Exit 5 NJT Burlington Jesus

Burlington, NJ: What 'Wood' Jesus Do?

Robin Rieger BENSALEM, Pa. (CBS 3) ―

A Bucks County woodworker said he found Jesus in a tree stump and some are calling the find a piece of "divine pine."

Next time you take a good look at a tree, you might wonder if it is harboring a divine message from the heavens.

Protectively wrapped in a piece of ostrich leather is what Bensalem's Craig O'Connor calls a slab of a New Jersey pine tree he cut down in a friend's Burlington yard in January 2007.

The image he saw in the remaining stump stopped him in his tracks.
"When I seen it, I was just in awe, I think it's Jesus, Jesus' head … it looks like he is ascending into heaven," O'Connor said.

O'Connor is a woodworker who makes unique table tops from trees, but he said the image is over the top.

"The halo is the center of the tree," O'Connor said.

Some people say timing is everything and Craig said he was destined to find the slab when he did. If the tree had continued to grow, the image would have spread and disappeared.

The question now is what to do with the unusual discovery.

"I put it on eBay, I got a $500 hit right away, but I took it right off," O'Connor said.
Craig said as a catholic, he feels a little guilty for wanting to sell it for more money, but he thinks it's very valuable.

"One hundred grand, they got $28,000 for a grilled cheese sandwich," O'Connor said. "One hundred grand for a piece of beautiful New Jersey pine with a picture of Jesus Christ ascending to heaven."

Mark 15:24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.