Dry Bones and Deep Promises

May 14th, 2025
by Michael Heiden

Resurrection hope isn’t new.
It was the plan the whole time.

One of the most earth-shattering movies of my youth was The Sixth Sense.
SPOILER ALERT: The little boy sees dead people—and Bruce Willis is one of them! When you rewatch the movie, the clues were there all along. The twist still shocks you, even though the evidence was always in plain sight.

Easter was the ultimate plot twist—only, it had been promised all along.

The tomb was empty. Death was defeated. Jesus was alive.
It was quite literally an earth-shattering event.
And yet, the evidence for it was everywhere—hidden in plain sight throughout the story of Scripture.

Jesus even confirms this on the road to Emmaus.
It’s the day of the resurrection. Two believers are walking, confused by the news of the empty tomb…
…and Jesus shows up.
They don’t recognize Him at first, but He gently reveals that His death and resurrection weren’t a detour—they were always the destination.

Luke 24:26–27:
“Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

This resurrection hope wasn’t just for Jesus—it’s for us.
He is the firstfruits of what is to come (1 Corinthians 15:20).
And as in all of life—and now, even through death—we follow our Messiah.

What scriptures was Jesus referencing that day? Let’s look at three:

Job 19:25–27
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

Psalm 27:13–14
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

Ezekiel 37:1–6
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 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: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life… Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

What does this mean for you?

Resurrection is not a modern idea. It is the ancient, original hope.
God has always been faithful to His word and promises.
And in Christ, you’ve been grafted into that same promise.

You are part of something bigger than yourself.
As Paul says in Romans 6:
“…just as Christ was raised from the dead… you too shall rise.”