The phrase reads literally,
“ye slew, having hanged upon a tree.” The expression describes the Roman mode of execution, not the Jewish. This wording is found in the LXX of
Deut. 21:23, where it is used in a wider sense, including such forms of punishment as hanging or impaling. However, the Jews hanged only those who were already dead (
Deut. 21:22, 23; Joshua 10:26). The phrase
“hanged on a tree,” used once more by Peter (
Acts 10:39), does not occur again in the NT. However, in his description of the vicarious atonement (
1 Peter 2:24), Peter uses the word
“tree” for
“cross”:
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” See on
Acts 16:24; cf.
Gal. 3:13. But the sinner, seeking his Lord, knows that the blame cannot be fastened on Jew or Roman, but rather that it was his own sins that slew his Lord. Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us, that by a pricelessly gracious exchange we might receive the righteousness of God through Him (
2 Cor. 5:21).