The instrument of Jesus Christ's death is described by some biblical writers as a tree. Acts 5:30 states that the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Similarly, Acts 13:29-30 recounts that when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. Peter also writes that He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness. Under the time constraints of Jesus' trial and crucifixion, the Romans are known to have used living trees as instruments for crucifixions.

As God leads us through conversion, He challenges our concept of Him, sharpening our mental image of His character through the Scriptures. Sometimes, the Scriptures present difficult truths about Jesus Christ that are hard to accept, yet they reveal a significant part of His sacrifice. In the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53:4-6, it is foretold that He bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all, paralleling the Day of Atonement ritual in Leviticus 16, where the azazel goat bore the sins of Israel into the wilderness. Isaiah 53:11-12 further testifies that Jesus Christ, as God's righteous Servant, justified many by bearing their iniquities, pouring out His soul unto death. I Peter 2:24 confirms that He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, enduring extreme suffering, shame, reproach, and anguish during those hours. This bearing of sin was not merely a legal act but a real, recorded fulfillment of His role, experiencing the piercing, crushing, and bruising effects of sin while alive on the tree. Moreover, II Corinthians 5:21 reveals that God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, a startling truth that aligns with the azazel becoming a representation of sin. Galatians 3:13 states that Christ became a curse for us, as it is written that everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed, fulfilling the dreadful role of the azazel. Hebrews 13:12 notes that He suffered outside the gate, mirroring the azazel being led outside the camp, bearing our transgressions over hours of agony on the tree. Matthew 27:45-46 captures the culmination of His suffering, with darkness over the land and Jesus crying out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" This sacrifice, though highly distasteful, involved Him becoming sin and a curse, bearing all the chastening in His body. Accepting His sacrifice means acknowledging the harsh reality of what the Son of God endured so that we might have life with Him.

The early Christians did not view the cross as a virtuous symbol, but rather as an accursed tree, a device of death and shame. Their faith rested in what was accomplished through Jesus Christ, not in the instrument of His death. The apostles preached about the One who hung and died on the tree, never considering a piece of wood as a protector or an object of worship. The instrument of Christ's death is not the central focus; rather, it is the One who hung on that stake or tree and what He accomplished that holds all importance.