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A Ladder Up to Heaven

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Introduction

A distinguishing feature of the Christian faith is that we proclaim the assurance of salvation. Christians aren’t left guessing if God hears their prayers. We aren’t crossing our fingers wishing that our God will be gracious to us. The saints of God aren’t cowering in the corner wondering what sort of mood God is in today. No. Those who are born again are as certain of their standing with God and His love to them as they are that the sun will rise tomorrow.

The Text

“The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1:43-51).

Summary of the Text

After renaming Simon to Cephas (or Peter)––which means a stone (v.42), we have the unornamented call of Philip (v.43), what his hometown was (v.44), and his first act as a disciple: fetching Nathanael (v.45). Philip goes to find Nathanael, tells him that they’ve found the Messiah which Moses and the prophets foretold: a one Jesus of Nazareth (v.45).

Nathanael is dubious something as good as the Messiah could come out of Nazareth, but at Philip’s insistence, comes anyway (v.46). When Jesus sees Nathanael coming, He makes a (seemingly) odd pronouncement about Nathanael (v.47). The prophetic declaration strikes home, and Nathanael is left dumbfounded at Jesus’ discernment (cf. Is. 11:2-3), and asks, “What gives?!” To which Jesus reveals that He saw what Nathanael was up to before Philip even called him: being a true Israelite (under a fig tree) (v.48, cf. Mic. 4:4).
This is enough to persuade Nathanael of Jesus’ Messiahship (v.49). Jesus affirms his faith, and then reveals that greater things shall be seen by Nathanael (v.50). Jesus then describes those greater things by referencing a story about the patriarch Jacob, and a vision he had once seen (v.51, cf. Gen. 28).

The Name-Changer

The reference to Jacob’s ladder––the open heaven with angels ascending and descending––is a curious allusion, that is well worth pursuing. To recap that story, remember that the patriarch was leaving the promised land of Canaan not on sweet terms, but in a self-inflicted exile, fleeing from Esau. On his way, he stops for the night, takes a stone for a pillow, and while sleeping, sees a vision (which is what Jesus is alluding to in our text). When Jacob awakens, he declares, “Truly, God is in this place.” He sets up his stone pillow as a pillar, then changes the name of that place from Luz to Bethel––the house of God.

Years later, right before he returns to the Promised Land––as a great host––he wrestles with God at Peniel (Gen. 32), and God declares that his name is going to be changed. A few chapters later––in the closing scenes of Jacob’s story––we see that he has returned to Bethel, and there God renews the Abrahamic covenant with Jacob, and renames him: Israel (Gen. 35:9-15). After God appears to Jacob, He “goes up/ascends” from him.

So, why does John recount this interaction with Nathanael? First, remember the preceding context of this section. Jesus has been changing names: Simon to Peter (a stone). In other words, Jesus sets up a stone, like Jacob had done long ago. Jesus tells Nathanael that he is not a Jacob, but an Israelite (the only time someone is called an Israelite in John’s gospel).

Nathanael declares Jesus to be, “Rabbi, Son of God, King of Israel;” but Jesus quickly “renames” himself: “son of man.” As one more layer to the “name-changing” going on in this passage, John is the only Gospel writer to refer to Nathanael; whereas the synoptic gospels refer to him as Bartholomew. In other words, Jesus is a name-changer. But only a father has the right to name someone, and only God has the right to rename someone.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it (Rev. 2:17).”
“Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named (Eph 3:15).”

The human race is full of Adamsons. But our family is under the judgement and wrath of God. Our family is in exile from the garden. We forfeited the deed to it back in Eden. We are cut off from heaven, and thus our lot is hell. Who will bring us back to God?

The Great Divorce

But the fact that Jesus is a name-changer is not the only feature in this passage. Name-changing is a divine prerogative, but a far off god is no good for sinners. What John is drawing our attention to is the tension between Christ’s divinity, and His humanity. Henry Law once well-stated: “[The vision of the ladder] shows Jesus, in the miracle of His person—man, without ceasing to be God—God, without scorning to be man.”

