The Cross on which Christ died is a central part of the Christian faith. And unsurprisingly, its typology appears throughout the Scriptures. It’s seen in the Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark and the strange story of Moses and the brazen serpent.
The wooden Cross is where Christ died. It was made up of two parts, the down-beam and the cross-beam. Symbolically, it represented a tree.
In Deuteronomy, we read that anyone executed on a tree is cursed.
Deuteronomy 21 v 22-23
If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree, the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God.
A cross, a method of execution used by the Romans, was like a tree and therefore anyone dying on one would be cursed.
In the Gospel according to John, Jesus says that He was going to die on a Cross.
John 12 v 32-33
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself”. He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
Once the victim had been nailed to it, it would then be lifted up into place. People walking by would be able to see the sight of the victim hanging.
The Cross and Noah’s Ark
When reading the Scriptures, if we come across anything made of wood, then it may typologically link with the Cross.
For example, Noah’s Ark was made of gopher wood. The Ark was used to save people from the Great Flood, God’s judgement.
Similarly, the Cross is used to save people from the Final Judgement. But also, Christ’s time on the Cross could represent a ‘Flood moment’. We see in John’s crucifixion account, Jesus was accompanied by three women. This is like Noah, who journeyed with his three sons.
Moses’s Staff and the Cross
When the Children of Israel were chased by the Egyptians, they came to the Red Sea. God tells Moses to raise up his staff. Moses does as he is told and the waters part. The fleeing multitude walk across the dry sea bed. As soon as they get to the other side, the Egyptians chase them down, but the waters fall in and drown them.
Exodus 14 v 15-16
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
The staff can be typologically linked to the Cross. Where the staff separated the waters and allowed the Children of Israel to cross the Red Sea unharmed. The Cross is part of God’s salvation plan and allows the Christian to pass through God’s Judgement.
The Cross and the Tree of life
Another typological connection is with the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. They may seem to be opposites, after all, symbolically the Cross is the ‘tree of death’. But in both cases, the fruit of these trees bring everlasting life.
I understand the early Church believed the down beam of the Cross was from the Tree of Life.
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
The Cross can also be linked to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The early Church believed the cross-beam was made from this Tree.
In the crucifixion scene, we see Christ flanked by the two criminals. One who rejects Jesus, while the other is penitent. This reflects the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Unlike Adam and Eve who couldn’t resist the fruit of this tree and ate it, Christ resists the temptation to choose His own path and becomes the fruit.
Spiritually, this means when we come to the Eucharist, we choose to eat Him, the fruit of the Cross. When we eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, we are choosing His way, rather than our own. This was the sin of Adam and Eve, they chose their own path, rather than trusting in God and going along His commandment.
The next part of the series will look at the more complex stories and how typology can help to unpack their meaning.
Another great one!!