Two Trees, Three Crosses

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV)

When Christians think about the first prophecy in the Bible about Jesus’ work of salvation on the cross they are often drawn to Genesis 3:15, ‘he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’ This is seen as a reference to the crucifixion where Satan struck Jesus’ heal by having him crucified, but Jesus crushed Satan’s head as it was his ultimate defeat. (Colossians 2:15).

But I would suggest that the two trees mentioned in Genesis 3 are an earlier type and prophecy of the cross. Satan tempted Adam and Eve by offering them a counterfeit of something they already had. If you take to yourself the right to determine good and evil you will be like God, he said, yet they had already been made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27) . In choosing to be independent of God our first parents accepted the counterfeit and fractured their relationship with God by first hiding from him, and then leaving the paradise of Eden and the tree of life.

Fast forward to the crucifixion scene.

One thief looked upon Jesus and saw the good in him and, perhaps for the first time, saw the evil and wickedness in himself. At that moment the cross of Christ became the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for this brigand. When the man said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom’ and Jesus replied, ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’ (Luke 23:42-43) the cross became the tree of life for that man. Interestingly the Greek word paradeisō can have the meaning ‘garden;’

Eden was being restored.

On the other side of Jesus was a man equally as guilty as this thief, but there is no repentance, rather he hurled insults at Christ. (Luke 23:39). The cross of Jesus had become a dividing line between the two thieves.

One turned to Jesus for the knowledge of good and evil and received life through the grace of God; the other maintained his independence and remained in spiritual darkness.

The cross of Christ still stands before us today as the dividing line between light and darkness, life and death, and humanity is called to choose: the counterfeit of human independence, self-will, self-governance, and self-determination; or the authentic of looking to Christ for the knowledge of good and evil and to receive life.

As Indiana Jones was told by the Grail knight, ‘choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.’

Have a good week looking to Jesus,

Pastor Barry