Jesus as the Tree

More than thinking of the tree of life as eternal life itself, early Christians identified Jesus as that tree. This identification begins with this poignant saying of Jesus on his way to Golgotha. On his way to the Place of the Skull, he is followed by a large group of mourners, made up mostly of women. What he says to them reveals his centrality to salvation, and the resistance of those (chief priests) who refuse eternal life embodied before their eyes.