DustyTomes

The Legend of the Dogwood Tree, as it is often called, owes its origins to a poem by an unknown author.

In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew To a stately size and a lovely hue. ‘Twas strong and firm, its branches interwoven. For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen. Seeing the distress at this use of their wood Christ made a promise which still holds good: “Never again shall the dogwood grow Large enough to be used so. Slender and twisted, it shall be With blossoms like the cross for all to see. As blood stains the petals marked in brown, The blossom’s center wears a thorny crown. All who see it will remember Me Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree. Cherished and protected, this tree shall be A reminder to all of My agony.”

Additionally, some individuals point to the fact that dogwood trees bloom in April around Easter Sunday, marking the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion.

While the Middle East is home to a broad array of flora and fauna, the dogwood tree (Genus Cornus) is not, however, one of its native trees. In fact, the dogwood trees most Americans are familiar with (Cornus florida) are only native to eastern North America and parts of northern Mexico.[1] With that said, there is at least one species of dogwood that may well have grown in Israel during the lifetime of Jesus, Cornus mas. This variety does not produce the blossoms described in the poem above. Cornus mas actually produces small yellow flowers that eventually become bright red fruits. Cornus mas also flowers earlier in the year than the Cornus florida of North America.[2]

The question of whether or not Jesus was crucified on a dogwood cannot, of course, be answered with absolute certainty. The available evidence suggests that it is unlikely he was crucified on a dogwood cross, and he certainly was not crucified on a dogwood species native to North America. Unfortunately, there is no record of what wood was used for the crucifixion of Jesus. The word used in the Greek New Testament translations is staurós, which simply refers to “an upright stake, hence a cross (the Rom. Instrument of crucifixion).”[3] It is also worth noting that the word had the previous connotation of referring to a pole or pale (a stake on which one is impaled).[4] With that said, it is entirely possible that the cross that Jesus carried may have only been the cross-beam that would be attached to a pole at the site of execution. It has been noted by scholars that Romans crucified people with varying means, and the details provided by the New Testament do not reveal a definitive answer.

#bible #christianity #newtestament #readerquestion

[1] https://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Cornus%20florida.png.

[2] Steve Whysall, “Cornus mas,” Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, B.C.), October 5, 2009, https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/cornus-mas.

[3] Strong’s Greek Concordance, s.v. “stauros,” accessed March 14, 2024, https://biblehub.com/greek/4716.htm.

[4] Gunnar Samuelsson, Crucifixion in Antiquity, (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 241.

Eric B – BA History, Minor in Religious Studies
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