The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 65:22, Be Like a Tree
The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 65:22, Be Like a Tree.
WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).
“According to the days of the tree of life, so shall be the days of My people. They will live as long as these age-old trees.” (Is. 65:22).
The Importance of Biblical Trees. Isaiah’s mention of the longevity of trees was not an accident. The very presence of God’s trees on the earth was highlighted by all the Biblical writers, from Genesis to Revelation. Trees are beautiful, fragrant, are significant in the health of planet earth, have myriads of practical uses to the human family, and have served as tangible symbols for everything under the sun.
(1.) “… The blessed ones are they who thrill to God’s Word, delighting in the instructions of the Lord; who think deeply about Scripture day and night, meditating, murmuring, and musing on God’s inspired teaching. The blessed person will be like a tree planted by God’s design and purpose, planted by streams of living water, the tree yielding its fruit in due season, its leaf always in blossom, never withering. Whatever this blessed person does will prosper, everything will succeed.” (Psalm 1:1,3).
Psalm 1 is written in the wisdom tradition of Scripture, and is intended to introduce the Psalter by teaching us the difference between the wise and the foolish, the blessed and the wicked. The psalm starts with a beatitude and uses the picture of a healthy tree to describe the blessed person. What could be a better image drawn than the blessed person as one with deep roots in Scripture, intentionally planted by the Lord in an ideal place, consistently productive and fruitful? Nothing communicates blessedness better than a flourishing tree nestled onto the banks of a flowing river.
To Be Blessed: to enjoy God’s favor; to experience delight in God’s blessing; to be fully satisfied and content in the Lord; to know with confidence that God is active in your life. Those who are blessed are most fortunate, to be envied. When one is blessed, it is time to celebrate one’s lot in life, time to humbly receive a hearty congratulations because of the blessings received from the hand of God.
(2.) “And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. An out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and to be desired for food; the Tree of Life also in the center of the Garden, and the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, of blessing and calamity. Now a river went out of Eden to water the Garden.” (Genesis 2:8-10).
The Tree of Life in Eden. In the center of the Garden of Eden, God planted two trees: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of their fruit. The Tree of the Knowledge was an opportunity… It was a test of obedience. God gave them the freedom to choose to disobey God or obey Him. The other Tree was put there to fulfill man’s destiny of eternal life, the fruit of immortality. The problem after the Fall is that mankind fell into a state of sin, they were no longer innocent. To eat of the Tree of Life would now lead to a hopeless life, a sinful life with no hope of ever achieving innocence, a sinful life that would never end. God would not want sinners to eat of the Tree of life, He would not want anyone under the power of sin to have eternal life. So God needed to protect the Tree of Life at all costs. God knew that if Adam and Eve were willful enough to disobey God with the one Tree, they could sooner or later disobey Him with the other Tree. This would be a catastrophe.
The Tree of Life in Paradise. The fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision is found in Revelation 22:1-2… “Then the angel showed me the River of the Water of Life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the River stood the Tree of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding their fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Because of Jesus’ death and Resurrection, the power of sin has been broken, and the Tree of Life is now ready to fulfill the destiny of mankind… eternal life. This Tree is available in paradise. God wants to restore the Garden of Eden in the new heaven and the new earth, and so, sure enough, God has placed the restored Tree of Life in the middle of heaven. The Tree’s roots are watered by the living water flowing from God’s throne. This Tree is now open for business, it bears a nourishing fruit that is ripe for each of the 12 months. And it has leaves that are intended for the healing of the nations, the constant nurture and care of all people. The restored Tree of Life reverses the curse of the Garden. So one can see that this Tree is in many ways the Cross of Christ. Jesus’ death has destroyed the power of sin, and paved the way for believers to have eternal life. The Cross is our source of life, and has taken away the curse of sin. Jesus promises that all the overcomers, the victorious ones, will eat the fruit of this Tree, destined for those who participate in Christ’s victory and salvation. “I’m about to call each of My conquerors to dinner in Paradise. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree of Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.” (Rev. 2:7).
