Some Thoughts on "Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree"
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The Fruit of Life
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The following poem, entitled, "Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree" has an unknown author. It was included in a collection compiled by Joshua Smith, New Hampshire in 1784. It is usually sung as a Christmas Carol to a tune by Elizabeth Poston. The chancel choir at the Lancaster Church of the Brethren has sung this number several times. We do an arrangement by Carl Schalk, published by Concordia Publishing House.
The text of the poem is full of symbolism, and I was moved to give my interpretation of the poem. Of course, I have no way of knowing what the poet, himself was thinking. When I first sang this number, the scene that came to mind was the creation myth in Genesis 2. This creation myth provides an explanation for the development of conscious existence by the human species. In the story, Adam and Eve succumb to the desire to know what God knows. And so, despite the warnings not to do so, they eat the fruit of the tree of "Knowledge of Good and Evil."
Consequently, they lost their innocence and could no longer live in the Garden of Eden. And so, they had to toil for a living and their days would be numbered and they would eventually return to the dust from which they came. According to the story, God made sure they would not live forever by forbidding them access to the fruit of the "Tree of Life."
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.
In this poem, we immediately see that Jesus Christ is that Tree of Life. It's interesting that we often refer to the forbidden fruit as an apple. Here, the Tree of Life is referred to as an apple tree.
His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.
The second verse says that our knowledge of his beauty is based on faith rather than on the forbidden tree.
For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.
In the third verse, we find that all pleasure comes from this Tree of Life. We no longer need the idyllic Garden of Eden.
I'm weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.
Remember all that toil that the human had to do to survive. Now in the fourth verse, we find a place to rest.
This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.
Finally, in the last verse, the poet provides the denouement to the poem. The fruit of the "Tree of Life" truly keeps us alive and gives us the desire to be grafted onto the apple tree itself.
- The Old Professor
Thoughts to the poem Copyright © Jay D Weaver - February 11, 2006
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