NO OTHER FOUNDATION

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran.  He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching the sky, and God’s angels were going up and down on it. The Lord was standing there beside him, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying. Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. (Genesis 28:10-14 CSB)

A while back, I was traveling back from College Station and heard a sermon from the great Martin Lloyd-Jones. The sermon he preaches brought out several different points, but the ones below are the ones that really spoke to me! In his message, he discusses Jesus talking with Nathanael:

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered. Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered. “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!” Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:45-51 CSB)

Llyod-Jones said that when Jesus said that angels will go up and down upon the Son of Man, He was referring to Himself. Jesus is the ladder from heaven to earth. Jesus bridges the gap that separates us from God. Philip recognized that Jesus was the Son of God because He told him that He saw him under the fig tree. Notice what Jesus said next. Jesus called Himself the Son of Man. So Jesus acknowledged Nathanael’s statement that He was the Son of God, but also said that He was the Son of Man. Jesus is both God and man.

With Jesus’ words we see the New Testament connected to the Old. When Adam sinned in the Garden, mankind was disconnected from God. We needed a ladder from earth to heaven so that we could be reconciled with God. Jesus is that ladder.  He is the One who came to “crush the serpents’ head” (Genesis 3:15). He is the GodMan who will deliver Satan his final blow. Jesus told Nathanael that He is the Messiah! Through Him all of the families of the earth are blessed! Here we see the Old Testament connected to the New, and Jesus the complete fulfillment of God’s promise to Jacob. Is Jesus your ladder to God? If you believe in Him, your life will be blessed.