Can A Person Be A Ladder?

What is a ladder? One dictionary defines it as "...an often portable structure consisting of two long sides crossed by parallel rungs, used to climb up and down." But have you ever heard the question "Who is a ladder?" Jesus has the answer to that very odd question, and it is one that brings comfort to grieving souls.

The topic here refers to Jacob's dream in Genesis 28:

"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. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!"

In a previous post we discussed the significance of the angels doing God's bidding by traveling between Heaven and Earth. But in John 1:51 Jesus makes an astounding statement, one that would surely not make Him any friends among the religious leaders of that time:

"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.”

Jesus was very clearly identifying Himself as the "ladder" between Heaven above and the earth below. Here is John Calvin's analysis of this remarkable answer to the question "Who is a ladder?"

"It is Christ alone, therefore, who connects heaven and earth: he is the only Mediator who reaches from heaven down to earth: he is the medium through which the fullness of all celestial blessings flows down to us, and through which we, in turn, ascend to God. He it is who, being the head over angels, causes them to minister to his earthly members. Therefore, (as we read in John 1:51,) he properly claims for himself this honor, that after he shall have been manifested in the world, angels shall ascend and descend. If, then, we say that the ladder is a figure of Christ, the exposition will not be forced. For the similitude of a ladder well suits the Mediator, through whom ministering angels, righteousness and life, with all the graces of the Holy Spirit, descend to us step by step. We also, who were not only fixed to the earth, but plunged into the depths of the curse, and into hell itself, ascend even unto God. Also, the God of hosts is seated on the ladder; because the fullness of the Deity dwells in Christ; and hence also it is, that it reaches unto heaven."

And what does all this have to do with helping those mourning the loss of a loved one? It is through the work of Jesus that we have the hope of seeing them again. Christ is a stable ladder between heaven and earth. Anyone who dies in the Lord is safe in Him. That does not take away all our pain, but it does give us a secure hope, both for us and for our loved ones, that can never be taken away.