在美國亞利桑那州塞多納的紅岩山脈之間，巍然聳立著一間美麗的聖十字教堂。一進入這間小教堂，一座耶穌被釘十字架的獨特雕塑立刻吸引了我。那並不是傳統的十字架，它的橫軸和直軸是由兩根樹幹和一些樹枝組成的。橫的是一截枯死的樹幹，代表舊約時期拒絕上帝的以色列支派；直的樹幹向上生長，還帶有向外延伸的樹枝，象徵繁衍眾多的猶大支派和大衛王的家族血脈。

這個具有象徵意義的雕塑指向舊約聖經一個與耶穌有關的重要預言。在先知耶利米的時代，雖然猶大支派已經被擄，但上帝藉著先知耶利米帶給百姓充滿盼望的信息，說：「我必實踐我向以色列家和猶大家應許賜福的諾言」（耶利米書33章14節，新譯本），為他們興起一位拯救者，「在地上施行公平和公義」（15節）。人們有個方法可以確認這位拯救者的身分，那就是祂必定是「大衛公義的苗裔」（15節），也就是大衛王的後代子孫。

聖十字教堂裡的雕塑巧妙地捕捉到一個從耶穌家譜中看到的重要真理，那就是上帝會信實地成就祂所應許的一切。此外，這也提醒我們，上帝過往的信實能讓我們確信，祂將來也會信實地成就對你我的應許。

Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.  

The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.

The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.