This is The Living Word for Sunday, March 26, 2023 (Lent 5)
• It’s not about dry bones, it’s about revival! This is the exciting work God wants us to join Him in, but the flesh will resist
Ezekiel 37:1-14 — A vision of dry bones brought to life
John 11:1-45 — A miracle resurrects Lazarus and reveals Jesus
Romans 8:6-11 — The domination of the flesh opposes God’s Spirit
Psalm 130:5-8
5-6 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7-8 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption. He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
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Ezekiel 37:1-14 — God gives a vision of dry bones brought to life
• The prophet calls the Holy Spirit to bring resurrection
1-3 The hand of the LORD was on me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, You alone know.”
“He brought me out by the Spirit” — God gave him a detailed, graphic vision.
“Valley… of bones” — a battlefield graveyard representing the spiritual death of the exiles.
4-6 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
“Prophesy” — ‘speak forth’ a declaration in faith.
”I will put breath in you” — ruach means both breath and spirit.
For further study: John 3:1-2. Jesus expected Nicodemus to know this passage and understand new spiritual birth by the Holy Spirit.
7-8 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9-10 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ”
“Prophesy to the breath” —speak in faith to the Spirit. Hence the ancient prayer, “Come Holy Spirit”, inviting His fuller presence. Alludes to the earlier promise of new life: “… I will put My Spirit in you…”, Ezek. 36:16-38.
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.
11-12 Then He said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13-14 Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ”
“I will put My Spirit in you and you will live” — resettlement of exiles; also revival and life of the Holy Spirit in the church following Pentecost.
• For further study, see John 3:5-8; John 11:25-26; Romans 8:9-17; Col. 3:1-4.
Reflection
SUMMARY Ezekiel has a vision of being in the middle of a valley full of dry bones, like a former battleground. The Lord tells him to speak life to the bones and then to speak breath into them.
APPLICATION Ezekiel, an exile prophet, saw his people being restored in a new life in their own land. The vision also confirmed his earlier prophecy of a new, clean and responsive heart filled with God’s Spirit, which Jesus called being reborn from above.
QUESTION How does this passage speak to you of God’s desire for revival?
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John 11:1-45 — A miracle resurrects Lazarus and reveals Jesus
• The seventh of a series of signs showing Jesus to be the Messiah of God
1-3 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
“Bethany” — beside the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem.
4-7 When He heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days, and then He said to His disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
He stayed… two more days” — He loved the family but was obedient to God’s timing, for His greater glory.
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone You, and yet You are going back?”
9-10 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
“Walks in the daytime” — aware of God’s intentions and timing.
11 After He had said this, He went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12-13 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought He meant natural sleep.
14-15 So then He told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
17-20 On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.
Four days — after the soul had finally departed, in folk belief.
21-22 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask.”
23-24 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25-26 Jesus said to her, “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. Do you believe this?”
“I am the resurrection and the life” — Lord of new and eternal life through believing in Him.
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28-31 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33-34 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
“Moved… and troubled” — “a deep anger welled up within Him”, NLT and Message, about the hypocrisy and unbelief of the bystanders, v.37.
35-36 Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
38-39 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” He said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.”
“Cave with a stone… across the entrance” — a typical tomb of a relatively well-off family.
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41-42 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
43-45 When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go. Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.
“Many… believed” — as v.40; others who saw the miracle reported Jesus maliciously to the Pharisees in Jerusalem, v.46.
Reflection
SUMMARY Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is sick, returns to Bethany and discovers that he died and has been in a tomb for four days. Jesus calls the dead man out of the tomb and he appears, restored to life.
APPLICATION Jesus uses this seventh sign of being the Messiah to teach the unforgettable truth that He is the source of new life now, and resurrection to eternal life.
QUESTION What does this story teach us about our prayer and God’s higher purposes?
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Romans 8:6-11 — The domination of the flesh opposes God’s Spirit
• When we become Christians, the flesh nature tries to hold its ground
6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
7-8 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
“Governed by the flesh” — the selfish and independent ‘human’ nature, resisting what God wants for us, is life-sapping, not life-giving.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
“Have the Spirit of Christ” — by deciding to trust Jesus for your salvation and looking to Him as Lord.
10-11 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.
“He who raised Christ” — the Holy Spirit is the all-powerful life-giver and the resurrection of Jesus proves that. To the extent that we invite Him, we find Him empowering and life-giving.
Reflection
SUMMARY After we become Christians, the old flesh life still exerts its selfish pull in a way which is hostile to the life and leading of the Holy Spirit.
APPLICATION Living the new life with Jesus involves constantly choosing for Him over and against the old ways.
QUESTION How do we make room for the Holy Spirit in our lives and worship?
PRAYER Father, as we come to You through Jesus we thank You for new life in Him.
By ourselves we can only die back, but as we look to Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, we find renewal.
May we be strong in You and in our small way, life-giving to others by Your Spirit in us.
Amen.
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- Watch this week’s video (on Substack) Do You Believe God Wants To Breathe New Life Into Us? Also on YouTube (wide) and Instagram (tall)
- – Read this week’s article post (same title)
