The Bridge Who Closes The Gap
July 27, 2025
Pastor John Hering
1 Timothy 2:1–7
1 Timothy 2:1–7
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, in order that we might live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this testimony, I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I speak the truth; I am not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
The DFW area is growing like crazy! Places like Garland and Rowlett used to be the distant suburbs of Dallas. But today approximately 300 people move into the Dallas area every day! Add to that the approximately 280 births per day (let’s thank the Ledermann’s for adding to this number) and it helps us understand how important community bridges & infrastructure is to serve so many people. Need a visual? When was the last time you drove down I-30 to Rockwall! They are building an 8-lane bridge in each direction! With all these people moving into our area and all the construction that is happening, we can really appreciate Paul’s encouragement today,
“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, in order that we might live a quiet and peaceful life.”
While we are so thankful for the bridges that bring convenience to our lives, today St Paul directs our attention to Jesus—The Bridge! God has given us the privilege to pray through Jesus. Jesus is the Bridge that closes the gap between God and us. Therefore, may the Holy Spirit inspire us to
Pray To Jesus—The Bridge Who Closes The Gap
1. Costly
When I started talking about bridges did you think of any famous ones like the Golden Gate Bridge? I did! I thought of the bridge I recently drove over that connects southern Alabama to Dauphin Island. This bridge is 4 miles long with a super tall point so massive ships can pass under it. Obviously, it cost millions to build this bridge. Compare that to a decorative bridge you might find at a Japanese restaurant. While I’m sure it was costly, it doesn’t come close to the cost of building 4 mile or 16 lane bridges today! Either way we rely on engineering, construction plans and technology to build these bridges.
I wonder how long it would take to build a bridge from the USA to Europe? (Pause). We would agree that the engineering, time and cost of such a bridge would make it impossible to build. If you think that is impossible, stop to think of the possibility of building a bridge between yourself and God! It is humanly impossible. And even if we could build such a bridge, God would not let sinful people cross it into his holy presence anyway. Sometimes I think we forget this. Every time we prioritize something else over God, the bridge falls apart. When we put career, relationship or family before God, the bridge falls apart. When lust for flesh, money and material things is more important to us than God, the bridge falls apart. When our opinions and self-promotion outrank what God commands in his Holy Word, the bridge falls apart. Too often we forget that our sinful thoughts, words and deeds have offended our God, and in turn we waffle in our appreciation for Jesus—the Bridge between us and God. Our God is a holy and just God who will not allow sinful people to pollute his crystal pure presence.
When we humbly bow before God’s holiness, then we are ready to appreciate how loving and merciful he is. Paul wrote,
“3 This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
What is good and pleasing in his sight? That he finds people who appreciate the cost of what Jesus the Bridge Builder did for them to re-establish our relationship to the Father through his life, death and resurrection. Then, as a fruit of thankful faith, offer their prayers on behalf of others. Jesus was able to build this bridge because he was true man who placed himself under God’s demands and did what we couldn’t do—live perfectly for us. Jesus was able to build this bridge because he was true God, with the powerful resources of his precious blood to build the bridge for all people. Yes, dear friends, Pray To Jesus—The Bridge Who Closes The Gap with his Costly life!
“6 who gave himself as a ransom for all.”
You know the word “ransom.” It is the price to pay to set one free, or for our discussion today, to pay the toll to cross the bridge! Jesus not only paid the COST of our sins (eternal damnation), but he also gained for us the HOLINESS we needed. How costly? It cost him his life! The cost is paid and the bridge is
2. Complete
St Paul makes this clear as he wrote,
“5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”
A bridge that is half built or broken does no one any good. Of the 56,729 bridges in the state of Texas, 695 are classified as structurally deficient. We know the bridge Jesus built is complete because it’s working! There is nothing left to do to make our Saving Bridge to God more real or more perfect and usable. Remember what Jesus shouted from the cross,
“It is finished!”
John 19:30
The Bridge between God and sinners is complete, and because it is,
“12 In [Christ] we can freely approach God with confidence through faith in him”
Ephesians 3:12
There is another sense that we can see that Jesus has completed the bridge for us. While we can be confident the bridge is complete, it doesn’t do anyone any good if it can’t be used. Here’s an example. Let’s say two cities across the river from each other. We’ll call one town, “Car City” and the other town “Gas City.” They needed each other’s products. They decided to build a bridge but after completion of the bridge they decided to charge $1000 toll per person to cross it. I might say it like this, “The bridge was built for you, and now, all you have to do is pay for it!” Who could afford that!?!
What if Jesus—The Completed Bridge to God, was only able to be used or affordable for some? What if God said, “Jesus completed your salvation and now all you have to do is….” But, Jesus took that worry away! Listen to Paul,
“5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all.”
This is the most important truth of the Bible (objective justification) and the most comforting doctrine of Lutheranism. The work of Jesus Christ is complete for all people. The only way to miss out is to say, “I don’t want this free gift of God’s grace. I don’t need it. I don’t want it.” Dear Friends, the Holy Spirit wants us to Pray To Jesus—The Bridge Who Closes the Gap and rejoice in his
3. Comfort
If you walked up to someone today and said, “The Department of Transportation in Texas has fixed all the bridges in the state,” I don’t think they would get goosebumps. But, if you were in Kerrville during the floods and saw people trapped with the waters rising and yell, “The bridge is finished! Cross over it to safety!” Then your call out to that person would mean the difference between life and death. Hearing that the bridge was complete would give hope and comfort!
The Apostle Paul had his heart comforted by the Good News of Jesus Christ because he knew what would have happened to him without Jesus—The Bridge to God. He said earlier in his letter,
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst”
1 Timothy 1:15
And what happened when he learned that Jesus was the Bridge to God?
“But I was shown mercy for this reason….and was appointed a herald and …. a teacher of the Gentiles”
1 Timothy 1:16; 2:7
The comfort Paul received from the Gospel was a message and gift he couldn’t help but share with other people. He wanted other people to have the same hope, peace, joy and comfort he had so he proclaimed Jesus—The Bridge To God that has been paid, that is complete, and that brings us Comfort!
Our gracious Lord God has given us the same privilege and purpose of praying to him today. Here is Paul’s encouragement,
“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, in order that we might live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and dignity.”
So we pray for peace where there is war, so we can share the comfort we have in Jesus—The Bridge to God. We pray for our church leaders so we can be guided by the Lord to proclaim Jesus—The Bridge to God to people in our neighborhood. We pray for ourselves to use our time, talents and treasures to share Jesus with our FRAN network (Family, Relatives, Acquaintances, Neighbors) about Jesus—The Bridge to God.
The Dallas area is growing like crazy! We are reminded of this every time we see a bridge. May we also be reminded of sharing Jesus—The Bridge Who Closes the Gap to God who paid the cost that is complete and brings us comfort. Jesus—the Good Shepherd, the Light, the Gate, the Bread of Life is also our Bridge! Dear friends, Keep on Crossing it! Amen!
