The trial of Jesus was a rapid affair. Within the span of about 24 hours, Jesus was arrested in the Garden, tried, executed, and removed from the Cross. It’s a speed that was unheard of in that time period, and also one that reflected the efficiency of a Council that desperately wanted to get rid of a supposed Troublemaker.
John actually does the best job of highlighting the Scriptural impact behind the crucifixion (in my opinion). In John 3:14, Jesus says that “the Son of Man must be lifted up,” which is directly fulfilled in His crucifixion.
Then, His body is removed from the Cross because, as John 19:31 puts it, the “Sabbath was a high day,” and the last thing anyone wants is to have a body on a tree. Why? Galatians 3:13 connects the dots: “Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree.”
That in itself is a reference to Deuteronomy 21:23, where Moses says that “he who is hanged is accursed of God.” Because of that, the corpse should not remain on a tree overnight, or else it’ll “defile the land.”
That’s why Jesus was taken down so quickly. The last thing the Pharisees wanted was for God to be upset with death (how ironic).
Paul’s point in Galatians 3:13 is that God was able to take that which was a curse and turn it into a blessing for us, which is really poetic. It’s also a lesson for another time.
The point in Deuteronomy 21:23 was to prevent death from defiling the land. Exposure would allow the corpse to be eaten by scavengers; or, if it were left to decompose, it could let parts be scattered across the earth.
There seems to be something in the specific mention of a body that is “hung” on a tree, apart from the regular mention of death. This passage connects the two, saying that anyone who is tried and executed, then hung on a tree, must then be taken down. Since most of the executions under the Old Law involved stoning, I can’t imagine this was a common occurrence.
What that means then is the hanging of the body on a tree was meant to send a message after the execution took place. That seems to be what the Pharisees intended with Jesus: Anyone who goes against God (and Rome) will be punished in this way.
That aligns with the few times in Scripture where you see this practice take place. In Joshua 8:29, Joshua executes the king of Ai and hangs his body on a tree. He does the same thing in Joshua 10:26 to the five kings of the Amorites who conspired together against Israel.
Religiously, the leaders of the sexual immorality committed with the Moabites under Balaam’s instruction were all executed and hung on a tree (Numbers 25:4). This was done to turn away God’s wrath from Israel, making it seem like a sacrifice of sorts.
In the end, it seems like someone who was put to death was one thing, but hanging their body on a tree was something else entirely. But even then, that body couldn’t lie out overnight, lest that sign turn into an uncleanness for Israel.
Or, in Jesus’ case, turn into a blessing.