There Was A Tree In Jericho

To those of you who actually read what I write, you know my posts are, at times, quite lengthy. This study of Luke 19: 1-4 may turn out to be short.

Think of the movies you've seen about Jesus. Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus walking with his disciples, Jesus teaching and walking through cities, feeding the thousands on a country hillside, his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Many depictions, such as this image from the movie J.C. Superstar, place Jesus in a treeless setting such as a barren desert.

Where are the trees?

This study of Luke 19: 1-4 shows Jesus inside the city limits of Jericho. Along the city street he walked, he and his disciples and the pressing throng, there was a sycamore tree, a tree that grows rather large. It was high enough for a man, who could not see Jesus for the press, to climb and see Jesus above the heads of the crowd.

It is my belief that there was an abundance of trees in Jesus' day. They were everywhere. Had they used them all up, which some Hollywood movies suggest, they would have gone down the same road as the people of Easter Island.

Wood was a commodity of everyday use. It was useful in the preparation of daily meals for tens of thousands of people. It was used in construction. It was a food source. It was used daily in temple sacrifices. In the yearly Festival of Booths, palm covered booths and tabernacles were erected in a week-long celebration of the tabernacle Moses carried through the wilderness.

I am reminded of the triumphal entry. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey's colt. Thousands welcomed him, ripping branches from palm trees to lay on the road before him.

You might see the token palm in one of the movies, and you might see multiple trees in scenes of the garden prayer and betrayal – otherwise, depiction of trees in the Holy Land is pretty skimpy.

Finally, let's jump back in time and think of Moses leading his people through the wilderness for forty years. Think of the logistics. How many people walked through the wilderness for forty Years? How many people needed to cook their daily meals? How many animals needed to be stalled and fed? How many fires had to be built for the sacrifices? Have you ever seen a movie about Moses where the landscape was filled with trees?