John 1

Judging by the phenomenon of human religions, deep down inside, all human beings are born with a longing to make a connection with the transcendent—with that which is really real—with God. Deep down inside all human beings long to know how to make a connection with God so as to receive empowerment from him in this life, and an assurance from him that after this life is over something “good” will eventually happen to us.

According to the Gospel of John as a whole, and chapter 1 of this book in particular, the stairway to heaven is a person—Jesus of Nazareth.

John 20:30-31 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. {31} But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

We don’t have to wait until we get to the end of the Gospel of John to know that the purpose of this book is to point us toward Jesus of Nazareth as the stairway to heaven.

First, though not referring to him by name, the prologue to John’s Gospel makes the point that Jesus—the central character of this story—is very, very special (1:1-18).

John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was with God in the beginning. {3} Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made…

… {4} In him was life, and that life was the light of men. {5} The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it….

... {6} There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. {7} He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. {8} He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. {9} The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world….

… {10} He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. {11} He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. {12} Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- {13} children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God….

… {14} The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth….

… {15} John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" …

… {16} From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. {17} For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. {18} No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

According to this long and famous passage, Jesus of Nazareth is the personification of God’s Logos to the world—the Word by which everything that is came into existence. He is also the embodiment of the divine Light that can help us human beings see the truth about who God is and what he’s about.

To all who receive Jesus as the Word and the Light, he gives the right to become the very children of God who will live with him forever. (How’s that for a profound connection with the transcendent!)

Second, John the Evangelist presents us with the testimony of John the Baptist who bore eloquent and consistent witness to the fact that Jesus is very special (1:19-34).

John 1:19-34 Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. {20} He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." …

… {21} They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." {22} Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" {23} John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" …

... {24} Now some Pharisees who had been sent {25} questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" {26} "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. {27} He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." …

… {28} This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing….

… {29} The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! {30} This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' {31} I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."...

… {32} Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. {33} I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' {34} I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."

John the Baptist made it very, very clear that he was not the Christ, Israel’s messiah. John was consistent in his testimony that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ (Israel’s messiah), the lamb of God whose sacrificial death can atone for any person’s sins, the only one who can immerse us into the life- changing, life-imparting Spirit of God. In short, says John the Baptist, Jesus is the very Son of God!

Third, John explains that the reason why it was so easy for Jesus to recruit his first followers was precisely because it was so easy for them to recognize that he was very special (1:35-49).

John 1:35-49 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. {36} When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"…

… {37} When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. {38} Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" {39} "Come," he replied, "and you will see." …So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour….

... {40} Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. {41} The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). {42} And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter)….

… {43} The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." …

… {44} Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. {45} Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." … … {46} "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip….

… {47} When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." {48} "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."…

… {49} Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

According to this passage, it was amazingly easy for Jesus to convince people to devote themselves to becoming his full-time followers. Why?

It wasn’t because these were simply slow, dull, dim-witted people. No, it was because it was amazingly easy for these guys to recognize that Jesus was special: that when they were in his presence, they were in the presence of something transcendent, something out of this world.

Fourth, John records that Jesus’ response to Nathanael’s confession of faith in him as the Son of God was anything but a rebuke or denial (1:50- 51).

John 1:50-51 Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." {51} He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

According to this passage, not only did Jesus refuse to disavow Nathanael’s confession of faith in him as the Son of God, he went on to say pretty much the same thing about himself!

Genesis 28:10-17 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. {11} When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. {12} He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it….

... {13} There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying…

… {14} Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. {15} I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." …

…. {16} When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." {17} He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."

“Yes, guys, I am the Son of God. I am the stairway to heaven. Stick with me and I will enable all of you to make a strong, very strong connection with God!”

Do you need a greater sense of spiritual peace? Do you feel the need for some divine guidance and empowerment and this point in your life? Honestly, is there some important area of your life in which you feel the need for healing, growth, transformation?

Do you simply feel the need to be rightly connected with the God of the universe, the God who made you, and the God before whom you will have to someday give an account for the way you lived your life?

“Thin Places are ports in the storm of life, where the pilgrims can move closer to the God they seek, where one leaves that which is familiar and journeys into the Divine Presence. They are stopping places where men and women are given pause to wonder about what lies beyond the mundane rituals, the grief, trials and boredom of our day-to-day life….

… They probe to the core of the human heart and open the pathway that leads to satisfying the familiar hungers and yearnings common to all people on earth, the hunger to be connected, to be a part of something greater, to be loved, to find peace.” --Mindie Burgoyne

Well, while I like the idea of a thin place, I don’t think the Bible teaches that we must go on pilgrimages to various geographical locations to sense a special connection with God.

According to the Gospel of John, Jesus is the stairway to heaven! According to the Gospel of John, wherever Jesus is, is a thin place!

John 14:6... "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:23... "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Do you need a greater sense of peace? Jesus is key! Do you need some divine guidance right now? Jesus is key! Do you need to know you are loved by someone more than life itself? Jesus is key!

Do you need to be empowered to live your life in a new way? Jesus is the key! Do you need to be better connected to the God by whom you were made and before whom you will someday give an account for the way you lived your life? Jesus is the key!

John 1