Mark 11:18-28

Listen to Mark 11:18-28
18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and 1were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because 2all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
19 3And when evening came they[a] went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 4As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
21 And Peter remembered and said to him, 5“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered. ”
22 And Jesus answered them, “Have 6faith in God.
23 7Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 8‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea, ’ and does not 9doubt in his heart, but 10believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
24 Therefore I tell you, 11whatever you ask in prayer, 12believe that you 13have received[b] it, and it will be yours.
25 And whenever 14you stand praying, 15forgive, 16if you have anything against anyone, so that 17your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. ” [c]

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 18And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
28 and they said to him, 19“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them? ”

Cross References 19

  • 1. 11:18 See Matt. 21:46
  • 2. 11:18 See Matt. 7:28
  • 3. 11:19 Luke 21:37; [ver. 11]
  • 4. 11:20 For ver. 20-24, see Matt. 21:19-22
  • 5. 11:21 See John 1:38
  • 6. 11:22 Eph. 3:12; Phil. 3:9
  • 7. 11:23 Matt. 17:20
  • 8. 11:23 [Ps. 46:2; 1 Cor. 13:2; Rev. 8:8]
  • 9. 11:23 Rom. 4:20; 14:23; James 1:6
  • 10. 11:23 [ch. 16:17; John 14:12]
  • 11. 11:24 See Matt. 7:7
  • 12. 11:24 [See ver. 23 above]
  • 13. 11:24 [Isa. 65:24; Matt. 6:8]
  • 14. 11:25 Matt. 6:5; Luke 18:11
  • 15. 11:25 See Matt. 6:14
  • 16. 11:25 Col. 3:13; [Matt. 5:23; 6:15]
  • 17. 11:25 Matt. 7:11
  • 18. 11:27 For ver. 27-33, see Matt. 21:23-27; Luke 20:1-8
  • 19. 11:28 [Ex. 2:14; John 1:25; Acts 4:7]

Footnotes 3

  • [a] 11:19 Some manuscripts 'he'
  • [b] 11:24 Some manuscripts 'are receiving'
  • [c] 11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26: 'But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses'
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025