Before we get to the rock song notice how Nathanael says “Rabbi, You are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” And Jesus responds “. . . the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man.” Jesus mixes the concept of Son of God with Son of Man and the latter term is his favourite reference to himself.
And He says to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, From now on you will see Heaven opened, and “the angels of God ascending and descending” on the Son of Man. (LITV)
John 1:51
A literal version can always help you to know what is happening in the text behind the scenes even if you don’t know Greek or Hebrew.
This is a reference to an allusion:
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.
Genesis 28;12
This is the connection to John 1:51.
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. ” (NLT)
The NLT is the only one to have picked up the allusion to Gen 28:12 and put it in the translation. Use multiple versions to get a better feel for the text, not just your favourite version.
Ah this reminds me of the classic rock song Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin.
Here are a couple of lines:
“She’s buying a stairway to heaven” . . . “There are two paths you can go by but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you are on.”
Jesus is the stairway to heaven. He is the bridge between heaven and hell. He is the gate, the way, the door, yes and even the ladder or the stairway. But no, you can’t buy that stairway. It is not for sale, it is a free gift. But watch how you treat Him.
While it is true that there are two paths you can go by. “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.” (Matt 7:13) Remember John 1:13, new birth, the entry point to this kingdom doesn’t come about by human decision. It comes from a human response to a divine intervention. (See Bible Gem 7) Don’t miss it by delaying your response, thinking that you are in control and it is your decision to make when you feel to make it. Not so. The moment may pass you by.
Well did anyone have the link figured between Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and John 1:51?
There are many other things I could have commented on in John 1, big and small but we will move on.
May I never miss a rainbow because I am looking down.
Ian Vail
My Pastor in Jakarta at JPCC once said to me, “Ian, your input is always like concentrate. it is like we have to mix it with water and dilute it to get all that we can out of it. You pack so much into the comments you make that they always need unpacking.”
Jeffrey Rachmat
That is so true for these early Gems. I have given you Bible thoughts that need to be distilled and sifted in order to get the full goodness out of them. When I preach or teach these concepts I add a whole lot more by way of explanation. I have only given you 20 Gems from John Chapter one. I strongly recommend that you go through the others on the website and read them all.