Mark 11 Footnotes

11:22-24 It is characteristic Semitic style to make a point in exaggerated and unqualified terms (e.g., 9:45-48; 13:2; 1Jn 3:9). The hyperbolic casting of a mountain into the sea by faith signals the exaggeration in these statements about prayer. The point of the saying is the absolute necessity of trust in God’s unlimited power, not a blank check for answered prayers. The disciples (and readers of this Gospel) were expected to supply the proper qualifications. Some of these are stated explicitly or illustrated elsewhere in the NT (Mt 6:10; 26:42; Jms 4:3; 1Jn 5:14).