“My heavenly guide brought me back to the entrance to the Temple, and I saw fresh water bubbling up from beneath the Temple threshold… My guide then led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of flourishing fruit trees on both sides of the river. The man then said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Jordan Valley, where it enters the Dead Sea Valley. When it empties into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be a large number of fish, because this water makes the salt water fresh. Where the river flows, everything will live… Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. They will bear a fresh crop of fruit every month. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail, because their water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” (the full vision is found in Ezekiel 47:1-12).
A Brief Survey of Biblical Trees:
1. The Green Tree. “If they do these things to the green tree, what will happen to the dry?” (Luke 23:31). When He moaned these words, Jesus was going through excruciating pain, trudging along on the bloody road to Golgotha. He had just been beaten with fists and sticks, and flogged to within an inch of His life. Looing up to the hill of Calvary, it must have looked a million miles away from where He was doubled over in exhaustion. At this point, the streets were lined with everybody from mourners to those who jeered at Him. He spoke a word of prophecy at this point to the women who were wailing nearby. He addressed them as “Daughters of Jerusalem,” a term of endearment. He told them not to mourn for Him, but for themselves and all those in Jerusalem who would suffer destruction in a time that was coming soon enough. And then He asked those grieving women that curious question about the green tree and the dry tree. There is little doubt that Jesus is the Green Tree He is referring to in His pain. The green tree at that time was a symbol in Jewish circles of a living tree running freely with sap, a young fruitful tree, and so it symbolized innocence, righteousness, uncorrupted by time or disease, a tree that is not meant to be burned for wood yet. So Jesus is calling Himself the Green Tree that was innocent, righteous, and seemingly cut down and used for firewood. This particular title for Christ is beautiful and offers an image of Jesus that is full of life. A 12th century saint by the name of Hildegard loved this image of Christ and called Him “Greenness Incarnate,” and described Jesus as “the green figure itself who came down from heaven” to bring life back to creation, to revitalize the earth back to the Garden of Eden. So Jesus is the flourishing Green Tree, miraculously growing from a rooted stump (Is. 11:1, 53:2), becoming a righteous Branch of the Lord (Is. 4:2-3; Jer. 23:5-6; Jer. 33:15; Zech. 3:8; Zech. 6:12). He is the Tree of Life who promises growth and fruitfulness from His Spirit, giving us hope of new life because of His death-defying Resurrection. Jesus is the Green Tree who refused to die, even if cut down.
2. The Olive Tree. “I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s mercy, in the Lord’s unfailing love.” (Psalm 52:8). Is there anything in nature more biblical than the olive tree? There are well over 200 mentions in Scripture about the olive tree, the olive and olive oil. That’s not a big surprise when considering the importance of the olive tree to Israel’s food supply, its economy, its history, its daily life. Apart from it being an important part of their daily diet, olive trees were responsible for fuel to light the lamps, an ingredient for cooking, medicine and health aids, anointing oil for kings, priests and the sacrificial system, facial ointment, hardwood for long-lasting furniture, construction material, and beautifully grained wood for ornaments and decoration. It is an ancient tree that can grow to a height of twenty feet, a slow-growing tree that takes years of careful labor to reach fruitfulness. It remains one of the earth’s longest-living trees. Scientists have gone to the Mount of Olives in the Holy Land and carbon-tested three of the olive trees there. It was firmly established that all three trees were at least 1,000 years old. There is one particular tree there that is estimated to be about 2,000 years old. All three of those trees were found to be originally planted from the same parent stump, springing up from the roots from the old, dead stump of one tree. This is common for the olive tree. When a tree reaches old age, hundreds of years, and it has reached its maximum production, the farmers will usually cut down the tree to its stump. Soon, miraculously, the roots of that stump develop new shoots, and the tree continues to grow until it begins to produce olives again years later. As many as five new trees are known to spring up from one old stump. The messianic prophecy of Isaiah 11:1 then begins to make sense. “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot – yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.” Jesus is that holy Shoot coming from the old stump. Nature provides such an amazing picture of this, doesn’t it?
