The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883. It connected Manhattan and Brooklyn for the first time. Before the bridge, the two cities were separated by the East River, and the only way to cross was by ferry. The bridge transformed transportation and commerce, allowing people and goods to move more freely. It also symbolized American innovation, as it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion. The bridge not only became a vital infrastructure piece but also a symbol of unity between the two boroughs. Before the bridge was constructed, Brooklyn was an independent city. This bridge served as a link and a unifier that brought Brooklyn into New York. The Brooklyn Bridge was also a social equalizer in its early days. The pedestrian walkway provided access for people of all classes to cross between the boroughs, making the bridge not only a tool for commerce but also for social interaction and community-building. It became a place where people from all walks of life could gather and have access regardless of ethnicity, income, or gender.
In the book of Genesis, we read about a major problem, a division that arises. A shattering of creation and of relationships. A divide greater than the East river.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””
Genesis 2:15-17 ESV
It is the Lord that put Adam and Eve in the garden, and as we know, they are deceived and choose disobedience. Genesis 3:8-10 says that their sin lead them to hide, to separate themselves from God. And later in Genesis 3:21-24 God sacrifices for them (an important fact not to miss) but still sends them out. Eden is no longer accessible for them. The chasm is impassible. But a bridge will one day be built.
In John 1:51, Jesus said to Nathanael, “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This powerful image gives us a picture of Jesus as the link between heaven and earth, between God and humanity. He connects the divine to the human, offering us reconciliation with God and access to eternal life. Jesus is that “bridge” between heaven and earth. A bridge that unifies us with the City of God. Gives us access to Eden again. A bridge that anyone can cross regardless of their station in life. A bridge that is actively inviting humanity to cross it.
1. Jesus is the Only Way to the Father
Remember in Gen 2:15 (God put Adam in the garden & Gen 3:21-24 God sent them out of the garden?
In John 14:6, Jesus boldly declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This statement is central to our understanding of how Jesus functions as the bridge. There is no other path, no other way to cross from death to life, from alienation to reconciliation, from earth to heaven.
The world may offer various paths, but Jesus is the exclusive way that leads to eternal life. He is not just a bridge among many, but the bridge. The only way to overcome the spiritual death we face is through faith in His work on the cross.
“”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
Through Him, we have been given the gift of salvation and the assurance of eternal life. Jesus not only bridges our life on earth to a relationship with God, but He bridges our earthly existence to eternal life. In John 11:25-26, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
There is this scene in Return of the King…part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy…a hobbit named Pippin is despairing about the looming death. They are surrounded and besieged. The enemy is at the gates, and he says I never thought it would end like this. Then Gandalf, a wizard (and Jesus figure of Tolkien’s universe) responds, “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it. White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.”
Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate victory over death, ensuring that for those who believe, death is not the end but a doorway into eternal life. Through His resurrection, Jesus has bridged the gap between time and eternity, bringing us the hope of everlasting life in heaven with God.
2. Jesus Bridges the Gap of Separation
The story of humanity begins in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect communion with God. In Gen 2:16-17 God laid out the promise of life and death. However, we know what they chose. Through sin, a great chasm formed between humanity and God.
Isaiah 59:2 says ““but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Sin brought separation, death, and estrangement from the holy God who desires fellowship with His creation.
But God, in His love, had a plan from the beginning—to reconcile the world to Himself through Jesus. Romans 5:10 reminds us, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Jesus came to heal this separation. Through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, He became the bridge that spans the chasm created by sin. On the cross, He bore our sins, making it possible for us to be restored to a right relationship with God. He became the mediator, the high priest who represents us before the Father (Hebrews 9:15).
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:22-23 ESV
3. Jesus Gives Us Access to the Father
Back in Gen 3:8-10 Adam and Eve chose to separate themselves from God because of their sin and shame. with John 8:12 and John 10:27-28
Because Jesus has bridged the gap, we don’t have to hide. We now actually have direct access to the Father. Hebrews 4:16 tells us, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” This verse is the response to Genesis 3:10.
Before Christ, such direct access was unthinkable. God’s holiness was too great, and our sin too grievous. Access was limited to the high priest who could only enter the holy of holies once a year to make atonement. Reading about this in Leviticus should give us a deep appreciation for God’s holiness and for Christ’s sacrifice which tore the veil on our behalf. Now, through Christ, we can come boldly to the Father in prayer and worship. Not once a year, but every single day of our lives.
God didn’t let Genesis 3:10 be the end of the story. Not for Adam and Eve, not for you and not for me.
Our story is not one of hiding in the dark, but thriving in the light. When Jesus calls, we don’t cower, we come running. Jesus said in John 10, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28 ESV) We are safely held by our savior, the Bridge over that great chasm of our sin.
4. Jesus, the Bridge to a New Creation
Not only does Jesus bridge the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God, but He also ushers in a new creation. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Jesus reconciles us to God, transforming us and making us a new creation. This is the beauty of the gospel—through Jesus, heaven breaks into our lives, even here on earth.
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
Philippians 3:20 ESV
Heaven is not just a future hope; it is a present reality for those who are in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, the power of the coming Kingdom is already at work in us, and we are called to be ambassadors of this new creation, living as citizens of heaven even while we still walk this earth.
But He is also the bridge to that future reality. The one that envisions an entirely new home.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”
Revelation 21:1-6 ESV
Let this one great, gracious, glorious fact lie in your spirit until it permeates all your thoughts and makes you rejoice even though you are without strength. Rejoice that the Lord Jesus has become your strength and your song – He has become your salvation.
To end this evening we are going to have some time together with our brothers and sisters. I’d like for each of us to speak life to someone at their table, some encouragement, and pray over each other. We won’t have a last song, so when everyone is wrapping up we will all take communion together as one.
For Common Ground 