The Tale Of Two Trees Series

Years ago, a magazine called Collier’s published a story about a little girl in an orphanage. The little girl was very unattractive and had VERY annoying, And as a result, she was shunned by the children and disliked by the staff. In fact, she was so annoying that the director of the orphanage was looking for a way to ship her off to another institution. Now for some time it was suspected this little girl was writing secret notes to people outside of the orphanage. And then, one afternoon their suspicions were confirmed. One of the other children reported “I saw her write a note and hide it on a tree near the stone wall.” So, the director hurried to the tree, found the note and he read it. Then he quietly passed the note to his assistant. And this is what it said: “To whoever finds this: I love you.” (from a sermon by Melvin M. Newland)

There was a TREE that held a note that spoke of the hopelessness and despair of a little girl.

And in the Garden of Eden, there another tree that spoke of hopelessness and despair. And that tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had left Adam & Eve only one command “Don’t eat of this tree!” and they blew it. They ate of the low hanging fruit and disobeyed God - and their sin devastated their lives, robbed them of their hope. and placed them under a curse. And now everything was a mess! (Pause)

Now, what’s interesting is that there’s a verse we can read in Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the CURSE of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”

We live in a fallen world and we live in a world that is cursed, and because we have personally sinned, our sin has placed US under a curse. Our sins have declared us guilty. And there come times that our sin so shames us that we want to cry out “Whoever finds this: I love you!”

We want God’s love - but we just don’t feel worthy. We feel trapped by the curse; trapped by our despair and hopelessness. But then (pause) Galatians 3 tells us “You don’t have to feel hopeless because ‘Jesus redeemed us by becoming the curse for us…’”

Really??? He became cursed for us? How did He do that? He did it by hanging on the tree – the cross. Now, down through history there’ve been people who’ve been hung on a tree. There was Judas, who - after betraying Jesus – went out and hung himself. Then, there were the two thieves who died with Jesus on Calvary. And back in the Old Testament there was a young man named Absalom whose hair got caught in the branches of a tree, and his enemies killed him as he hung there.

But each of those individuals – well, they weren’t very nice. Each of them deserved to die. They were ALREADY cursed before they hung from those trees. BUT NOT JESUS! Jesus didn’t deserve to die. Jesus wasn’t under the curse because He’d never sinned

1 Peter 2:22 “(Jesus) committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” He didn’t deserve to die!!! He wasn’t under the curse because He’d never sinned! And yet He became cursed FOR US. Cursed… because he hung on the tree (on the Cross). 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us “For our sake (the Father) made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

ILLUS: One commentator explained contrast between the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree upon which Christ died, the cross. 1. The first tree (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) was planted by God. But the second tree (at Calvary) was planted by man; 2. God had forbidden man to eat the first tree. But NOW God has invited US to draw near & eat of the fruit of the second tree; 3. Eating of the first tree brought sin and death. But eating of the second tree brings life and salvation; 4. Adam, by eating of the first tree, was thrown out of Paradise. But we, by eating of the second Tree, are allowed to enter Paradise. (W. Pink, in his book “Gleanings in Genesis” with a few alterations on my part).

You see, that’s the contrast between the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree upon which Jesus died at Calvary. The tree on which Jesus died fixed what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had broken.