Olive Tree Symbols. The prominence of the olive tree in the Holy Land led to it being a meaningful symbol for many different biblical ideas: Reconciliation and Peace (Genesis 8:11); Healthy Children in a Happy Home (Ps. 128:3-4); Beauty and Splendor (Hosea 14:5-6); Joy and Gladness (Ps. 45:7); Fruitfulness (Ps. 52:8); the Nation of Israel (Jeremiah 11:17); the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:1-6).
3. The Pomegranate Tree. “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing.”(Deut. 8:7-9). The pomegranate tree is in the myrtle family of trees. The plant can be grown as a large tree that often reaches thirty feet in height, or can be grown as a large shrub that can reach twenty feet. It is a tree renowned for its beauty, with the stunning shade of green leaves and its bright scarlet blossoms. Fruitless trees have been developed simply to enjoy the beauty of the tree itself without the fruit. The tree can live up to 200 years in the right dry climate. The pomegranate, which means “grained apple,” is bright red, as are the seeds within. Judeo-Christian scholars have long believed that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was more likely a pomegranate, which makes the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil a pomegranate tree! But that’s not the last we see of that mysterious fruit. It is mentioned all through the Hebrew Bible, and has come to symbolize a fascinating array of things through the ages. The pomegranate has taken on a life of its own through the centuries. It is one of the most ancient of fruits, and it is still very popular and widely cultivated to this day. It is known as the miracle fruit, and is actually a very large berry, about the size of a grapefruit. There is a kind of mysterious aura around the pomegranate in Scripture. For instance, why did Yahweh direct Moses to decorate the hem of the Tabernacle priest’s robe with woven pomegranates? (Ex. 28:33-35). And why was Solomon’s Temple decorated with 400 bronze sculptures of pomegranates, both at the crown of the Temple and at the tops of the huge pillars at the entrance? (1 Kings 7:20). There must have been meaningful reasons for their prominence in Hebrew worship, but it was never spelled out in the Bible.
Pomegranate Symbols. Pomegranates had come to represent a lot of different things, and so perhaps one or more of these symbols were the reasons for its popularity in Jewish life: Fruitfulness and Blessing (One of their proofs of Canaan’s fruitfulness was a mass of pomegranates. This was evidence that it was a good land; the Nation of Israel (The pomegranate was often bruised and battered on the outside but nonetheless able to supremely bless others from within the inside of the fruit, just like Israel); Righteousness (Early rabbinic tradition held that there was exactly 613 seeds within the pomegranate, which matched the 613 commandments in the Torah. So pomegranates came to represent the Torah and the biblical righteousness expected of the Chosen People. Since those early times, of course, that number has been disproven. Each pomegranate contains well over a thousand seeds, sometimes as many as 1,400 seeds); Royal Power (At the very top of each pomegranate is a protuberance that resembles a crown, or an orb. So down through the centuries the pomegranate has been used as something that represents royal authority and power); Fertility and Sexual Potency (Because of its extensive storage of seeds in each pomegranate, and the image of the seed being needed to conceive a child. Also in some ancient cultures, the juice of the pomegranate was considered a cure for infertility and impotence); Vitality and Good Health (Even ancient worlds knew that the pomegranate was full of health benefits, that the edible seeds and the delicious juice were good to take into the body. Now we know that pomegranates contain antioxidants, potassium, calcium, iron, vitamins A, C and E, and dietary fiber for digestion. They are known to boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, reduce blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation, reduce bad cholesterol, and even build up healthy cells that prevent certain types of cancer. Pomegranates are worthy of the name “the Miracle Fruit”).
