The Office Serves; The Word Gives Life

Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Ezekiel must have been a really great preacher to get all those dead bones to come back to life. I mean, just think about that for a moment. Here is the prophet Ezekiel standing in the middle of a valley absolutely littered with dry bones — skulls, ribs, leg bones, and jawbones scattered over the ground—and somehow, by the end of the text, those same bones are standing – alive - as a mighty army. And so, we might be tempted to conclude that Ezekiel must have had tremendous preaching skills. Perhaps he had one of those commanding voices. Maybe he knew exactly how to use the perfect inflection and timing in his preaching. Perhaps he had great persuasive ability, the kind of preacher who knew how to say things in just the right way. Maybe he had remarkable charisma, such that even the dead could not resist listening to him.

But dear friends, when we slow down and examine the Old Testament reading, we quickly realize that this cannot possibly be the point. You see, the point is not that Ezekiel was an extremely gifted preacher. The point is not that he had profound rhetorical skills. The point is not that Ezekiel somehow persuaded the bones to come together. Rather, the point is what the Lord commanded Ezekiel to say: 

“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.” 

There it is! Did you hear it?. That is the hinge of the entire vision.

In other words, this vision has far less to do with Ezekiel himself and far more to do with the Word that is being spoken through Ezekiel. 

Let me explain! 

The issue is not primarily how Ezekiel spoke, but rather what Ezekiel spoke.  

So what did Ezekiel speak?  He spoke the Word of the Lord.

Dear friends, this is what is essential to understand.  It is the Lord’s Word that creates life where there is death. It is the Lord’s Word that gathers what has been scattered. It is the Lord’s Word that gives flesh, breath, and life. Ezekiel is simply the mouth through which the Word is spoken. 

* * *

All of a sudden, this becomes extremely practical.   

You may not realize it, but our liturgy does a huge service to us—perhaps even more than we often appreciate. You see, the liturgy does two things at once. First, it delivers to us the Word of God. It delivers it in spoken, sung, and read forms. The liturgy is absolutely drenched in the Word of God.  Secondly — and this is so very important — the liturgy continually ascribes the Word not to the pastor but to the Lord Himself.

Permit me to explain. 

For fun, let us start at the beginning of the Divine Service. Imagine that the pastor stands, makes the sign of the cross, and says, 

“In the name of Matthew, Reed, Richard. Amen.”

Then, after the confession of sins, imagine if the pastor were to stand up and say, 

“In the stead and by the command of Carlyle Roth, I forgive you all your sins.” 

Or imagine that after the Old Testament reading he were to say, 

“This is the Word of Rev. Richard,”

And the congregation responded, 

“Thanks be to Rev. Richard.” 

Then imagine the Gospel reading ending with, 

“This is the Gospel of Pastor Roth,”

And everyone responds, 

“Praise be to you, O Roth.” 

Dear friends, do you hear how utterly ridiculous this sounds? It sounds absurd, and rightly so. 

And yet, this silly illustration teaches us something profoundly important. The liturgy continually directs our ears and hearts away from the man in the cloth and toward the Lord. We say, “This is the Word of the Lord!”  We do not say that it is the word of the preacher or the word of a personality.  

Baptized Saints, the Word belongs to the Lord, not the man in the cloth.

This is exactly what we see in our Old Testament reading. Ezekiel does not prophesy his own thoughts, his own opinions, or his own wisdom. He says, 

“O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.”

He says, 

“Thus says the Lord God.” 

The content is not Ezekiel’s. The power is not Ezekiel’s. It belongs entirely to the Lord. The prophet is merely a faithful servant; he is the instrument and the mouthpiece.

The same is true with a pastor! When it comes to the office of preaching in the church, it is not necessarily the man who wears the clergy tab that matters. Rather, what matters is what the man is speaking. 

Is the pastor preaching the Word of God? 

Is he proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins? 

Is he delivering Law and Gospel? 

Is he preaching repentance and faith? 

That is what matters. Because when it comes down to it, the man himself is rather irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. 

Do not forget, pastors come and go. Pastors are but mere breaths. They are grass that withers and fades. They retire, move, receive calls elsewhere, and eventually die. But the Word of the Lord that proceeds out of the mouth of the preacher—that is what endures forever.

Baptized Saints, it is important for us to remember this at St. Paul’s, especially over the upcoming years, as pastors come and go. Now, please know that it is perfectly fine and even good to have affection and endearment toward a pastor. After all, the pastor often meets you at the deepest and most troubled moments of life. He stands beside the hospital bed. He buries your loved ones. He baptizes your children. He preaches Christ into your ears when your heart is troubled. He places the body and blood of Christ into your mouth. And so, it is natural to have affection for the one through whom the Lord has sent to serve you. But the fact remains: what is ultimately important is not the pastor's rhetoric, capabilities, or personality, but what the pastor preaches.

Think of it this way. If I were to happen to go fishing with Pastor Roth and, for some odd reason, we never came back, you as a church would certainly lament. You would grieve. But you would be okay. The reason is that the Lord God would send you a couple more pastors to preach and teach the very same Word. And so, St. Paul’s would not miss a beat because the church does not rest upon the personalities of the pastors.  The church does not rest on the word of the man in the office, but upon the Word preached by the man in the office.

And now we come to the heart of why this matters so much. 

Dear Baptized Saints, the Word of God is the power of God. The Word is not mere information. It is not spiritual commentary. It is not simply religious advice. The Word is the very power of God unto salvation. The same Word that created the heavens and the earth is the very same Word that creates faith in your heart. The Word that calmed the stormy waters is the same Word that calms the troubled conscience. The Word that cast out demons is the same Word that drives away Satan’s accusations. The Word that raised the dead bones in Ezekiel’s valley is the same Word that raises us from spiritual death into life.

This is why the content of preaching is so important. The pastor is not in a church to entertain or be a spiritual buddy. He is not there to motivate. He is not there to impress with fancy talk. He is there to speak the Word of the Lord, because the Word is the dynamite of God. The Word breaks apart unbelief. The Word tears down pride. The Word destroys despair. The Word opens graves. The Word creates life.

Dear Baptized Saints, you are those dry bones. Apart from Christ, you are dead in trespasses and sins. Dead in pride. Dead in fear. Dead in bitterness. Dead in lust. Dead in self-righteousness. Dead in despair. But then the Lord speaks. He speaks through His Word read, preached, and sacramentally given to you by your pastors. 

Listen up! When the pastor stands before you and says, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the Word is not weak. It is not symbolic. It is not sentimental. It is the power of God. It does what it says. It grants forgiveness. It grants peace. It grants life. 

Sit up in your pew and hear this: when the Gospel is proclaimed, Christ Himself is speaking. When the sermon faithfully delivers Christ crucified, that Word is the dynamite of God that creates and sustains faith in you.

So, Baptized Saints, do not fix your eyes on the man in the cloth. Do not anchor your faith to a pastoral personality. Do not rest your hope on a preacher’s charisma, style, or friendliness. Instead, hear the Word of the Lord, for the Word of the Lord is life. The Word of the Lord is your forgiveness. The Word of the Lord endures forever – for you.

In the name of Jesus and His Word. Amen.