Genesis 2:4-17, Matthew 26:55-56, Luke 23:1-24, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Revelation 22:1-5
Between Two Trees
Genesis 2 gives us a description of the Garden of Eden and tells of the Tree of Life that sits within it. In Revelation 22 we have another description of God’s kingdom in which the Tree of Life is again mentioned, this time at the centre of God’s city. These two trees sit at the beginning and end of God’s story laid out in the Bible.
Not long after we are told about the Garden of Eden we have the story of the ‘Fall’ in which sin enters the world through the disobedience of humans. This leads to the expulsion from the Garden of Adam and Eve and it marks the beginning of a downward spiral.
Revelation, at the very end of the Bible gives us the restoration of Eden within the Kingdom of God. God again dwells with his people and creation in redeemed from the corruption of sin and death. That which was created ‘good’ in Genesis 1 is made good again by God’s presence and through the Lamb.
It is Jesus and the cross on which he died that stands between these two trees as the pivotal moment in history that changed everything. In Genesis 3 humanity rebelled against God and the consequences of those actions have echoed throughout history. God though did not give up on his creation and set about making a way in which all could be redeemed.
Overthrowing the Empire
Am I leading a rebellion? This is the rhetorical question Jesus asks those who come to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is an interesting question, but one that is not directly answered in scripture. We can take a look at the events surrounding Jesus’ death and see how these might help us find a suitable response to Jesus’ words.
In Luke we begin to get a sense of these events on that first Good Friday. Throughout the trial Pilate is reluctant to charge Jesus. The chief priests bring numerous accusations, from refusing to pay taxes to stirring up the people. Pilate sums these all up in verse 14 when he states that they have accused Jesus of inciting rebellion. Pilate finds no case against him but is now faced with a much bigger problem.
Pilate, whose role was to make sure the peace was kept, has a choice. He is confronted with an innocent man accused of rebellion but with seemingly no support, an angry crowd rebelling against his verdict in his own court and an actual rebel locked in his jail being cheered for release. If he lets Jesus go he has a riot on his hands that very moment. If he lets Barabbas go, he stops the crowd but releases a man guilty of rebellion.
In the end the crowd wins. Jesus is condemned and Barabbas set free. The punishment asked for by the crowd is crucifixion, a detestable way to die for any Jew. It was however, the punishment for a rebel and would probably have been Barabbas’s fate had he not been released.
Am I leading a rebellion? The answer is yes. In the charges brought against Jesus and in the death he died, Jesus was a rebel. Not in a way often seen, with sword and spear and the shedding of blood. Jesus’ rebellion was against a system which had taken hold of power that was not its own, power given to it when humanity ate the apple. Jesus came to undo the rebellion of the first man although his actions were seen as rebellion by the world he came to set free.1
Obstacles and Stupidity
As Paul writes to the church in Corinth he spells out the power of the cross in an unusual way. In v22-23 he notes that the Jews look for wisdom and the Greeks demand signs but those who are followers of Jesus preach his crucifixion. This is to the Jew a stumbling block and to the Greeks sheer stupidity.
We have seen how the cross stands between the trees of Genesis and Revelation. We have seen how it stood as a sign of power for the empire and humiliation for those who died upon it. When Jesus was crucified it was supposed to put an end to his rebellion and reaffirm the dominance of Rome. Instead it became a symbol of victory to those who stood before it that fateful day.
How did this happen?
Some may answer, ‘it is because of the resurrection’, and in part they are right. Paul though, here and elsewhere says that the cross was the moment victory was won, that sin and death were defeated. Resurrection is the fruit of this victory but it is the cross that achieved it. God chose that which seemed foolish and weak to show his wisdom and strength. He chose the cross to take the empire’s ultimate weapon and destroy all it stood for.
Questions
- What does the symbol of the cross mean to you?
- How have you understood the death of Jesus?
- Have you ever thought of Jesus as a rebel or revolutionary?
- Is the cross still foolishness and a stumbling block? Why?
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