A lone piece of a puzzle poses little meaning by itself; however, when many pieces are assembled, we can begin to comprehend a picture.  Likewise, to understand the deeper meanings in biblical passages, it is essential to have enough knowledge of the scriptures and how they correspond and fit together with their counterparts.

The first mention in the Bible of bones is in Genesis. God causes a deep sleep to fall on Adam and removes a bone from his side and forms for him a helpmate—a similitude foreshadowing Christ, who would be pierced in his side to bring forth his bride.

The Gospel of John contains verses that, when combined with other scriptures, reveal the use of bones as symbols for the Lord’s chosen ones. A key to this mystery is found in chapter 6, verses 53-57, in the Gospel of John:

“Then Jesus said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he, shall live by me.”  

Jesus is speaking of his body; there is no mention of bones but of flesh and blood only; yet, a body is made up of flesh, blood, and bones. This mystery is unearthed when placed in context with other scriptures in Genesis and Leviticus, where we read the following:

“And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among , that eateth any manner of blood, I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.  For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.  Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.” – Leviticus 17:10-12 

The commandment not to eat blood was made clear, and the penalty was most severe. Whoever ate flesh with the blood was cut off by the Lord. Yet, contrary to the commandment not to eat blood, Jesus declared to those who followed him, “Except you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 

Beginning with Adam, sin has worked through the weakness of the flesh; only in the death of the flesh does sin die. Jesus alone lived in the flesh without sin, holy in both body and spirit. He shed His blood in our place so that we can die to sin and live for God. To eat the flesh of Christ is to take on His life and live as He did. Man does not live by bread alone, but by eating every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Life lies in the flesh and blood alone; we do not eat the bones; Jesus made no mention of them. Bones do not possess life independently; they rely on the life provided by flesh and blood. Lifeless bones become dry and remain long after the flesh is gone. Nevertheless, as lifeless as dry bones are, the Lord spoke unto Ezekiel, saying: 

“Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.  Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.” – Ezekiel 37:3-6 

By 136 AD, Julius Severus had ravaged Judea, destroying most of the Jewish population. The remainder were forced to flee or taken into captivity. The homeland of the Jewish people was effectively ended; it remained so for over 1800 years. Hebrew, as a colloquial language, became extinct. 

But God promised through the prophets to resurrect Israel as a nation and bring them again into the land given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And by the late 19th century, Hebrew had been revived and was to become the only truly successful example known of the revival of a dead tongue brought back to become a national language. In 1948, Israel was again declared a nation—not the two houses of Israel and Judah as before, but all the descendants of Jacob together as one people, as prophesied in chapter 37 of Ezekiel. 

The prophets were a sign to Israel, so likewise, Israel is a sign to the nations—as it is written, “salvation is of the Jews.” There is a picture whereby we also begin to better understand the spiritual relationship between Christ and his body.

As the Lord brought the nation of Israel back from being a valley of dry bones, so also, those who are dead in their sins and trespasses are made alive by the flesh and blood of Christ as written: and God “will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.”

The body is comprised of flesh, blood, and bones; however, it is one body. Christ, the life of the body, is the flesh and blood; those who were formerly dry bones become one with Him. They have no life of their own, but when joined together and covered with the flesh and blood of Christ, they live, as did the bones in the Valley of Dry Bones.

Together, the flesh, blood, and bones complete the whole body of Christ, and the Lord provides the Spirit. As Adam took Eve—a bone from his side—to be his wife, likewise, Christ takes bones to be his bride in marriage. Together they are one flesh, for two, saith the Lord, become one flesh. 

David, prophesying of the Messiah, said, “He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken.” Not one bone of Jesus was broken during the crucifixion, and when praying to the Father before his death, he prayed,

“Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition.”

Foreshadowed by the Passover lamb—where it was commanded that not one bone was to be broken—those chosen shall not be broken.

We are to partake in the flesh and blood of Christ. Those who reject Christ are drinking their blood and eating their flesh. They are in bondage to sin and death. Solomon said, “The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.” – Ecclesiastes 4:5.

Many disciples of Jesus were offended when Jesus said they must eat his flesh. John 6:66 states, “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.” They did not understand what Jesus meant.

Adam’s side was opened, and the Lord brought out a wife for him. Likewise, the side of Christ was opened on the cross, and the water and blood of salvation came forth. One might wonder if the bone taken from Adam and the place where Jesus was pierced in his side are in the exact same place, the place nearest to the heart.