A Bone of Him Shall Not Be Broken
“For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken” (John 19:36).
“There are pictures of the Church which represent her as participating with the Lord in his sacrifice; but the Passover type is not one of these. The Passover lamb represented our Lord Jesus Christ as ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). But the sin of the world has not yet been taken away. Our Lord has not yet applied his merit for the world, but only and expressly for the Household of Faith.
“In another sacrifice, which represents our Lord and the Church conjointly sacrificing, as head and members, the body of the animal was cut into various pieces and laid with the head upon the altar, thus typifying Christ Jesus as the head and the Church as his members (Exodus 29:15-18).
“But provision was made that the Passover sacrifice was not to be divided. It was to be eaten whole — not a bone was to be broken. It represented, not Christ and the Church, but Christ alone in his sacrifice (Exodus 12:46, John 19:36).” — Pastor C.T. Russell, Sermon Book, page 559.
It is painful to read the account of our Lord’s crucifixion and sufferings in John 19:31-36. As we review the crucifixion as a turning point not only for the Jewish people, but for all mankind — and indeed for all the heavenly hosts — we find this explicit instruction about the Passover lamb’s bones. The typical Passover (Exodus 12:46) was not to have a broken bone and this was literally fulfilled in antitype. So important was this detail that it was repeated in Numbers 9:12.
Trouble is not necessarily a sign of God’s disfavor. God permitted his precious Son to have afflictions, even as he permits us to have afflictions. Both our Lord and we who follow in his footsteps learn obedience by the things suffered (Hebrew 5:8, R5879:4). “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones: not one of them is broken” (Psalm 34:18- 20 NKJV). In harmony with the Passover type, the New Testament writers clearly record the fulfillment of this promise from the Psalm 34 in John 19:36 (A58, R1205:2, R1394:5, R1817:4).
Our Lord alone bore the sin of the world. Our Lord had no partnership with other like-minded new creatures, and he was alone in daily taking up his cross (Mark 8:34). Our Lord alone had the assurance, even in the depth of trials, of his future life back with the Father. He maintained this hope, his spirit was unbroken even while his body was racked with pain, “not a bone of him broken.” This does not mean there was no breaking of the heart. Psalm 34:18 speaks of a broken heart and a contrite spirit even while giving the promise that not a bone would be broken. We are specifically told that the reproaches against Jesus broke his heart (Psalm 69:20). We can well imagine that his betrayal by Judas was heart-breaking.
What is the personal application of bones as a scriptural symbol?
BONES BRING LIFE
The first mention of bones in the scriptures finds them as the source of new life and companionship. “Adam said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man’ ” (Genesis 2:23). First, Adam needed to recognize that human love and sharing required another being of his own nature — flesh of his flesh. To be sure, the animal creation was warm, affectionate, and obedient; the angels were kind, protective, and knowledgeable; Jehovah God Himself enjoyed “walking” in the paradise his own hand had planted in the cool of the evening and speaking with Adam; but how precious and personal is the relationship of husband and wife.
Where did this bone, the very support of the body, come from? What a lovely detail we find about this first recorded “almost” cloning. This bone is neither the head, that the woman should have rulership — nor is it the sole of the foot, that the woman should be trodden down. It is the rib that is nearest the man’s heart and protects it. This wonderful rib was not used to form a twin brother for Adam, something even the imperfect science of our day has managed to do at least with sheep, but to bring to life the unexpressed potential of perfect humanity.
The Lamb’s Blood represented the life of Jesus.
Current medical knowledge investigates the complex design of the bone given us by the Great Design Engineer. Bone is a complex matrix that includes blood vessels. This matrix allows for nutrients, cells, blood, etc., to flow in both directions, in and out. The bone marrow produces stem cells that could be used to build an entire new body as was done with Eve, but these stem cells serve as the building blocks that the body uses every day and night to make the different blood cells — red cells, white cells, and platelets. “The blood is the life” (see Genesis 9:4). Healthy blood requires healthy bones. Bones bring life.