Jesus has come to be the one, sent by the Father, to change our names. He has come to adopt us into God’s family. Nathanael is dead on when he sees in Jesus a true Rabbi, a true priest, a true King (v.49). He is a faithful Israelite, who has longed for the promised salvation. But Jesus makes it plain that the way in which He will fulfill those offices is by uniting earth back to heaven.
In Eden there was, what C.S. Lewis called, a great divorce. We were cut off from God and from grace. In order to return, the debt must be repaid, and it must be paid by a son of Adam, a Son of man. While Nathanael was persuaded to believe because of Jesus’ prophetical declaration, Jesus expands the smallness of Nathanael’s vision. Jesus has come to suffer as one of us, but as God to rise from the dead. Or as the Belgic Confession puts it, “true God in order to conquer death by His power, and true man that he might die for us in the weakness of his flesh.”

In Jesus Christ we have a true Son of Man, who is also the Son of God. The great marvel which Nathanael would see is that reunion of heaven and earth in Christ. Our prayers, in the name of Jesus, ascend up to heaven. The blessings of His grace and mercy descend unto us.

Babel tried to build a tower into heaven, and they were denied. Heaven was closed. But in Jacob’s ladder it is God Himself who sets up a tower into an open heaven. Jesus tells us He’s the only way back to God. He says, “I am that ladder.” And that ladder is your assurance of prayers heard and salvation received. For those who look to Jesus, He brings your prayers and tears to God, and He brings down all of God’s grace, goodness, and promises to you. Nathanael, indeed, saw great things.

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Saved from My Righteousness

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A Radical Conversion

If Jesus retold the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, who would be the characters today? The Pharisee could be a student at the classical Christian school or a successful business man or a very industrious housewife––the defining trait is someone who trusts in their own righteousness. The apostle Paul fit the description of parable’s Pharisee and he had quite a bit that he could put his trust in––his parents, his history, his education, his career success, his spiritual zeal. Paul summed up all of this as “my own righteousness” (Phil. 3:9).Then Paul had a radical conversion, but not the kind of conversion we often think of. Paul was saved from his own righteousness. In Philippians 3, Paul tells about the great discovery that he can and must abandon all his self-righteousness because he gained that which is so much more excellent and valuable in Christ Jesus––who saves him from his self-righteousness.

Beware of Confidence in the Flesh (Phil. 1:1-3)

Paul sets the context of the whole discussion in Philippians 3:1, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.” What will prevent Christians rejoicing in the Lord? The very real danger of your righteousness. And so in verse 2 Paul warns, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!” Paul is warning about Judaizers––Jewish Christians who accepted Jesus as the Christ but then required that the way to follow Christ was to obey the Jewish ceremonial law. Judaizers would say, “Alright Gentiles, if you want to be a Christian, then you must become a Jew and keep all the Jewish Law. And first up, circumcision.” They make salvation dependent on Christ plus some of your work. Christ pluscircumcision. Christ plusthe Law. Christ plusthis work of the flesh. But this is anti-gospel, a perversion of the gospel. Salvation is Christ plus nothing. (Gal. 2:16).

Confidence in the Flesh (vs. 4-6)

Paul knows all about having confidence in the flesh. Paul’s been there, done, that, and got the “confidence in the flesh” tee-shirt. And so he goes on a confidence in the flesh rant in verses 4-6, “We have no confidence in the flesh, thoughI also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so…” Paul had an armful of accomplishments and accolades and privileges he could hold up and show off. Paul is like the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son or, alternatively titled, “The Parable of the Self-Righteous Son––who didn’t enjoy any of his dad’s gifts and his brothers celebration because his arms were so full of his own self-righteousness, and he had a bad attitude.”

Lose Everything to Gain Christ (vs. 7-11)

What does Paul do with all of this confidence in the flesh? Verse 7, “But what things were gain for me, these things I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (vs. 7-8). All the gain that he had––benefits of his birth, privileges from his parents, his promising career as a Pharisee––he counts them as loss. Why? Because he has found something so much more extremely valuable––the supremacy, the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. In comparison to Christ and his perfect righteousness, everything once prized and privileged seems a cheap imitation.  It like realizing you prized soccer trophy from the U-6 season is not real gold but spray painted plastic––worthless.

