The Tree of the Calvary

I thought about the first tree—the one on which hung
the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve just couldn’t
resist (Gen. 3:6). God used that tree to test their
loyalty and trust. Then there’s the tree in Psalm 1 that
reminds us of the fruitfulness of godly living. And in
Proverbs 3:18, wisdom is personified as a tree of life.
But it is a transplanted tree that is most important—
the crude cross of Calvary that was hewn from a
sturdy tree. There our Saviour hung between heaven
and earth to bear every sin of every generation on His
shoulders. It stands above all trees as a symbol of
love, sacrifice, and salvation.
At Calvary, God’s only Son suffered a horrible death
on a cross. That’s the tree of life for us.

Father, on this day between Good Friday and Easter
Sunday, we’re grateful for the cross and for Your Son
who gave His life so that we might have life. Thank
You.
The cross of Christ reveals man’s sin at its worst
and God’s love at its best.

INSIGHT: The “garrison” of Roman troops mentioned in verse 27
is a detail that adds to our understanding of the events
surrounding Christ’s death. Mark’s account of the same event
translates the word as cohort (15:16 NASB). Garrison or cohort
was a Roman military term that described a company of soldiers
consisting of at least 200 and perhaps as many as 600 men. The
same Greek word is used in John 18:3 when a “detachment of
troops” comes to arrest Jesus in the garden. Imagine, possibly
hundreds of men were sent to arrest Jesus and hundreds
gathered around Him when He was tormented.