4. The Mustard Tree. “Jesus put before His listeners another parable: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a farmer takes and plants in his garden. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that birds flying about come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32). Using the fishing boat as His pulpit, Jesus told a very short parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom is like a mustard seed, says Jesus, it starts very small and insignificant, the size of a grain of salt, but gradually grows into something very large and extremely significant. Something nearly invisible can become something that spreads around the world. When Jesus said “the smallest seed,” He was probably just commenting that of all the seeds the farmer would likely plant in his garden, the mustard seed (only millimeter in size) would be the smallest. Jesus wasn’t exaggerating either with the height of the mustard tree… There have been mustard trees in Palestine that have been as tall as twelve feet in height! Most reports have them growing to between five to six feet tall, but it’s not unheard of to grow a mustard tree that towers over everything else in the garden. So a mustard seed could grow into a large shrub, or a sizable tree. Birds have been known to settle into a mustard tree because they find the little black seeds in the tree quite edible. Many birds thus end up nesting in the mustard tree to be close to their food supply. In the parable, the birds no doubt represented Gentiles who would come to the kingdom as the Kingdom spreads. Jesus is saying, don’t be surprised when the Kingdom attracts Gentiles from all over the world. My Kingdom is not exclusive to the historically Chosen People. The Kingdom is intended to spread everywhere. Jesus is saying what farmers know about the mustard plant… it is actually an invasive species, it spreads all over and could even take over the garden. Jesus declared that the Kingdom will be just like that, invasive and spreading everywhere.
Small Beginnings. The prophet Zechariah, the most messianic of all the so-called minor prophets, celebrated the idea of “the day of small beginnings.” (4:10). He may have not have realized it, but that was a powerful little prophecy about the Kingdom. Small beginnings describes well the mustard seed and how it is a clear picture of many truths in Scripture, not only the small beginnings in the earthly life of Jesus, and the early life of the Church, but also in the small beginnings in the Life of the Heart. The mustard seed of the Kingdom planted by the Holy Spirit in our hearts will survive if He planted it in rich soil, if we care for it, water it, give it plenty of light, tend it, protect it from natural enemies. and keep the weeds from choking the life out of it. The seed of the kingdom will grow in us and thrive as we continue to deepen our roots in God and His Word, changing us gradually into someone who is formed after the likeness of Jesus. This life of gospel virtue will grow in our lives, and it will sprout, and those qualities of Jesus will lead to a life of fruitfulness. To make a difference in the world, we don’t need to be a spiritual giant in the eyes of the world, we don’t need to be showy and have our name in lights. We are no hurry as the seed grows roots and matures. Our time of relative hiddenness may be longer than we might want. What we can do is, with just a mustard seed amount of faith of our own, offer those little black seeds of the Kingdom to all the birds in the world who are attracted to the Kingdom tree.
5. The Fig Tree. “When Jesus saw Nathaniel coming, He said of him, ‘There, truly, is an Israelite in whom there is no deception.’ Nathaniel asked, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathaniel answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel!’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said I saw you under the fig tree.” (John 1:43-51). Nathaniel, also known as the apostle Bartholomew, was sitting under the shade of a fig tree one day in the region of Galilee. He was someone earnestly expecting and looking for the Messiah as prophesied in the Scripture. Nathaniel may have been in his special place of prayer under that tree. He may have been studying Scripture and meditating on the coming of Messiah. Sitting under a fig tree was an expression from the Hebrew prophets that was connected to waiting for the Messiah, as mentioned in Micah 4:4 and Zechariah 3:10. “Gathering figs” was also an expression that meant the act of studying Scripture. So we can only speculate what Nathaniel was doing under the fig tree, but that tree was no doubt his private place where he could be alone in his thoughts and meditations. We know Nathaniel was anxiously looking for Messiah, or else why would his friend Philip rush to tell him about Jesus? Philip knew that this would be welcome news to Nathaniel. And sure enough, after Philip told Nathaniel to come and see for himself, Nathaniel did just that. Nathaniel had no hesitation to meet Jesus and find out if this man might be who he is looking for.