But for Paul, these old confidences are not merely shown be be worthless compared to Christ, they are now revoltingto him. He scoops up all his old confidence, walks outside and throws them in hedog-do garbage can. Paul came to understand that his self-righteousness has no profit and zero ability to actually make him righteous before God. So his aim is “That I may knowHim and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (vs. 10-11)

Joy of Losing All Self-Righteousness

What does this passage mean for us? How do we apply it? Consider who you are if Jesus told a parable. Are you the self-righteous Pharisee? Are you the tax collector who really was sinful? The sullen older brother? Or the rebellious younger brother? All of these have different stories but the same need––Christ and his righteousness.  Paul has discovered the great joy of losing all his attempts at self-righteousness because he has gained Christ. This is really good news. Your response should be what Paul told us to do at the beginning––Rejoice in the Lord. There’s really relief and joy in discovering you can lose and must lose all self-righteousness––because Jesus is your righteousness.

But what is the alternative? Rejoice in yourself. From my experience, there’s not much joy in self-righteousness. If anything, self-righteousness is a cruel master. Either you will be arrogant or you will despair. Arrogant like the Pharisee who prayed aloud “thank God that I’m so much better than all of these other sinners.” Or you despair under such a crushing burden of righteousness that you can never achieve.

So what should you do if you are the Pharisee or the older brother? Humble yourself like that tax collector and pray “God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Return to your Father like the young son. And rejoice that Jesus is your righteousness.

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Psalm 106: The Salvation of Ingrates

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Introduction

God is always to be praised for His wondrous works, but we also need to remember to make sure to catalog our praises. God works wonderfully in creation, and He works wonderfully in the salvation of His people. He also works wonderfully, as we shall see here, in the salvation of ingrates.

One level of praise is to extol God for His creative work in the heavens and earth. Another level of praise has to do with His work throughout the course of history—and because of the fact of sin, this is largely the work of redemption. And, as we shall see here, it frequently involves the salvation of stupid ingrates.

The Text

“Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can shew forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation; That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance…” (Ps. 106:1-48).

Summary of the Text

The invitation is given—come praise the Lord for His everlasting goodness and mercy (v. 1). Who is up to this task of praising Him (v. 2)? Blessed are those who keep their covenantal wits about them (v. 3). Remember me, the psalmist prays, with the favor that You show to Your people (v. 4). And why? That I might see the good of the chosen, rejoice in the gladness of His nation, and glory with His inheritance (v. 5).

And then the psalmist begins the reckoning—all the sins that Israel has committed in the course of God’s gracious dealings with them (v. 6). Israel did not understand the judgments that fell on Egypt, did not see the multitude of God’s mercies, and began to kick at His goodness, even as early as the Red Sea (v. 7). But God saved them anyway, for His name’s sake (v. 8). He rebuked the Red Sea, and led them through it (v. 9). He saved them from the Egyptians who hated them (v. 10), and the waters covered Pharaoh’s armies (v. 11). They sang His praise (v. 12), but soon enough forgot what had happened (v. 13). They didn’t want His counsel. They went straight from singing to sinning.

They had hot desires, and tempted God (v. 14). He granted their physical request, but sent leanness to their souls (v. 15). This should remind us of the comment from the pagan satirist Juvenal—“enormous prayers which Heaven in anger grants.” Envy of Moses and Aaron was also a problem (v. 16), and which God dealt with by having both earth and fire destroy Dathan and Abiram (vv. 17-18). Then they made a calf and worshiped the molten image (v. 19). They exchanged their glory for slow, grass-eating quadruped (v. 20). They forgot God, who had done great things for them in Egypt, and terrible things by the Red Sea (vv. 21-22). God would have destroyed them had it not been for the intercession of Moses (v. 23). They despised the pleasant land (to which they were going), and did not believe a true account of it (v. 24). They grumbled in their tents, and did not listen to the voice of God (v. 25). And so God lifted up His hand against them (vv. 26-27). They sinned at Baal-peor, and ate unclean sacrifices (v. 28). They provoked Him to anger, and He answered with a plague (v. 29). Phineas intervened, and Israel was spared (v. 30). Thatwas imputed to him for righteousness (v. 31).

