He [the Lord] asked me, “Son of man, can these
bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
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.’”
Ezekiel 37:4-6 New International Version (NIV)
Then he [the Lord] 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. 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.’”
Ezekiel 37:11-14 (NIV)
We must perceive the contemporary significance of the passage in a broader context than that of the theology of individual resurrection. The valley of dry bones typifies the human race as a whole, exiled from God their Creator, and therefore missing that fulness of life which God has planned for every creature. And the proclamation of the prophet becomes the proclamation of the gospel, that there may be a fulness of life for all mankind in a new land. For the valley is like the world as a whole, populated by those who live (as did the exiles) but in truth have no life. And the message of hope to those in exile may become a message of hope to all: it is that the Spirit of God imparts fulness of life to all creatures.
- Peter C. Craigie The Daily Study Bible Series: Ezekiel. p. 261.
This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses,the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:16-19 (NIV)
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city,
a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout,
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him. So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.”
Immediately he received his sight and followed
Jesus along the road.
Mark 10:46-52 (NIV)
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed [—and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had]. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him,
“Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat
and walk.” At once the man was cured;
he picked up his mat and walked.
John 5:1-8a (NIV)
“God specializes in giving people a fresh start.” – Rick Warren
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17 new living translation (NLT)