – God knows what you have done too. He knows your treachery. He knows your hatred toward your neighbor and brothers and sisters. He knows all your malicious thoughts and intents. And yet, He still died for you. He still forgives you. He promises to be with you wherever you go and bless you. He promises to be your God, and He will never leave you or forsake you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.