They angered God at the waters of strife, such that Moses over-reacted (vv. 32-33). When they invaded Canaan, they did not complete the work of destruction assigned to them (v. 34), but mixed with the heathen and learned their ways (v. 35). They served the Canaanite gods, which ensnared them, and they even sacrificed their children to devils (vv. 36-37). They shed innocent blood, and so polluted the land (v. 38). They were inventive in evil, and went whoring after their own devices (v. 39). They made God sick of His own inheritance (v. 40), and so He turned them over to those who hated them (v. 41). Their enemies oppressed them hard (v. 42), and God delivered them many times—but they kept provoking Him (v. 43). Nevertheless, He regarded their affliction, which they richly deserved, and He heard their cry (v. 44). He remembered His covenant with them, and turned His mind (repented) in accordance with the infinite mercies of an infinite God (v. 45). He made even their oppressors pity them (v. 46). Save us, Lord, gather us up, and bring us all back (v. 47). Bless the name of the Lord, and let all the people say amen, and amen (v. 48).

Background to All Corporate Applications

Israel was a called out and chosen nation, and one of the temptations that Christian nations have had in the past is the temptation to think of themselves as occupying that same unique role—which is necessarily false. But the ditch on the other side of the road is the error of thinking that God no longer deals with nations at all. But He does. The Great Commission requires us to disciple all the nations, and to teach them obedience. So it is not the case any longer that just one nation possesses the Deuteronomic promises. And it is also not the case that no nation possesses them. Rather, in and through Christ, any nation may possess them. And any nation can stumble and fall in just the ways described here in this psalm.

A Psalm of Lament for America

As a nation, we have blood of millions on our hands. Christians know that we bear the image of God from conception on, and that this image must be honored for what it is from that moment on. But we have, by the tens of million, sacrificed American children to devils (vv. 36-37). In this regard, we are no better than ancient Molech worshipers. How can these children have blood, and have us not be guilty of bloodshed?

As a nation, we have seen God grant our materialistic wishes, along with leanness of soul (v. 15). There has never been a people so awash in material prosperity as we currently are, and there has never been a people as medicated for unhappiness as we are.

As a nation, we have deliberately forgotten our Christian founding. We have actively fought that knowledge, and we have mocked those who try to keep such knowledge alive. We have suppressed the doctrines that might indicate the many times that God has delivered us (v. 43).

Christ the Savior

The time we have spent on these shores has been about 400 years. About half of that time we have been constituted as a separate nation. Our total history is the same amount of time that Israel spent in Egyptian slavery. And He led them out of that slavery only to watch them sinning against him on the shores of that Red Sea. And they kept it up, over and over and over again (v. 44).

God has forgiven people in the past who have been far more wayward than we have been. This is not because we are better, but rather because we are not old enough to sin that much. But if we had been, God’s covenantal mercies are multitudinous. There is a crowd of them, all purchased by the death of Christ on the cross. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7).

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Psalm 105: Israel and the Tabernacle of David

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Introduction

What we have here is a glorious retelling of God’s deliverance of Israel in the Exodus. In addition, we find that it is a retelling that is theologically sophisticated, on several levels.

The Text

“O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: Make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: Talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: Seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth . . .” (Psalm 105:1-45).

Summary of the Text

The listener is invited to give thanks to the Lord, and to make His deeds known the people (v. 1). We are to sing to Him, and talk of His mighty works (v. 2). We should glory in His name, and those who seek Him should rejoice (v. 3). Seek the Lord, and His strength, and His face (v. 4). Recall the history of His deeds (v. 5). The descendants of Abraham are summoned to this glorious duty (v. 6). He is God, and He judges allthe earth (v. 7). God is a God who remembers His covenants to a thousand generations (v. 8), for instance His covenant with Abraham (v. 9), Isaac (v. 9), and Jacob (v. 10). This is for all Israel, for an everlasting covenant (v. 10). He promised to grant them Canaan (v. 11), and the promise was made when they were few in number (v. 12). And while they were on their pilgrimage, He protected them as His own anointed (vv. 13-15).

God was the one who called up the famine that brought Israel down into Egypt (v. 16), and He had sent a man before them to prepare for them (v. 17). He was a slave, and his feet were hurt by the fetters (v. 18). Until it was time for Joseph’s word to rule, the word of the Lord tested him (v. 19). The Pharaoh released him (v. 20), and put him in charge of everything (vv. 21-22). Jacob himself came down to the land of Ham (v. 23), and the Jews multiplied (v. 24). God arranged for the Egyptians to turn on them (v. 25), and then He sent Moses and Aaron with the power to work wonders (vv. 26-27).

