“As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.””
John 1:47-51 NLT
In this, the last verse of John 1, Jesus told His disciples that they would see “the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man”. And He referred to Himself as “the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth”. Superficially, this claim by Jesus might seem wondrous, but with little practical application in today’s world. That is, until we see this for what it is – a doorway, a connection, an opportunity, a picture, of the link between the spirit world of Heaven, and the human world of Planet Earth. We remember the Sunday School story of Jacob’s Ladder, the account of which we can read in Genesis 28:12, “As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway“. Jacob only saw a vision of what was to come, a vision fulfilled by Jesus.
Jesus, in His statement about the stairway, released a profound truth that reverberates across this world and all generations who have ever lived within it, and who are yet to be born. There is no other link between the Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of this world. Jesus said in John 14:6, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. There is no other way into God’s presence. Many other religions claim otherwise, but their adherents will be disappointed.
But we read that angels are using this staircase and provide a link between Jesus and His Heavenly home. The angels are servants of God and through Jesus they are able carry out God’s plans in this world. They come and go as God requires. So we mustn’t be surprised if one day we meet an angel. He might not be immediately recognisable as such but perhaps we will look back at this particular point in our lives and wonder.
This picture of the busy staircase between Jesus and Heaven provides us with a faith-link right into God’s presence. We pilgrims know Jesus and we have access right to the throne of God, in faith that, through Jesus, the staircase is still alive and well and doing what God designed it to do. The disciples found it, saw it, and one day made use of it themselves. We modern day disciples will one day discover its marvels at first hand, as we pass into God’s presence. So it goes without saying that we must introduce others, who don’t know Jesus, to this gateway into God’s Kingdom, the gateway who is Jesus Himself. Many want to get into Heaven, but they will never find out how without our introduction to the Saviour.
Dear Father God. Please lead us to those who need to find You and Your stairway to Heaven. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 