The Ladder
A Sermon on John 1:50-51
Originally preached Oct. 28, 1956
Scripture
50Jesus 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. 51And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of …
Sermon Description
Why did Jesus live and die as a man here on earth? In this sermon on John 1:50–51 titled “The Ladder,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that according to the Scriptures, it was for the salvation of sinners. Jesus alone serves as the ladder that connects God and humanity. This is accomplished by His death, burial, and resurrection, wherein He redeems all who repent and believe in Him. It is in Christ that the person and power of God the Father is revealed to humanity. Without grace, sinners cannot know God or love Him. Furthermore, Jesus fulfills the righteous requirements of the law by granting true righteousness and holiness to His chosen people. Christians are then freed from the wrath and condemnation of God. In the gospel, Jesus died in the place of sinful people so that they could live as children of God and inheritors of all the blessings of God. They are then able to overcome the schemes of Satan, who is the enemy of God, and continually opposes the gospel and the mission of the church. In Christ Jesus, God has given Christians the power to overcome sin, flesh, temptation, the world, and the devil. While all are powerless on their own, the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to overcome all sin and evil in the world.
Sermon Breakdown
- Jesus is the ladder between heaven and earth, God and man.
- The top of the ladder is in heaven, where Jesus came from. Jesus shares the glory of God the Father.
- The rungs of the ladder are the steps Jesus took from heaven to earth. He passed by the angels, was made a little lower than the angels, took on human flesh, humbled himself to death on the cross, and descended into Hades.
- The bottom of the ladder is Hades, the place of the dead. Jesus descended there after dying on the cross.
- The ladder is capable of linking heaven and earth. Jesus can bring us to the knowledge of God, kept God's law perfectly, overcame temptation from the devil, bore the wrath of God on our behalf, conquered death and the grave in the resurrection, and ascended back to heaven.
- The blessings that come from the ladder are forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to God, justification, adoption as God's children, sanctification, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, hope of eternal life, ministry from angels, and resurrection from the dead.
- We must be "on the ladder" - in Christ - to receive these blessings and benefits. We must see, believe in, and hold onto Christ.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Jesus as the Ladder Between Heaven and Earth
What is the main theme of Dr. Lloyd-Jones' sermon about Jesus as the ladder?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Jesus is the ladder connecting heaven and earth, God and humanity. Based on John 1:50-51, he shows how Jesus is "the connecting link between heaven and earth...the medium through which God blesses mankind. And he is the only medium. There is no other. It's an exclusive claim." Christ is the only way to reconcile humanity to God and to bring God's blessings to people.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the "top of the ladder"?
The top of the ladder reaches to God Himself. As Lloyd-Jones explains: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God." He quotes John 3:13 and 16:28 to show that Jesus came from the Father. The top of the ladder represents Christ's divine nature and His place in the Godhead. As Paul says in Philippians, "though he was in the form of God," which Lloyd-Jones explains means "He is God...sharing the substance of the eternal God. Co-equal. Co-eternal."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by the "rungs of the ladder"?
The rungs of the ladder represent the steps of Christ's descent from heaven to earth. Christ came down step by step: first, passing the position of angels, as shown in Hebrews 2:9 where Jesus "was made a little lower than the angels." Then continuing downward by taking "the form of a servant" and being "made in the likeness of men." Lloyd-Jones quotes Philippians 2 extensively to show this progressive humbling, adding that Christ continued further down to death, "even the death of the cross."
What does Lloyd-Jones identify as the "bottom of the ladder"?
The bottom of the ladder is not merely Christ becoming human or even dying on the cross, but His descent into "the lower parts of the earth." Lloyd-Jones explains: "He died, he was buried. He was placed in a grave down in the lower parts of the earth. He went to Hades." He emphasizes that Christ "descended into the place of the dead" and that this complete descent was necessary for our salvation: "if he hadn't gone there, not one of us would be saved."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the stability of the ladder?
Lloyd-Jones presents various "tests" of the ladder's stability: - Christ gives us true knowledge of God: "He that hath seen me hath seen the father." - Christ perfectly kept God's law: "holy, harmless and undefiled, tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." - Christ withstood Satan's temptations in the wilderness: "the devil brought out all his might...He didn't shake. He didn't move." - Christ bore God's wrath: "God hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin." - Christ conquered death and the grave through His resurrection.
The ladder has "passed every test" and "stood the very limit, to the very uttermost."
What blessings flow to believers through Christ as the ladder?
Lloyd-Jones lists numerous blessings that come through Christ: 1. Forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God 2. Justification before God 3. Adoption as sons of God 4. Knowing God as Father 5. Access to God's throne with boldness 6. God's promise never to leave or forsake us 7. Sanctification and the indwelling Holy Spirit 8. Victory over sin 9. Hope beyond death 10. The ministry of angels who "are ministering spirits to serve you and me" 11. Angels to carry believers through death 12. Resurrection of the body 13. Presentation "faultless" before God
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones apply this message to his listeners?
Lloyd-Jones concludes with an urgent appeal: "You are in this world. God is in heaven. You've got to die. You've got to meet God. And there is only one way to die and to face God without fear, and it is to be in Christ." He urges his listeners to be linked to God through Jesus Christ, who "came down via the angels, Man, death of the cross, shame, burial, Hades, in order to deliver you, to reconcile you to God." His final exhortation is: "Do you see the ladder? Are you holding on to him? If you haven't done so until this moment, fly to him, hold on to him, and he then will never let you go."
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.