Though darkness was not the first plague, the psalmist begins with it (v. 28). It was an emblematic plague. The Egyptians worshiped the sun under the name Osiris, and the word Pharaoh includes sunas one of its meanings. He also turned the Nile to blood and killed their fish (v. 29). Another plague was that of frogs everywhere (v. 30). God spoke, and there were all kinds of flying insects, and lice everywhere (v. 31). He gave them hail and fire (v. 32), and He struck their vines, fig trees, and other trees (v. 33). Then there were the locusts and countless caterpillars (v. 34), and they ate everything (v. 35). The ultimate stroke was that of taking the life of all the first born in the land (v. 36). The Israelites took the Egyptian silver and gold at their departure, with Egypt wrecked behind them, and not one Israelite limping (v. 37). The Egyptians were glad to see them go, and God placed a fear of the Jews on them (v. 38). The kindness of God gave the Israelites shade by day, and fire at night (v. 39). He gave the people quail and manna both (v. 40). He opened a rock for them so that they might have water (v. 41). And why? Because He remembered His word to Abraham (v. 42). He brought the people out with joy and gladness (v. 43). He gave them the land of the heathen (goyim), and they inherited Canaan (v. 44). This was so that they might keep God’s laws, and praise the Lord (v. 45).

The Sovereignty of God

While this matter of sovereignty is not the main point of this psalm, it is an assumption that undergirds the entire psalm, and so we should take just a few moments to consider it. You should recall that Joseph attributed the treachery of his brothers to the good counsels of God. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen. 50:20). We see the same thing acknowledged here, which teaches us that God can handle dirty instruments without soiling His hands. How did Joseph get down into Egypt? The psalm says that God senthim there (v. 17)—and this meant that the sale of Joseph into slavery by his brothers was God’s instrument for saving the lives of those brothers, and their families. Trust God, always trust God.

We see the same principle at work later in the psalm. Why did the Egyptians turn hostile toward Israel? “He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants” (Ps. 105:25). You have heard it often, and you will hear it many times again. God draws straight with crooked lines.

The Tabernacle of David

The apostle Paul tells us, flat out, that the inclusion of the Gentiles together with the Jews, was a “great mystery” (Eph. 3:6). It is now plainly revealed in the new covenant, but now, as we search the Old Testament Scriptures, we can see it everywhere—and particularly in this psalm. The establishment of Israel was in fact the hope of the world. Now the covenantal establishment occurred at Mount Sinai, when Israel solemnly covenanted with God. But the dramatic establishment of the nation of Israel occurred in the Exodus. So walk with me through this.

As a moment’s reflection shows, this psalm is all about that Exodus—the birth of Israel.

The first fifteen verses of this psalm are also found at the dedication of the Tabernacle of David (1 Chron. 16:7-22). At the Council of Jerusalem, the Lord’s brother James explicitly takes the prophecy of Amos (Amos 9:11-12) that the Tabernacle of David will be rebuilt as referring to the inclusion of the Gentiles that was happening through the gospel. The building of the first Tabernacle by David was also geared to the Gentiles—consider, for example, the role of Obed-edom. And consider also the fact that while the Tabernacle was dedicated with blood sacrifices, it was not forblood sacrifices. The Tabernacle (on Mount Zion) was reserved for music.

Just as God humbled the brothers of Joseph as His means of saving them, so also He humbled the goyimof Canaan (v. 44) as His means of saving the goyimof the entire earth. Praise the Lord, you people (v. 1), for His judgments are marvelous throughout the entireearth (v. 7).

Good News for the Nations

And so here you are, in northern Idaho, two thousand years after the Lord Jesus accomplished your salvation, and three thousand years after King David prophetically enacted it through the sacrifice of praise.

“For the kingdom is the Lord’s: And he is the governor among the nations” (Ps. 22:28).

“O let the nations be gladand sing for joy: For thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nationsupon earth” (Ps. 67:4).

“Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him” (Ps. 72:11).

“All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name” (Ps. 86:9).

All authority, in heaven and on earth, has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. All the nations belong to Him, because He bought them with His blood. And this is the sure foundation of God’s good news for this sorry planet.

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