THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO EZEKIEL

We encounter the Gospel throughout the Hebrew Scriptures in some of the most unlikely places. The Book of Ezekiel isn’t known for its presentations of the Gospel, but I think that even in this book we can expect to perceive it. Jesus explicitly taught that the OT Scriptures are about Him:

·       “You [Pharisees] search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39 ESV)

If the Book of Ezekiel is about Him, in what way? Let’s examine these familiar verses, where the Gospel is hidden in plain sight:

·       “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:7-11)

Even those who had lived a life of wickedness still had a hope, if they turned (repented) from their sins. It didn’t matter how many sins they had committed or how serious they had been, forgiveness and restoration were always a possibility, because God would still be gracious. He did not desire the destruction of the wicked, just that they would turn back to Him and prove that they had truly repented.

However, Israel just didn’t get it. Therefore they said, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?” They reasoned that it was just too late for them, and so they might as well just continue in their sins.” They wrongly believed that there was no possible way for them to make amends for their sins. Besides, they refused to believe that the God of Israel could simply nullify them.

The religious leadership regarded them as the “scum of the earth.” They could never compensate for their sins. For all of them, forgiveness had to be earned by good deeds and the adherence to the law. However, they should have known better. Moses had informed them that the slightest infraction would put them under a curse (Deuteronomy 27:26). Consequently, all required the mercy of God, which He had extended to them through the sacrificial system and a sincere repentant spirit.

This is mercy! However, the religions of prideful man are based upon merit. Therefore, the religions of the world believe that if their good deeds exceed their bad, they are “good people” and entitled to the blessings of God. However, the Mosaic Covenant taught the very opposite thing, that any sin could condemn us. Jesus expressed this same truth in the Sermon on the Mount:

·       “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:22; James 2:10)

Even saying “you fool” was grounds for eternal condemnation. Why then isn’t everyone in hell? The mercy of God! Even the “righteous” didn’t get it. They too believed that righteousness was an earned commodity. Therefore, they believed that they were on safe ground because they had a heavenly bank account in the black. Therefore, because they believed that they were entitled, they believed that they could take liberties with an occasional sin. God’s next instructions to Ezekiel addressed their thinking:

·       “And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins. Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live. (Ezekiel 33:12-16)

No one could trust in their own righteousness or righteous record, because they stood by the mercy of God alone. None of us will ever attain a righteousness (Romans 3:19-20) where we can say, “God, you owe me!” God never owes us anything (Romans 11:35; Job 41:11). He already has everything He needs. Besides, even the best of us are laden down with sin (Romans 3:10-18).

Therefore, if the “righteous” commit just one sin and refuses to seek the mercy of God, he is under condemnation. There are also Christians who fail to understand this very necessary principle. I asked one Christian leader why he had committed a sin. He claimed that 99% of what he did was spot-on. Therefore, he reasoned that he was entitled to commit a sin from time to time.

This attitude is a rejection of the Gospel. It claims that our righteous deeds entitle us before God. Instead, the Gospel claims that our only hope is in the mercy of God and not in our righteous deeds.

Did the Israelite religious leadership get it? It seems that they didn’t. Instead, they believed that Jeremiah’s message represented a gross injustice, because it failed to acknowledge their surpassing merit:

·       “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just…Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.” (Ezekiel 33:17, 20)

Why did they think that the Lord’s ways are not just? Because they failed to understand the Gospel and their own spiritual/moral need for the forgiveness of God! Instead, they were convinced of their own self-righteousness and their spiritual adequacy. Because they were in denial about their true status, the Gospel seemed to them like sheer foolishness. They were convinced that righteousness was something that could be attained. Consequently, they must have understood God’s forgiveness as an unnecessary indulgence of the sins of others. However, the Gospel was staring them in the face.

The Messiah is only cryptically mentioned.  He is glimpsed as the promised Seed of David:

·       “And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant [the Seed of] David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.” (Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Jeremiah )

Instead of the Levitical priesthood, the Messiah, the God the Son, would provide the payment for sins, the atonement:

·       “I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 16:62-63)

As a result, Israel would be completely cleansed of their sins and given a new heart. It would all be given as the free gift of God:

·       “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules…And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27-29; 11:19-20)

This is the Good News, the unmerited gift of God.