Bible blast from the past

Christ Thorn Jujube

During our time in Rome last week, we had the awesome opportunity to visit the Vatican including the expansive Vatican Gardens. The entire area of gardens was spectacular! Over 50 acres of serene beauty that is actually right within a bustling city. Inside one area of  the gardens that we visited was sort of a exhibit or special area that our guide mentioned was not always open to the public. On this day, however, it was and it was very cool. The exhibit was about the various plants that were mentioned in the bible. Of course, I knew that there were some plants in the bible (i.e. zaccheus and the sycamore tree) but I really was blown away at how many plants the bible actually mentions and how many plants were in the exhibit. It was really fascinating. some of the plants on display were a Lebanese cedar tree, fig tree, sycamore tree, castor plant, sage and many others. The one that struck my interest the most was the Ziziphus spina-christi also called Christ Thorn Jujube. Its name is a result of many who think this plant was the one used to make the crown of thorns Jesus wore. And seeing the plant, you can see why. All along the stem and the branches of the plant are large thorns that would be strong enough to make a crown out of and could have inflicted pain. I honestly had never heard of this plant and thought it was cool to see. That goes for the entire exhibit. It really put things in perspective and gave you some depth to some of the great stories in Scripture.

GMA