Ezekiel 37:1-28, Jesus’ Resurrection, my resurrection, our resurrectio…

Ezekiel 37:1-28, Jesus’ Resurrection, my resurrection, our resurrection

 Today is Easter Sunday, the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Let us greet each other. “Jesus is risen, my resurrection, our resurrection!”(twice). Amen. Jesus conquered death and was resurrected. He conquered the devil, sin and the curse. He conquered the world and darkness. Jesus is risen, my resurrection, our resurrection! Thank you, Jesus.  Ezekiel 37 shows us the Lord of resurrection and life who conquered death through the vision of the “valley of dry bones.” I hope we can apply it to our lives today.
1. Speak to the reality of despair (1-6)
 2,000 years ago, Jesus bore the sins of mankind and died miserably on the cross. When people saw Him, they thought, “He is finished, dead and buried, and now it is the end. Now the people of Israel have lost their homeland and are in complete despair.” One day, Ezekiel was led to a valley full of dry bones. However, these dry bones come back to life through the word of God and the Holy Spirit. The very dry bones are the Israelites who have lost hope, the living Spirit of life that revives them. Are you in a situation where recovery is impossible? Does it seem impossible to restore relationships, health, vision, or faith? God asks (3). “Son of man, can these bones live?” God asks a question of hope. Ezekiel answers. “O Lord God, you know.” Even if it is impossible for humans, all things are possible for God. Jesus’ death and burial in the grave are not the end. God tells us to prophesy(4–6). “Prophesy to these bones and say to them(4).” The Word has the power to bring about life. When we obey this Word, the work of life occurs(7–10). Through the Word, bones are connected and tendons and flesh are added(8). When life(the Holy Spirit) enters, we come to life and become a great army(10). The Word of life and the Spirit of life completely restore us. The Lord promises resurrection and restoration(11–14). “I will open your graves and bring you out into the land of Israel(12-13).” The bones come out of the graves and come back to life. The people will be freed from the captivity of despair, and Israel will be restored with new life. Furthermore, they will experience eschatological resurrection and new life.

2. The power of resurrection restores unity and oneness (15-28)
 God tells Ezekiel to join two sticks into one. This is a symbol of restoration, uniting Israel and Judah, which had been divided. It is a promise to bring them together and establish them again as a kingdom ruled by one king. And God promises to be with them forever. 1) God who unites them again(15-20): Israel and Judah had been divided for a long time, but God unites them by joining two sticks into one(19). “You will be one in my hand.” The one who unites the divided is the resurrected Jesus. What are the divided hearts or relationships within me or within the community? Who can resolve them? 2) Uniting under one king and one shepherd(21–24). God promises to establish “one King and one Shepherd”(24) and make all the people one. This king and shepherd is David, and ultimately refers to Jesus Christ. True unity is only possible under Christ. *Do I truly accept Jesus as my King and Shepherd? Is the resurrected Jesus, the living Lord, the Lord in every area of ​​my life? Or am I the Lord? 3) A holy people with God(25–28). God says, “I will put my sanctuary among them.” This is the vision of Emmanuel, the people with God. A holy people is not simply those who keep the law, but those who live with the resurrected Lord. Am I living a life in fellowship with the Lord? How real is God’s presence in my daily life?

3. Application: 1) What is “the tomb of Jesus and the dry bones that Ezekiel saw” today? A state of spiritual dryness. Broken homes, broken relationships, fading visions and passions. We are in a valley of dry bones, but God begins new life there. 2) Listen to the Word of Life and speak out. Change begins when you hear, meditate on, and proclaim the Word of God. Be lips that proclaim the Word of God’s life, not words of discouragement. 3) Long for the life of the Holy Spirit. We need the ‘life’ of life(the Holy Spirit), not just ‘form.’ When the Holy Spirit of life comes upon the Word, the bones become a living, moving army.

Conclusion: The text goes beyond the simple restoration of Israel and gives us a message of hope for today. Even in areas of our lives that seem like dry bones, when the Word of God comes and the Holy Spirit blows, they can come back to life. “The coming to life of dead bones is not a miracle, but God’s promise.” We all believe in Jesus, who overcame death and was resurrected. Are we or our circumstances like dead, dry bones? Do we think we are buried in a grave and in despair? Even despair to us is hope and life to Jesus. It is resurrection and restoration. May this be an amazing Easter Sunday filled with vitality in the resurrected Jesus, and may you become a people who are victorious every day with the faith of resurrection. Amen.

*Prayer of Decision: God of life, Jesus who overcame the power of sin and death and was resurrected, let me see the dry bones inside me. May the resurrection of Jesus heal my dry bones. May the Holy Spirit of life make me alive. Lord, the resurrected King, heal the divided heart inside me and rule over me as my King. May I become a holy people who walk with the Lord, a life restored by the life of resurrection. Let me live today, now, obeying the Word of life and seeking the vitality of the Holy Spirit. May my life, which seemed dead, leap again with the power of resurrection. May I walk with the Lord of resurrection every day and experience the presence of the Lord of resurrection. I pray in the name of the resurrected Jesus. Amen.