BONES — HOPES AND FULLNESS OF SPIRIT
In Ezekiel 37:1-14 we read of the vision of a Valley of Dry Bones. What do the dry bones symbolize in this vision? “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts” (Ezekiel 37:11).
Following the captivity to Babylon, Israel came near to annihilation under the Persians. Then a deliberate cultural war against the Jewish religion was waged by the Greeks, with a short period of partial independence. Then another conquest by the dreadful beast of Rome. That was followed by the establishment of a puppet monarchy of Edomites, and things got worse for the national hopes of Israel. After the first Jewish-Roman War (66-73 AD), two generations later a second Jewish-Roman War led to the defeat of the Bar Kokhba rebellion (132-135 AD). Forced into exile, Jews were dispersed and persecuted relentlessly across Europe, Asia, and Africa: “Our hope is lost” is the poignant expression of the prophet.
We see here that bones, “dried” and unable to make blood, symbolize hopes — hence, we see why Joseph wanted his bones back in Israel. Israel was where his hopes were. Bones ultimately are the foundation of life and a symbol of hope. From Proverbs 17:22 we also understand that “a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
BROKEN BONES
The nation of Israel’s bones were not only dry (Ezekiel 37), but broken. Following the capture of Jerusalem by Babylon, Jeremiah writes of the loss of national hopes; “Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones” (Jeremiah 50:17). This was fulfillment of a prophecy given by Isaiah that warned Israel’s leaders against reliance on empty religious formalism and open idolatry. “The word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken” (Isaiah 28:13). Instinctively, if we fall forward we stretch out our arms to reduce injury. Here Isaiah speaks of falling backwards where no defense against injury is possible, resulting in “broken” bones.
Despite the ill treatment Jeremiah received from Jerusalem’s political leaders and false prophets, he took the pain of Jerusalem’s loss very personally. “I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones” (Lamentations 3:1-4).
TEETH — HEALTH, HAPPINESS, BEAUTY, AND CONFIDENCE
Jeremiah speaks of a very special set of skeletal tissue, typically identified as bones important to our health, happiness, and beauty. When the Song of Solomon 4:2 describes the beauty of the bride we are told, “Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.” When we have a full set of healthy and clean teeth — like a flock of shorn sheep that have come up from the washing — we shine with confidence, but “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth” (Proverbs 25:19).
Teeth are special skeletal tissue closely related to bones that are the hardest part of the human body. Unlike bones, to which they are closely related — and for Biblical symbolical purpose they should be considered as bones — teeth do not self-regenerate if injured. Hence, the grievousness of the permanent loss when Jeremiah adds, “He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes” (Lamentations 3:16). Such have been the experiences of even those who have been the Lord’s faithful. In Psalm 3:7 we find how much more so this injury to the teeth befalls the ungodly. “Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.”
HEALING BROKEN BONES — AND BLESSING OTHERS
Mankind often holds misguided hopes, and deep hidden sins. The grief caused by unrepentant sin makes them symbolically experience “broken bones” and “broken teeth.” Sometimes by divine providence this broken-bone condition persists so that the oppressor can never recover strength. “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword” (Ezekiel 30:21).
Within ourselves we have no life, except as we abide in Christ (John 15:6). We do not have perfect hopes, an indomitable “right spirit” unless we have grown in Christ- likeness. In our own strength, we do not have a guarantee of health, happiness, beauty, and confidence. We who are running for the prize may find that, like Jeremiah, the adversities of life may leave us with broken bones. But Scripture speaks of how broken bones may be restored. “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice” (Psalm 51:8).
In Psalm 51 we see the healing process. Seeking the Lord’s cleansing from sin must be the beginning (verses 1-2). There is no progress until the erring one acknowledges both the sin and the justice of the Lord’s judgment. For David, the Lord’s punishment followed him all the days of his life. There is a loss of holy fellowship even for sins that dwell within the heart and are not of a public nature (verses 3-4). We will remain aliens from God unless we acknowledge that we are fallen children of Adam (verse 5). The Lord desires that we have truth and wisdom in our inner parts, not merely the outward show of religious piety and speaking of the Lord with our lips (verse 6).