The Object Lesson of the Fig Tree. A fig tree was a common symbol of Israel in the Hebrew Bible, and the most fruitful tree in Israel, so Jesus decided to use it as an object lesson for His disciples. While walking along with His disciples one morning, Jesus saw a fruitless fig tree, and immediately thought of this as another teachable moment. He decided to use the fig tree to teach a lesson on fruitfulness in Israel and the power of prayer. After pointing out to the disciples that the fig tree has no figs, He thought symbolic action was called for. He spoke directly to the fig tree, (talking to a tree?), and commanded it to wither and remain fruitless. Jesus is saying here that God is hungry for spiritual fruitfulness in Israel, but He is seeing none of that. There is no fruit of repentance, no fruit of true righteousness. Jesus demonstrated here that the time is coming when Israel will be judged for its unfruitfulness. Just like this particular fig tree, the Temple and all its empty ritual and hollow tradition look good from a distance. But God looks closely, and Israel is lacking in spiritual substance.
6. The Cedar Tree. “The righteous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (Psalm 92:12). The magnificent cedar trees in Lebanon were the most honored of all the trees in early Scripture. They are mentioned over 100 times in the Hebrew Bible, and were known in biblical times as the “king of trees.” There were good reasons people esteemed them so highly. They were famous for their longevity, and had a natural resistance to decay. Their oil repelled snakes and bugs. They were deliciously aromatic. They grew to majestic heights (equal to a 12-story building), spread out as far as 50 feet, while their enormous trunks (30 feet in circumference) and deep, deep roots made them a picture of stability. These cedars were evergreens that withstood all kinds of weather changes, were beautiful in their appearance, and the cedar forests in Lebanon were said to be breathtaking. The wood of these cedars were known around that part of the world as the very best for shipbuilding and toolmaking, and were always the wood of choice in construction of palaces. The first Temple was built with the cedars of Lebanon, as was the second Temple. So down through ancient history, the Cedars of Lebanon were a symbol of strength, beauty, durability, and majesty. Only the wealthiest could afford to use these cedars, so they became a symbol of prosperity as well. And when the Lord returns and creates his New Earth, guess which trees He will plant first? Yes, the cedars are mentioned first to be planted by God. (Isaiah 41:19).
7. The Oak Tree. “They will be known as the Mighty Oaks of Righteousness, planted by Yahweh as a living display of His glory.” (Isaiah 61:3). Isaiah seemed to love oak trees, the hardwood tree that was used to make oxen yokes, for he mentions them throughout his book. He famously referred to believers as “oaks of righteousness” in the above passage. What a magnificent picture of solid, steady, persistent goodness, strong and true, useful for Kingdom purposes. The oak trees of Mamre have been venerated ever since Abraham and Sarah lived there and buried there. In fact, there remains at that site the Oak of Abraham, also called the Tree of Rest, right there in modern day Hebron, and it is still honored by all three Abrahamic faiths. At the site of this ancient tree stands a Russian Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Trinity. Legend has it that that oak tree is 5,000 years old, but moderns say it is about 850 years old. This tree is huge, 32′ around the trunk. The tree remains standing, even though it reportedly died in 1996. Oaks drop acorns, of course, which grow slowly but surely to produce magnificent trees, massive as well as old. Oaks are known for their long life, and were useful in that area for providing hard wood for ships and all kinds of farming implements. So, in the Bible, oaks were associated with power, usefulness and longevity.
8. The Sycamore Tree. “And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up into the sycamore tree and saw him, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house!’ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.” (Luke 19:5-6). So one day Zacchaeus, the much-hated chief tax collector, heard that this traveling, miracle-working rabbi was coming to his town of Jericho. Jericho was on the road to Jerusalem, and these were the days leading up to Passover, so the city was mobbed with pilgrims. Because he was short in stature, he couldn’t see over the crowds when Jesus walked by. So he cleverly climbed a huge sycamore tree and sat in the branches, probably kicking out a few children in the process. He didn’t really care. He wanted to see this man Jesus he was hearing so much about. So here comes Jesus, jostled by the crowds, bumping his way down the street, and He saw this little man Zacchaeus perched in the branches of the sycamore tree by the roadside. Jesus stopped and looked up, and everybody else stopped as well to see what was going on. And Jesus did an amazing and shocking thing. Jesus called out to the despised little man by name and said, “Come down from there! Let’s do lunch at your place!” One wonders how Zacchaeus got down from that tree. Frederick Buechner suggested he fell down out of pure astonishment. And sure enough, the soul of that unclean Israelite was delivered into salvation after hosting Jesus, the miracle-worker.
