Mark 11

Lessons from the Cursing of the Fig Tree ( Mark 11:20-26 ).

20. And in the morning--of Tuesday, the third day of the week: He had slept, as during all this week, at Bethany.
as they passed by--going into Jerusalem again.
they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots--no partial blight, leaving life in the root; but it was now dead, root and branch. In Matthew 21:19 it is said it withered away as soon as it was cursed. But the full blight had not appeared probably at once; and in the dusk perhaps, as they returned to Bethany, they had not observed it. The precision with which Mark distinguishes the days is not observed by Matthew, intent only on holding up the truths which the incident was designed to teach. In Matthew the whole is represented as taking place at once, just as the two stages of Jairus' daughter--dying and dead--are represented by him as one. The only difference is between a mere summary and a more detailed narrative, each of which only confirms the other.

21. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him--satisfied that a miracle so very peculiar--a miracle, not of blessing, as all His other miracles, but of cursing--could not have been wrought but with some higher reference, and fully expecting to hear something weighty on the subject.
Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away--so connecting the two things as to show that he traced the death of the tree entirely to the curse of his Lord. Matthew ( Matthew 21:20 ) gives this simply as a general exclamation of surprise by the disciples "how soon" the blight had taken effect.

22. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

23. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed . . . he shall have whatsoever he saith--Here is the lesson now. From the nature of the case supposed--that they might wish a mountain removed and cast into the sea, a thing far removed from anything which they could be thought actually to desire--it is plain that not physical but moral obstacles to the progress of His kingdom were in the Redeemer's view, and that what He designed to teach was the great lesson, that no obstacle should be able to stand before a confiding faith in God.

24. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them--This verse only generalizes the assurance of Mark 11:23 ; which seems to show that it was designed for the special encouragement of evangelistic and missionary efforts, while this is a directory for prevailing prayer in general.

25. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses, &c.--This is repeated from the Sermon on the Mount to remind them that if this was necessary to the acceptableness of all prayer, much more when great things were to be asked and confidently expected.

Mark 11:27-33 . THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS QUESTIONED--HIS REPLY. ( = Matthew 21:23-27 , Luke 20:1-8 ).