Today’s mock menu – let’s pretend like we’ve just finished this meal before discussing today’s scriptures:
Grilled ham
Fluffy omelets stuffed with fragrant herbs, cheese and mushrooms
Fried potatoes seasoned with salt and herbs
Tuna fish sandwiches on whole wheat toast
Buttered toast
Iced latte
Coke
Did Jesus die on a tree?
You know I’ve been reading a lot about the early Christians lately, especially in the book of Acts. I’ve often wondered about the scriptures in Acts which reference that Jesus died on a tree. There are several references about Jesus dying on the cross throughout the Bible, but I was wondering if the tree reference was used simply because the cross was made of wood?
Here are the scriptures that refer to Jesus dying on a tree:
Acts 13:28-30
28Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30But God raised him from the dead,
Acts 10:39
39“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
This is one of the many references about Jesus dying on a cross:
Acts 2:23
23This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
So, why do you think Acts mentions Jesus dying on a tree? Personally, I think He died on a cross, but I’ve often wondered about the tree reference. Leave a comment.
Didn’t know “tree” appeared in the Bible instead of “cross.” Thanks for showing me.
Hi, Tea
Yes, both cross and tree appear in the Bible, but the term cross appears more. I’m thinking tree was used in Acts because the cross was made of wood? I’m hoping more people will respond to give some insight about this. I think it’d make a great discussion!
i think it’s probably safe to say that “tree” a synonym for cross due its formation out of wood.
please also remember that the words used are very dependent on the translation one is reading.
Having text filtered from Greek and Hebrew through Latin Vulgate to English King James Version and subsequently into the modern translations we know today, we can assume that while the words change, the meaning is still there. I think it might be hard to find many arguments that Jesus died on a tree in the way we might concoct a mental image of that object; rather that tree is just a poetic synonym referring to the wood made in a cross’ construction.
I agree, Rachel. When you read the gospels and it tells about Jesus hanging on the cross, the way it’s described, I doubt it’d be a tree.
Also, I think of the man Simon who helped to carry the cross…it’s hard to imagine carrying a tree like that.
~Cecelia Dowdy~