THE SYMBOL OF THE TREE permeates the metanarrative of the bible from Genesis to Revelation, from beginning to end and everywhere throughout. In the beginning, there are two trees in the Garden of Eden. “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen. 2:9) In the new beginning, there is a single tree. “On each side of the river stood the tree of life. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:2)
The olive tree and the fig tree, along with the grape vine, are both symbols for Israel, beginning with Jotham’s parable (cf. Judg. 1:7-15). There is an ominous thread in this story, continuing the theme of the proscription from God earlier in the Garden. “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Gen. 2:17) The lowly nettle in this story maneuvers to become first in succession to the metaphorical throne, due to the abdication of the olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine. “If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!” (Judg. 9:15)
The sense of impending judgment is a continuous theme within the tree allegories. The N.T. opens in Matthew with John the Baptist’s warning to the ruling establishment in Israel. “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matt. 3:7-10) Jesus furthers this statement from John with his own prophecy, realized in the 70 A.D. destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent diaspora, by the Roman general, later to be emperor, Titus Andronicus. As Jesus and his disciples head into Jerusalem, he sees a fig tree, but discovers it has no fruit. He says, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” (Mark 11:14). The next day, they all see the fig tree completely dead from the roots up. Peter says, astonished, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” (Mark 11:21)
How is it, then, that we shift from the ominous tone established in Genesis to the removal of the curse spoken of in Revelation, and the display of the glory of God? “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 22:3-5)
Our answer comes from the progressive self-revelation of God. The Covenant of the Law is set aside for the Covenant of Grace with the incarnation, ministry, and death and resurrection of Jesus. Isaiah’s prophecy is poignant, and again, it is symbolized by a tree, in this case one that has been cut down. His prediction is directly presaged by a curse against Israel, one that is an inferential reference to Jotham’s earlier parable in Judges. He says, “See, the Lord Almighty will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.” (Isa. 10:33-34) He then makes a direct messianic prophecy: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” (Isa. 11:1-3)
This is the line of king David that was cut down, and ended with the Babylonian exile. For about four centuries since that time, Israel had no king; for a little over a century immediately preceding Jesus, first the Hasmonean and then the Herodian kings ruled Israel, neither of them in David’s lineage. The prophecy of Isaiah continues: “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel.” (Isa. 11:10-12)
Jesus is the ‘new tree’ from the stump of Jesse; the rightful successor of David’s throne. In him God’s vow is made fulfilled and complete. “Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—and I will not lie to David— that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun.” (Psa. 89:35-37) And in this promise, Jew and Gentile alike are combined in the tree of life’ Paul speaks of the realization of Isaiah’s prophecy as a ‘banner for the nations’ in his letter to the Romans. “You, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root.” (Rom. 11:17)
You and I revel in the now promise of the not yet. “Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the LORD. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water.” (Psa. 1:1-3) ‘That person’ is you and me, and “the leaves of this tree are for our healing.” (Rev. 22:2) Rooted in Jesus, the sap of life is our salvation, and the bud of the branches bears the fruit of our sanctification.
Q. Am I rooted, and is that a bud I see on my extremities?
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