Mark 11

(Matthew 21:20-22)

20-21 On the next morning Jesus and the disciples again saw the fig tree that had withered the day before.⁷⁵ Peter was amazed that at the word of Jesus the tree had withered from the roots.

22-24 Jesus then used the fig tree to teach a further important lesson to the disciples. That is, if one has faith, whatever he asks will be done (verse 24). If one has faith, he can say to a fig tree, “Wither,” and it will wither. If one has faith, he can say to a mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,”⁷⁶ and it will happen. Jesus’ meaning is that God can do anything, if we pray in faith. Truly, all things are possible with God (Mark 10:27).

Jesus does not mean here that we can pray for anything we want and God will do it. Certain conditions must be fulfilled in order for our requests to be granted. First of all, we must pray in faith. Without faith, prayer accomplishes nothing. Second, we must pray according to [God’s] will (1 John 5:14-15). God will not do anything that contradicts His purpose. Third, we must pray in Jesus’ name—that is, for Jesus’ sake, not for our sake (John 14:1314; 16:23). Fourth, we must remain in Christ and His words must remain in us (John 15:7). To be “IN CHRIST” means that we are in His love, that we are under His authority, that we are obedient to His will (1 John 3:22). In short, it means that Christ is the Lord of our life. It means that His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is in us, directing us. Indeed, the Holy Spirit not only teaches us what to pray for, but He gives us the faith to pray for it. Thus, when we are “in Christ” in this way, then all that we ask in faith on Christ’s behalf He will do.

From this we understand that praying in faith to God is not some kind of magic formula, or ritual, or merely words. To pray in faith in the right way releases the infinite power of the living God. When we pray, God listens, God acts.

We must remember one other thing: God always answers our prayer of faith, but He may not answer it in the way we expect. We may pray for one thing, but God in His wisdom will give us something better. God desires to enrich and bless our lives even more than we desire it. We can trust Him to answer our prayers in the best way.

Jesus says in verse 24: “… whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” God will certainly fulfill our request; He has promised to do so. And what God promises, He will always do. King David’s son, Solomon, said in praise of God: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David” (2 Chronicles 6:4).

However, even though we have the assurance that God has answered our request, we sometimes do not experience the answer immediately. Sometimes God waits for a while before showing us the answer. He knows the best time for fulfilling our prayer. He knows when we are ready to receive His answer. Therefore, until we receive the answer, we must continue praying for it in faith. Elijah had to pray for rain seven times, and only then did rain come (1 Kings 18:41-45). We may have the assurance that our request has been granted, but we must continue in prayer until we actually receive the answer in our experience—in our hand. Both faith and patience (persistence) are necessary to receive the answer to our prayer (see Luke 18:1-8; Hebrews 6:12 and comments).

If the answer to our prayer is slow in coming, it may be that there is something in our own life that is keeping our prayer from being fulfilled. We must always be examining ourselves. Are we walking in God’s will? Is there a brother whom we have not forgiven? (verse 25). Do we have an unconfessed sin hidden in our hearts? (Psalm 66:18). Are we really crying out day and night? (Luke 18:7). Are we seeking Christ Himself—or only His blessings? Let us examine ourselves. Let us seek only Christ and His will. Believe on Him completely, and whatever you ask for in prayer … will be yours.

25-26 Here Jesus gives a fifth condition for effective prayer: we must not be harboring any resentment or bitterness against anyone. If there is anyone whom we have not forgiven, God will not hear our prayer. To refuse to forgive someone is to disobey God. David wrote: If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Psalm 66:18).

If we refuse to forgive someone, not only will God not listen to our prayer, but He will also refuse to forgive us (see Matthew 6:1415). God forgives us as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:12). It is true that when we first come to God and believe in Christ, God forgives us freely (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). But after that, if we continue to live in disobedience to God, if we refuse to forgive someone else, then God will withdraw His forgiveness from us and will refuse to hear our prayers.

From these verses⁷⁷ we can understand a further truth. To forgive is one of the chief proofs of love. If we want God to answer our prayers, we must not only forgive others, we must love them. In these verses, Jesus is saying to us: “First go and forgive and love your neighbor, and then God will hear your prayer.” In order to come to God in prayer, we must love Him. But if we do not love our neighbor whom we can see, we certainly cannot love God, whom we cannot see (see 1 John 4:20-21).

During times of prayer, we are tempted to feel that we are more than usually righteous. But God does not look at our lives only during times of prayer. God looks to see what our lives are like all day long. Does our loving and forgiving spirit toward our neighbor last all day long? Do we continue walking in faith all day long? This is what God is looking to see. God will hear our prayers according to our daylong behavior.

(Matthew 21:23-27; Luke 20:1-8)

27-28 The Jewish leaders asked Jesus who gave Him authority to teach and to heal, and to drive the money changers and dove sellers out of the temple. They asked Him this to trap Him. If He said, “Some man gave me authority,” the people would lose respect for Him. If He said, “God gave me the authority,” then the Jewish leaders could accuse Jesus of “blasphemy”—that is, of claiming to have the authority of God. Because in the Jews’ sight, to claim to have God’s authority was the same as claiming to be like God.⁷⁸ And for a man to claim to be like God—for a man to presume to stand in the place of God—was a great insult to God. According to the Jewish law, any man who insulted God in this way was to be given the death sentence (Leviticus 24:16). Therefore, whatever answer Jesus gave to their question about His authority, the Jewish leaders would be able to use it against Him.

29-30 It was a common custom among the Jews to answer one question by asking another (see Mark 10:3). Therefore, Jesus asked the Jewish leaders to first tell Him where John the Baptist got his authority—from God or from man? If they said John’s authority was from God, then they would have to acknowledge that Jesus’ authority came from God also.

31-32 Just as they had tried to trap Jesus, so Jesus trapped them. Almost all the people at that time believed that John the Baptist was a great prophet, whose authority came from God. Therefore, if the Jewish leaders answered that John’s authority was only from man, the crowds would mock and abuse them.

However, the Jewish leaders did not want to admit that John’s authority was from God. John had told them to repent and prepare for the coming of the Messiah (Mark 1:4,7-8). He had told them that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:29-34). If they answered that John’s authority was from God, Jesus would say, “Then why didn’t you believe him?” (verse 31).

33 Therefore, the Jewish leaders answered, “We don’t know where John’s authority came from.” Of course, they knew; only they refused to say. Therefore, Jesus refused to say where His authority came from.