(Matthew 19:13-15)
At this time the people were bringing children to Jesus to have him lay his hands on them and pray. They were seeking for the Lord to bless their children.
However as often happens, the people around the Lord, his disciples, were “running interference” to try and “protect” Jesus from these interruptions. Imagine the personal assistant of a major corporation CEO who acts as gatekeeper to ensure the boss isn’t disturbed by the unimportant masses and you’ll get the idea.
However Jesus was showing a principle in his actions. Between Jesus and man there are no gatekeepers. We all have direct access to him at any time. This was the key point he was making to ensure the disciples and the rest of his followers from then on recognised that there were to be no gatekeepers getting in the way. Likewise there were to be no gatekeepers to prevent people from coming to the disciples.
Jesus said in this section to let the children come to him. Now he was concerned about the children of course, but the point he was making were in his following words, “…do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Verse 14) The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who become like children. It belongs to those who are humble, innocent and open like children. Jesus made this point earlier in chapter 18 when the disciples asked him who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
We see also that Paul made the point that there are no gatekeepers saying, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5) No one stands between God and us and no one can act as gatekeeper between God and man as that is the position that Jesus holds. No man has the right to take the place of Christ and no man can stand as gatekeeper between man and God. We are all equals in Christ, brothers and sisters in the Lord and no person has the right or authority to Lord it over another in Christ.
Hi! I’m John, the owner, author, and editor of this site. Over the past 50+ years as a Christian I have been teaching, preaching and writing about the Bible to help Christians gain a deeper insight into the scriptures that are easily understood. I also answer specific Bible related questions, so feel free to contact me.
Comments
6 responses to “No Gatekeepers between Man and God”
What do you think when someone believe they have the power to pray for you because they believe you are a sinner? I always thought we can’t put ourselves above noone. And if we pray we should pray for our own sins.
Hi Elfriede. Every person has the right to pray for others and especially when they see someone suffering in some way, whether through sin or otherwise. However no one should judge another person for we are not to judge each other. If someone is praying in a judgmental manner then they have a problem. But if they are praying for another person asking that The Lord will help them, then that is OK. When they judge they are saying they are better than the other person, but when they pray with a godly attitude seeking the help and salvation of the other person they are seeking to build them up rather than put them down. I hope this answers your question. God bless.
I am catholic and as of now going church of born again christian. As I have been going their every Sunday I’ve found out in timothy 2:5 that their is only one mediator between man and God, Jesus. I’m so confused about I’ve been hearing in TV specially at EWTN that we have to ask help to Mary if we want some blessings to Jesus. My question is why is it they instill to our mind that we have to go to Mary when the priest knows very well the words of the bible. In my own opinion we will just honor Mary but not to be worshiped.
Your question is a good one. The key to this is what is written in the Bible. Nowhere in the Bible does it say or even hint that we are to worship men or women. Nowhere does the Bible say we are to worship Mary. This is a false teaching. We are not even to worship the angels who are spiritual beings. These two matters are shown in two separate scriptures. First as to the worship of men, we see when Peter first brought the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles, Cornelius fell to worship Peter. But Peter said to him, “Stand up, I too am a man.” (Acts 10:26) Then in Revelation John fell at the feet of the angel but was told by the angel not to worship him. He said, “”You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” (Rev 22:9) So if the Bible tells us not to worship man nor to worship the angels, we should not do it. Mary was certainly a chosen vessel of God to give birth to Jesus. She was no doubt a righteous woman and greatly blessed by God, but nowhere in the Bible does it say we are we required to worship Mary. In fact if we do worship Mary, Peter or any of the other saints or so-called saints, then we are not worshipping God. The angel told John to worship God. Likewise God the Father said to Peter, James and John in the transfiguration to listen to Jesus. (Matthew 17:1-9) If you are seeking the blessings of God, go to Jesus. Pray to God directly. You do not need to go through Mary or any of the saints for Jesus said that, “I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) The teachings of praying to Mary or the saints or angels are teachings of men and not of God. They are quite wrong and are not supported anywhere in the Bible and so should be rejected.
I read 1Timothy2.5 and it clearly tells me that Jesus IS the gatekeeper for God. Maybe there is no gatekeeper for Jesus, but 1Timothy2.5 tells me that there is one for God. If God and Jesus are the same, why are they described as two distinct entities? In my view God is God – there is no other.
Hi Bill,
Thanks for the comment. You are correct in saying that Jesus is the gatekeeper between man and God as it says in 1 Timothy 2:5. I said exactly the same thing in the last paragraph of this blog entry too, which perhaps you missed. In the third paragraph I made the point that there were no gatekeepers between man and Jesus Christ and perhaps this has confused you. If so please accept my apology. My concern, which I see often in the churches today, is that men are trying to set themselves up as gatekeepers to Christ and that should not be the case. We each will stand before God on the day of judgement to give account and no man will act as advocate for us. The only one who can mediate for man before God the Father is Jesus Christ as you have noted. I hope this clears the confusion.
God bless,
John