Friday of Trinity 19

 The Jesus Ladder

John 1:43-51 (ESV) The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 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.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 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.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 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.” 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.”
 
Yesterday, we learned about Jacob’s dream about the ladder (or stairway) to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it, culminating with the exclamation, ““Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it… How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” When Jacob’s offspring, Jesus the Christ, came, He showed Himself to be not only the House of God on earth but also the ladder or stairway to heaven that Jacob saw in his dream.
 
In John 1, Jesus tells His disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” The LORD who came down the ladder to visit Jacob has now come in the flesh to save His people. He is the One in charge of the angels who watch over God’s people. He is the One who sends them to watch over us. And He is the gateway to heaven, for on the cross in His flesh He paid for all of our sins and then rose on Easter Sunday to open the Kingdom of Heaven for all believers.
 
And this Risen LORD Jesus still steps down from heaven today in His Word and Sacraments, as He had done for Jacob, for He comes to dwell with us in His Church and speak His Gospel promises to us. In Holy Baptism, God brings us into His household, making us part of Christ’s Body, the Holy Christian Church, where week in and week out He speaks His saving Word through His called and ordained preacher. When we have sinned and gone astray from our Lord, we confess our sins and receive Holy Absolution, which forgives our sins and opens again the gate to heaven. And Jesus comes down to us in His very body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, where He feeds us with the same sacrificial offering that He made to the Father once and all for the forgiveness of all of your sins.
 
Yet it requires faith, not sight, to realize these truths. If we look at the Church only with our eyes, we see a sinful man preaching seemingly ineffective words, we see a little bit of water, we see bread and wine. If we look at the Church only with our emotions, we find that we don’t have a mystical experience of God’s presence with us; we can’t feel Him in speech or in music. But if we take our Lord at His Word and recognize that He is truly present with us as our Savior in His Word and Sacraments, where He has promised to be and where He wants us to find Him, then we, like Jacob can shout out in amazement, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it…How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
 
And so, Jesus says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will be given to you.” Seek out His presence and promises, for they are the greatest gifts we could receive this side of heaven, and they give us a taste of the good things yet to come. And we too may pray with the Psalmist, “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God…Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, ever singing Your praise!...For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84, passim).
 
The LORD has done much better for us, since we aren’t merely doorkeepers in His house but are His beloved children, redeemed by Christ and adopted in Holy Baptism. So don’t run away from home, but gladly dwell in His Church and continue to receive your LORD’s gracious presence and promises!
 
Prayer (LSB 651):
 
1. I love Your kingdom, Lord,
    The place of Your abode,
The Church our blest Redeemer saved
    With His own precious blood.
 
2. Beyond my highest joy
    I prize its heav’nly ways,
Its sweet communion, solemn vows,
    Its hymns of love and praise.
 
3. I love Your Church, O God,
    Your saints in ev’ry land,
Dear as the apple of Your eye
    And graven on Your hand.
 
4. For them my tears shall fall;
    For them my prayers ascend;
For them my cares and toils be giv’n
    Till toils and cares shall end.
 
5. Sure as Your truth shall last,
    To Zion shall be giv’n
The brightest glories earth can yield
    And brighter bliss of heav’n. Amen.