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. By the Levitical Law, “Hyssop” alone could cleanse from contact with a corpse (Numbers 19:18), or from the defilement of leprosy (Leviticus 14:4). David recognized that his impurity was extreme, and needed the remedy which has the greatest purifying power. Legally, this was hyssop, with its “blood of sprinkling” (Leviticus 14:6, 7); spiritually, it is the blood of Christ, which was thus symbolized (verse 7).
Hyssop plant (green steps with lavender flowers, in color).
“Joy and gladness,” the restoration of At-one-ment with God, heals even the broken bones (verse 8). The process of restoring a right relationship with God now is accomplished through Christ. Not only are iniquities blotted out, but from the now healthy and healed bones there is a renewal of a “right spirit within me.” This thought of “right spirit,” or better, “upright spirit,” is one that is in harmony with the perfect standard of righteousness (verses 9-10). From verses 11-12 we find that David’s loss of relationship through his sin was an especially serious case. What had been a healthy relationship with God had been broken and lost through his transgressions, hence the word “restore” is used. The spirit of this restored relationship now goes beyond being “upright” (verse 10). This restored relationship is aligned with that which is “holy” (verse 11), that which is a gift of grace, and it advances and becomes “free” (verse 12 KJV). This word (H5082), translated “free,” has the thought of “nobility.” Such a restoration to health of broken bones empowers the spirit.
BUT TO WHAT END?
“Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalm 51:13). Yes, even the worst defeats, experienced because of sin, may — if we are willing to change — become opportunities for blessing others. For this to happen we must honestly assess our sins and confess them before the Lord. We need to receive the atoning blood and then actually follow through on our good intentions, turning them into reality, and reform. We see in Psalm 51 the type of operation that will help mankind advance on the Highway to Holiness.
Even today, in an imperfect way, this Psalm 51 process has been shown to be effective in the so-called “twelve-step” programs like Alcoholics Anonymous where attendees who were once lost in alcohol now are in “recovery,” where they mentor (“sponsor”) others early into their journey away from the bottle. Those well along in “recovery” are brutally honest in confronting the predictable lies, the excuses, the stressful times like family holiday gatherings, and the self-deception of those beginning their journey. There is an honest recognition that those making progress even for years or decades are in “recovery,” for “cure” is not possible while this outgoing dispensation maintains its control.
KEEPING OUR BONES HEALTHY
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones” (Proverbs 3:7,8).
Preventing ill health is better than healing disease. Keeping bones and teeth healthy is better than the lengthy process of healing up from broken bones, or painful visits even to a skilled modern dentist for broken teeth. While Israel’s lost hopes gave them dry bones (Ezekiel 37), the scriptures have a good deal to say about healthy bones with “marrow and fatness.”
David, like the unhappy dispersed of Israel in Ezekiel 37, was in a dry and thirsty land both literally and in his troubled spirit (Psalm 63:1). But David’s recognition and confession of God’s power, glory, and loving kindness led him to praise and bless the Lord. He had the assurance of God’s blessing. “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness” (Psalm 63:5). This refers not to David eating marrow and fatness, but rather to the internal health of his spiritual bones. “If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not” (Isaiah 58:10,11).
The closing chapter of Isaiah refers to bone health. “For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her [Jerusalem] like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb” (Isaiah 66:12-14).
So, our Lord’s bones were healthy and never broken, even though he was weary and spent in his father’s service. Like him, we also want to hold to all the precious promises and walk as he walked, that our bones might flourish with marrow and fatness and that we, symbolically, would have life, hope, health, happiness, beauty, and confidence all with uprightness, holiness, and nobility of spirit.
— Bro. Richard Doctor