God uses a tree to capture the big story of the Bible in a single image. A tree reminds us of God’s good creation, man’s fruit-induced rebellion, Jesus’ sacrificial death on a cross, and eternal life in heaven. The picture of a tree is a simple way to teach the storyline of Scripture centered on Jesus.
- Creation: “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit…and God saw that it was good’” (Gen. 1:11-12).
- Rebellion: “So when the woman say that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Gen. 3:6).
- Salvation: “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds we are healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).
- Re-creation: “I am making all things new…The tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month” (Rev. 21:5; 22:2).