JOHN 1:50\u201351<\/b><\/p>\n
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<\/i><\/p>\n
(John 1:51)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Deeply moved by Jesus\u2019 penetrating knowledge of his own soul, Nathaniel made a glorious proclamation: \u201cRabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!\u201d Jesus responded by saying, \u201cBecause I said to you, \u2018I saw you under the fig tree,\u2019 do you believe?\u2019 \u201d Hendricksen maintains that we should not read this question as a disparaging remark regarding Nathaniel\u2019s immediate response of faith. It is because Nathaniel believed on the basis of so little evidence that he would receive even greater revelations as a reward.<\/p>\n
What are these \u201cgreater things\u201d? \u201cYou shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.\u201d The reference is to Jacob\u2019s ladder in Genesis 28. In this account, Jacob had a dream in which he saw a ladder standing on the earth, its top reaching to heaven. Ascending and descending along the ladder were the angels of God. Then Jacob hears God\u2019s voice: \u201cAnd in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.\u201d This prophecy finds its fulfillment in Christ, who was symbolized by the ladder in Jacob\u2019s dream. Only Christ is the link between heaven and earth, the bond of union between God and man, the One who by means of His life and sacrifice reconciles God to man. With faith, His disciples will be able to see Him in that light\u2014as the fulfillment of Jacob\u2019s dream, the blessing of all the nations.<\/p>\n
And so, Jesus\u2019 reference to Jacob\u2019s ladder can be seen as a multi-faceted promise to Nathaniel for His faith.<\/p>\n
First, Nathaniel had just glimpsed Jesus\u2019 omniscience in action. He would continue to see this divine attribute in action throughout Christ\u2019s life, as Jesus\u2019 all-knowing gaze penetrated into the very souls of men and women.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, Nathaniel had declared Christ to be the Son of God. As a result, Nathaniel would grow in understanding of Jesus\u2019 breaching the gap between men and God.<\/p>\n
Finally, Nathaniel\u2019s proclamation that Jesus was the King of Israel would be rewarded by a clearer, more spiritual understanding of the kingdom of God\u2014and the kingship of the Son of Man.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Exodus 25\u201326<\/p>\n
Matthew 21<\/p>\n
WEEKEND<\/b><\/p>\n
Exodus 27\u201330<\/p>\n
Matthew 22<\/p>\n
As a reward for Nathaniel\u2019s simple faith, Jesus promised him that he would see even greater things concerning the Messiah and His role as redeemer and king. Consider how your knowledge of Christ has increased since you first came to know Him. Thank God for His gracious provision.<\/p>\n
For further study: Gen. 28:10\u201322 \u2022 Dan. 7:9\u201314 \u2022 Rom. 5:6\u201311<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JOHN 1:50\u201351 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). Deeply moved by Jesus\u2019 penetrating knowledge of his own soul, Nathaniel made a glorious proclamation: \u201cRabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King … Continue reading “JACOB\u2019S LADDER”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}