9. The Tree of Christ.
“Faithful cross! above all other, one and only noble tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit thy peer may be;
Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron! Sweetest weight is hung on thee.
Bend thy boughs, O tree of glory! Thy relaxing sinews bend;
For awhile the ancient rigor that thy birth bestowed, suspend;
And the king of heavenly beauty on they bosom gently tend.”
(Honorius Fortunatus, 569 AD).
The Cross of Christ was understood to be a tree since the earliest days of the Faith… a tree of wood without its roots, leaves or branches. In those early days after Christ’s ascension, believers would refer to two interchangeable terms for the Cross: the “Wood” and the “Tree.” In the book of Acts, both Peter and Paul were reported to use the Greek word “xulon“, which could be translated either wood or tree. (Acts 5:30, 10:39, 13:29). Peter once again used the world “xulon” in his epistle, 1 Peter 2:24, translated as wood, tree, or cross, all interchangeable. “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the (tree), that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” In the New Testament, the term tree was used in a general sense of anything constructed of wood, but in the case of the Cross it was not just any tree, it was “the Tree.” Some things made of wood could be used as a reference to the Cross. The prime example would be the wooden doorposts in Egypt covered in lamb’s blood. The Cross was seen as the wooden doorway to salvation and deliverance covered in the Lamb’s blood, a type of Cross, the Passover event of Jesus.
The Cursed Tree. According to the Law of Moses, anyone found guilty of a capital crime was to be “hung on a tree.” (Deut. 21:23). The Tanakh translated that phrase as meaning “impaled on a stake.” And that person who was executed was considered cursed by God. The execution was thus considered an act of divine vengeance, a sign of God’s rejection. God directed the scales of justice to be balanced in this way after the more serious disobedience to His instructions. Those who do evil suffer the consequences, the Lord is saying. In the Sinai Law there were 16 offenses that qualified for the death penalty and thus God’s curse: from murder and kidnapping to magic and bestiality; from adultery and incest to blasphemy and fornication. A person could even be executed for being seriously rebellious against one’s parents, such as striking or cursing them. The Tree of Calvary reveals an utterly pure Person, completely innocent of all those capital offenses, absorbing the curse and the guilt. Jesus never hurt anyone, He never broke the Law of Moses, and He certainly wasn’t a rebellious child to the heavenly Father or His earthly parents. Jesus actually became the curse of sin on the Cross, taking it completely into Himself, and then dissolving the curse through the Cross and the empty tomb. As Dr. David Stern said, “Messiah must come under the curse in order to pay the full penalty for sin required by God’s justice.” Jesus suffered through the execution-stake in our place. We are all sinners and deserve execution, but Jesus covered over our sins and we are forgiven. As St. Paul says in Galatians 3:13, “The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Law by becoming cursed on our behalf, for as the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who hangs from a tree comes under a curse.”
The Tree of Life. The early Christians loved calling the Cross the Tree of Life. The Cross was the life-giving tree that bore the fruit of eternal life. Believers receive the reality of everlasting life when we believe in Jesus and eat of the Tree. The Cross was seen as the Tree that provides nourishment for those who have been redeemed in Christ, the Tree that gives spiritual shelter under its shady leaves. An ancient Christian hymn reads, “O Tree of Life, you surpass in greatness all the cedars of Lebanon, for on you was the Life-Giver of this world hung. The cross, which was a tree of death, was transformed into the Holy Cross, which is the Tree of Life.” The early believers were convinced that the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden prefigured the Cross, an ancient picture of the Cross that anticipates the Tree of Calvary.