A New Testament Scripture About the Ascension
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.” (John 1:50-51)
An Old Testament Scripture Reference
And he dreamed, and behold, there was a stairway set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on him! (Genesis 28:12)1
How Are These Two Passages Related?
Before Jesus' birth, many Jews anticipated a divine manifestation similar to Jacob's dream, seeing this event as a foreshadow of a future divine appearance.2
Why? … In Jacob’s dream, a random place becomes a sacred place. Notice the contrast of "the place" before and after the dream.
Before Jacob’s Dream
This isn't a special place; it's random and simply a spot to sleep as it was getting dark outside.
Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep (Genesis 28:10-11)
After Jacob’s Dream
When Jacob woke from his dream, he was in fearful awe and wonder as the once random place transformed into an awesome place.3
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
What Does This Teach Us About the Ascension?
In John 1:51, Jesus announces that the Bethel event is indeed happening again, but this time it is not a dream; it is reality!
According to Jesus, the Son of Man will accomplish even greater things than what happened with Jacob at Bethel because the Son of Man's ascension will fulfill all the promises God made to Jacob.4
In Jacob’s dream…
the LORD appears and makes a great promise that guarantees Jacob’s survival as he departs from Canaan and heads to Haran.
In the reality of Jesus…
the LORD appears in the flesh, making a greater promise that we will survive death when departing from this life (John 5:24, 30).
In Jacob’s dream…
the LORD greatly blessed Jacob and promised to be with him wherever he goes, despite his deserving judgment.
In the reality of Jesus…
the LORD brought an even greater blessing instead of judgment, as Jesus declared He was not sent to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17), and He promised His disciples that His presence would be with them forever (John 14:16–17).
Jacob’s Dream = Bethel → Jesus’ Reality = Greater Bethel
The entire gospel of John is a gradual unfolding of Jesus as the new Bethel event. Jesus is “the place where God is revealed, where heaven and earth, God and humanity, meet.”5
The ascension of the Son of Man and His occupation of a throne in heaven is not a dream, it is not a vision or a figment of our imaginations. It is history. It is ultimate reality.
Are you longing for more supernatural dreams or visions, or are you fully satisfied with the reality of Jesus in your life?
Prayer Prompt
Pray that one mark of maturity for you and our church is that we strive to embrace Jesus' eternal reality more than seeking temporary dreams and visions.
I have made two small but important changes to the ESV translation.
First, there was a “stairway” not a “ladder.” The ESV provides this option as a footnote and I think it is a better translation and provides a more accurate description of what Jacob saw in the dream.
Second, the angels of God are ascending and descending on “him (Jacob),” not on “it (the stairway).”
In the discipline of "biblical theology," this is called an “eschatological interpretation.” What I am pointing out is that Old Testament authors and extra-biblical Jewish writings have repeatedly interpreted Jacob’s dream at Bethel as an eschatological event.
In Hebrew, the word "Bethel" means "house of God." Additionally, the phrase "the gate of heaven" should remind us of the Tower of Babel story. Jacob’s dream is an inversion of Babel, like a reflection in a mirror.
As J. Duncan M. Derrett states, “The dream of Jacob will be shared, in a special way.” J. Duncan M. Derrett, “Figtrees in the New Testament,” Heythrop Journal 14, no. 3 (1973): 263.
Andreas Köstenberger, John. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic 2004), 430.