“Jesus: The Only Bridge To Heaven”
Text: John 14:1-14
5-3-2026
In the name of Him who is the way, the truth, and the life, dear friends in Christ. Have you ever heard of the “Devil’s Bridges” located across Europe? There are dozens of them that were built mainly during medieval times. The reason they’re called “devil’s” bridges is because of the danger involved in building a passageway across a nearly impossible valley or chasm. So, as the stories go, either the devil himself built the bridges or some human had to sell their soul to the devil in order to have the ability to do it. Now, you may view that as silly superstition because, after all, our bridges here in America are safe. Really? There have been other similar disasters, but what about the I-35 bridge that collapsed near Minneapolis in 2007. 13 people died and many others were injured. After lots of investigation, the cause of the collapse was “design error.” That inspired transportation departments all the across the country to examine the bridges along our nation’s roadways. That way people can know for sure if they’re safe and can be trusted.
I got to wondering. What would it take for us to exercise the same kind of cautious examination of a more important bridge—our spiritual bridge? What am I talking about? Well, concentrating on the words of Jesus in our text where He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” Martin Luther repeatedly used the illustration of Christ being our “bridge.” He’s our bridge between heaven and earth, that is to say, our bridge between God and sinful humans. Now obviously there is no design error in this bridge which God has provided. It’s perfect because God is holy and perfect. This bridge can be totally trusted without any fear of failure. It never needs to be closed for repairs or replaced.
So, if that’s the case, why then would we need a careful examination of this spiritual Bridge? Well, the devil and the world have actively sought to block and destroy this bridge between us and God, along with offering alternative bridges constructed by devious, sinful minds. They’ve bombarded us with the message that God’s bridge is not trustworthy, and that it needs “updating.” We’ll examine some of those humanly designed bridges, and hopefully you’ll see the grave danger involved in attempting to reach God by these faulty ways. The grave danger is not falling into a raging river and drowning or falling to your death in a deep ravine. The danger in trying to cross on any other bridge than Jesus Christ is the fall into eternal destruction in hell.
The fact that there are alternative, spiritual bridges offered to us, shows that humans recognize that there is a huge chasm between God and man. Think of this chasm like the Grand Canyon. There is no way that you can take a running leap and make it across. You’d die trying. And that’s true of our separation from God. The Grand Canyon was carved out by the erosion of the Colorado River. Well, sin has caused the erosion which created the huge chasm between heaven and earth. And the question throughout the ages has been how to bridge that deadly gap. Over the centuries, mankind has tried to design and build their own spiritual bridges to God. Some of them look very attractive, but they all lead to destruction.
One such bridge is the religion of Islam. Their holy book, the Quran says obedience to the law is the bridge to God. Strictly adhering to the law supposedly constructs this bridge. Do more good than bad deeds and you will bridge the chasm. But there’s also a “superhighway bridge” of sorts: if you die as a martyr for the Islamic faith. The terrorists who crashed the airplanes on 9/11 were counting on it for their salvation. These guys violated numerous Islamic laws such as drinking alcohol and going to strip clubs. But no problem. They were confident in the bridge they thought they were constructing by sacrificing their lives. But Muslims deny that Jesus is the Son of God and that His death on the cross is the only atoning sacrifice for our sins. So, their bridge is non-existent and eternal destruction awaits them.
Even though Christianity has the same roots as the Jewish faith, there is a fatal flaw in it. Yes, the Jews believe in the God of the Old Testament. But like Muslims they deny Jesus Christ as the Son of God and our only bridge to the Father. They also deny the existence of the Holy Spirit. It’s like building a bridge one third of the way across the Grand Canyon. It’s not complete. Without the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, you don’t have the complete, Triune God. You can’t have one without the other, as we see from Christ’s own words in our Gospel text. Judaism is another deadly bridge to try and cross on.
Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are both in the same boat. Once again, you have a denial of the Trinity. But the really devious thing about these two humanly constructed bridges to God is that they both claim to be Christian. They purport to offer the same bridge as what true Christianity trusts in. In fact, they each accept the Bible as their holy book. But they distort and dismantle its contents, then add a bunch of their own fake materials, and attempt to construct a bridge to heaven out of their conglomerated spiritual mish mash. Its faulty and won’t stand. It won’t support those who seek to traverse the chasm between God and man. Eternal destruction also awaits them. We can lump Hinduism and the New Age Movement together because both teach reincarnation as a tenet of faith. You work hard at living the best life you can and when you die, you come back again in a higher form of being. And you keep trying with the hopes of finally reaching the Godhead. No bridge involved here. It’s more like taking a running leap at the Grand Canyon, falling to your death, then coming back to life, climbing back to where you started and making another run at it. Foolish, to say the least.
Now that’s the religions outside Christianity. Within Christ’s Church we must also be cautious and examine the “bridge” that’s being offered. The foundational truth of Jesus Christ as the only bridge to God is often there. But sometimes distortions have been added which act like barriers that may very well cause people to veer off the bridge. For instance, there are some churches that teach you must somehow contribute to your salvation. You either have to “make a decision” to follow Jesus, or prepare your heart for the Holy Spirit to do His work, or live by some very strict rules. Some teach that you yourself are responsible for paying the price for the sins you commit in this life. If that sounds dangerously like what the Muslims believe, it is. Except in this case, it’s an addition to the redeeming value of Christ’s death. Regardless, all of this is a dangerous distortion because it implies that the work of Jesus on the cross was not complete, which in turn implies that this bridge cannot be totally trusted.
There are also those who focus their preaching on social justice, or tolerance of deviant behaviors, and some emphasize the environment. These too are distractions and barriers to the true bridge of the Gospel. Yes, we are to be concerned for our fellow man and be good stewards of the earth. But the primary truth of the Gospel is that Christ Jesus died for us sinners. Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That’s why, for more than 500 years, the Lutheran Church has rejected the practice of praying to or through the saints. Jesus says that there is no other connection to God the Father than through Him. He, and He alone, is the only bridge between God and man. All of these distortions can be very dangerous for any soul that may trust in them.
I heard a story of two guys who were standing on a corner, holding up signs that said, “Turn back now before it’s too late!” A fancy car driven by a young, well-dressed lawyer pulled up, read the sign, and then yelled out the window, “Go home you bunch of religious fanatics!” He stepped on the gas and zoomed around the corner as the two men yelled, “Stop! Turn back before it’s too late!” Next thing they heard was a huge crash. And the one guy looked at the other and said, “Do you suppose we ought to change our sign to simply read ‘Bridge Out’?”
I know, you’re thinking, “No great loss. It was just a lawyer.” But all kidding aside, we have an obligation to our fellow man to warn them of the dangers of trying to reach God on a spiritual bridge which will mean their eternal destruction. There is only one bridge to God, and that’s Jesus Christ. All human attempts, no matter how attractive, are faulty bridges that lead to destruction. Out of Christian love, we have an obligation to help our fellow man recognize the dangerous barriers they encounter which may cause them to veer off the true bridge of salvation. We too need to regularly examine what we believe about this bridge to God. The Bible is the manual that we can use to see if the bridge we are trusting in is trustworthy and true.
My Mom was deathly afraid of bridges. She couldn’t stand the thought of crashing into the water or a ravine beneath the bridge if it failed. No matter how well constructed, she didn’t trust them. Thankfully though, we don’t have to fear the true bridge to heaven, which is Jesus Christ. He is completely trustworthy and will never fail us. By God’s grace, we are given this reliable bridge in Holy Baptism.
But not only is Christ the bridge on which we cross, but He’s also the truth which leads us. Taught by His Word and fed by His Sacrament He guides us along on the only way to God in heaven. When we cross a high bridge in this world, we may get scared or dizzy looking over the edge. Sin and temptation can do the same thing to us spiritually. But Jesus directs our focus to Him so that we don’t get distracted and fall away from Him. Examining the safety of that bridge by looking into God’s Word, we can be assured that we are indeed on the only trustworthy bridge to God and to eternal life. And by faith, we will continue to be led from earth to heaven on this bridge, which is Jesus—who is the ONLY way. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!