Scripture

Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

Observation

Philip goes and tells Nathanael that he has found the Messiah. Nathanael is sceptical at first because nothing good comes from Nazareth. But he goes with Philip anyway.

Jesus greets Nathanael with the words, “Here is a genuine son of Israel.”

Nathanael is intrigued and asks Jesus how He knows about him. Jesus replies, “I saw you under the fig tree when Philip found you.”

At this word of knowledge, Nathanael recognises that Jesus really is the Son of God.

Application

This story illustrates a three step process for a person coming to faith in Jesus:

1. Somebody brings a person to see Jesus,

2. There is a supernatural encounter

3. The person recognises and confesses that Jesus is the Lord.

It is not enough for a person to come to a church service. They must have a genuine encounter with the Lord.

Jesus goes on to reveal that He is the stairway to heaven. He enables angels and people to ascend to heaven on Him.

This is clearly a reference to the encounter that Jacob had at Bethel (“the house of God.”)

Jesus is the one who enables us to get to heaven. He is the one and only way of salvation.

The way to heaven is not a religious observance or a belief system. We can recite the Apostles’ Creed, learn the whole gospel of John by heart, even fast for forty days. These are all good things, but they will not, of themselves, get you to heaven.

The way to heaven is a person- Jesus Christ. When we put our trust in Him, then we will be saved.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, through your death on the cross, you became the stairway that joins heaven to earth. You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.