Fellow-Redeemed,
In a room beneath the football stadium at the
University of Tennessee, there are boxes and boxes of dry bones. Complete
skeletons of all sizes and parts of skeletons are there. They are part of the
Forensic Pathology Dept. Here is the question? Can these bones live?
That was the very question the Holy Spirit
asked the prophet Ezekiel during Israel’s captivity in Babylon. The Spirit
showed the prophet a valley floor full of very dry bones. There was only one
thing that could bring those bones back to life- the Word of the LORD. The
Spirit told Ezekiel to speak that Word of the LORD to those dry bones and the
prophet obeyed.
What was the result? The Holy Spirit Conscripts A Vast Army. There was of course deeper
meaning and application there. The Spirit explained it at the end of our
reading. He would conscript an army from spiritual corpses. He would conscript
an army by the power of God’s Word.
Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones
was not a vision of the physical resurrection of all the dead on Judgment Day.
The book of Revelation calls this “the
second resurrection.” Ezekiel’s vision was of the conversion of many among
God’s chosen nation. This is the spiritual resurrection from the death of
unbelief to the life of faith. Revelation calls this “the first resurrection.” You and I experienced the first
resurrection at the baptismal font.
God’s Old Testament visible church, Judah,
had become a lifeless corpse. Six centuries before Jesus’ birth, the Holy
Spirit would breathe new life into hearts. By doing so, the Spirit conscripts a
vast army of believers. Jesus sent his Holy Spirit on the Old Testament
Festival of Pentecost 50 days after his resurrection to continue this creation
of saints in earnest from among the Gentiles as well as from the Jews. This
conscription continues today as the Word of the Lord calls sinners to
repentance and faith by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The prophet gave the right answer when the
Spirit asked him, “Can these bones live? He
said, “O sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
When we take the Word of the Lord out only the Lord knows if that person
will believe it or not. Ezekiel’s vision shows us that just as these dry bones
could live by the power of God’s Word, so those like us who are by nature dead
in our trespasses and sins can live by the power of the Word.
The new life that fills the dead hearts of
spiritual corpses is Christ’s life. Paul reminds us that as we were baptized
into Christ’s death we also are raised up in his new life. Jesus’ death is ours
and so is Jesus’ life. It is not our physical resurrection although that is
real also. It is our new life of faith from spiritual death, i.e. unbelief. The
Holy Spirit accomplishes that new life in us from beginning to end by God’s
gracious calling.
As a nation, Judah was dead. God promised
them new life. They would again manifest God’s glory by their faith. The
faithful would return to Jerusalem in full forgiveness and restoration. The
Spirit told Ezekiel to prophesy for the LORD, “I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will
bring you back to the land of Israel.”
Because of my sins I am by nature lifeless,
listless and hopeless. We are like those dry bones littering the valley floor.
We have no natural desire to live in Christ. We have no natural ability to do
so. What has the Holy Spirit done for us? With the good news of full
forgiveness in Christ Jesus he calls us to live. Paul wrote to the Ephesians in
chapter 2, “Because of his great love for
us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead
in our transgressions…It is by grace you have been saved.”
Pentecost Sunday reminds us of the way the
Holy Spirit conscripted a vast army among Israel. Peter and the other disciples
conscripted a vast army for the quick and vast increase in the church’s size.
Like Ezekiel Peter conscripts this army by the power of God’s Word.
Pentecost is not so much about the miracle of
speaking in known languages to the large crowds in Jerusalem as it is about
what those languages conveyed. They conveyed “the wonders of God” especially the death and resurrection of the
Savior of the world.
Through Peter and the other disciples the
Holy Spirit applied the hammer of the law to crush self-righteous hearts, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of
this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Take
those words to your hearts. We crucified Christ by our sins and guilt. Cry out
with Peter’s hearers, cut to the heart by the law, “What shall we do?” Peter applied the sweet and healing gospel that
purifies hearts as David wrote in Psalm 51, “Cleanse
me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” Peter
invited them, “Repent and be baptized,
every one of you for the forgiveness of your sins.”
The Holy Spirit brought into the church about
3,000 souls that day. Like Ezekiel before him and God’s faithful spokesmen
since him Peter prophesied the Word of the Lord. “Hear the Word of the Lord, ‘I will make breath enter you, and you will
come to life.” The Holy Spirit continues and will continue to conscript a
vast army of believers as we faithfully proclaim both law and gospel.
As we tie Ascension and Pentecost which
historically are 10 days apart the Spirit strengthens our hearts and our
resolve even in the midst of the spiritual battles in these last days. Our
Ascended Lord lives and reigns and has all his enemies under his feet. He rules
all things for the good of his church.
He continues to send the Holy Spirit through
the gospel in Word and sacrament to “Create
in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” I may not ever
know before the fact which dry bones will come to life when I share the Word of
the Lord but I know they can and will as God desires and works.
There is no human word that can bring to life
those boxes of dry bones down in Knoxville. Someday God will restore them at
the resurrection of the dead. In the meantime a greater resurrection and
restoration daily takes place. By the Word of the Lord, the Holy Spirit calls,
gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church. To those who are
cut to the heart by their sins God’s Word is life giving, “The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far
off - for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Amen. <SDG>