Markchapter 11
33 verses · Mark · AD 55 to 65 · The Gospels
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples
Introduction
Mark, The Gospels, Mark Overview.
Mark wrote his Gospel for believers in Rome, and the early church held that he set down what he had heard Peter preach. This chapter opens the last week, and from here the book slows to a day at a time. Its first hearers had never walked the temple courts, so Mark explains what a Jew of Judea took for granted. The chapter pairs a public arrival with a quiet verdict. Listen for how one scene is folded inside another so that each explains the other. Then notice who comes asking for his credentials, and how he answers them.
Context
- Who
- Roman readers who had never seen the temple and needed to be told how it worked
- What
- The arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, his action in the temple courts, the withered fig tree and the challenge to his authority.
- Where
- The road down the Mount of Olives, the temple courts in Jerusalem, and the road from Bethany.
- When
- The first days of the last week before the Passover, about AD 30 or 33; the exact year is debated.
- Why
- To show the King coming to his own city and his own house, and to show what he found there.
Historical context
Riding into the city on a donkey rather than a horse quoted Zechariah's picture of a king coming humble. The cloaks and branches on the road were how crowds greeted a victor, and the shout came from Psalm 118, one of the psalms pilgrims sang going up to the feast.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Mark's note that it was not the season for figs is not a slip; he puts it in deliberately. Fig trees in that country put out small early fruit alongside the leaves before the main crop, so a tree in full leaf advertised food it did not have.
The temple was a vast walled platform with graded courts. The outermost, the Court of the Gentiles, was the only part a non-Jew could enter, and a stone barrier with warning inscriptions, two of which have been found, threatened death to any foreigner who went further in. That outer court is where the sellers had set up, because pilgrims arriving from across the empire needed to change their coinage into the currency the temple accepted and to buy animals certified fit for sacrifice.
Mark alone records that Jesus would not let anyone carry goods through the courts, people used the platform as a shortcut across the city, and Mark alone quotes Isaiah's full line: a house of prayer for all the nations. His Gentile readers were the nations in question.
Significance
Mark wraps the temple action inside the fig tree, one half on either side. A reader is meant to see the tree and the temple as the same picture: leaves without fruit, and a verdict pronounced.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
By the time Mark's first readers heard this, the temple was either in its last years or already burned. A church in Rome, worshipping in houses with no sacred building at all, was being told where prayer now stands: say to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea, and believe.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Riding into Jerusalem on a Colt
Mark 11:1-3
Jesus sent out two of His disciples: with exact instructions, and the scene answers Zechariah 9:9 before any crowd gathers. His reply, The Lord needs it, lays claim to the colt in the name of the Lord.
Mark 11:1
“And when they came nigh to Jerusalem,.... The Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, "when he came nigh"; that is, Jesus; though not without his disciples, nor the multitude: unto Bethphage and Bethany; two places so called, near Jerusalem: Bethphage began where Bethany ended, and reached to the city itself. The Vulgate Latin only makes mention of Bethany; See Gill on Mat 21:1. At the Mount of Olives; near which, the above places were: he sendeth forth two of his disciples; perhaps Peter and John.”
3 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Mark 11:1
“See this passage illustrated in the notes at Mat. 21:1-16. Mar 11:4 Two ways met - A crossroads. A public place, probably near the center of the village. Mar 11:5 What do ye, loosing the colt? - Or, why do ye do this? What authority have you for doing it? See this passage illustrated in the notes at Mat. 21:1-16.”
Mark 11:1
“To Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives - The limits of Bethany reached to the Mount of Olives, and joined to those of Bethphage. Bethphage was part of the suburbs of Jerusalem, and reached from the Mount of Olives to the walls of the city. Our Lord was now come to the place where the boundaries of Bethany and Bethphage met.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Mark 11:1
“The event described in these verses, is a singular exception in the history of our Lord's earthly ministry. Generally speaking, we see Jesus withdrawing Himself from public notice — often passing His time in the remote parts of Galilee — not infrequently abiding in the wilderness — and so fulfilling the prophecy, that He should "not cry, nor strive, nor let His voice be heard in the streets." Here, and here only, our Lord appears to drop His private character, and of His own choice to call public attention to Himself.”
no one has ever sat: Jesus knew where the colt was tied before His disciples went. Clarke notes that a colt on which no one had ever sat was fit for a holy use. Justin Martyr saw in it the prophet's word of a king coming to Jerusalem on a colt.
Mark 11:2
“And saith unto them, go your way into the village,.... Either of Bethany or of Nob. The Ethiopic version renders it "the city", and so reads a copy of Stephens's: some have thought the city of Jerusalem is intended, but without any reason; See Gill on Mat 21:9; over against you.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:2
“Whereon never man sat - No animal was allowed to be employed in sacred uses, even among the heathen, that had previously been used for any domestic or agricultural purpose; and those which had never been yoked were considered as sacred. See several proofs of this in the note on Num 19:2 (note), and add this from Ovid: - Bos tibi, Phoebus ait, solis occurret in arvis, Nullum passa jugum curvique immunis aratri Met. lib. iii. v. 10 The Delphic oracles this answer give: - Behold among the fields a lonely cow, Unworn with yokes, unbroken to the plough.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Clarke reads the words will return it shortly as a promise from Jesus, so the colt was given for a time. Gill notes that anyone standing there would ask why they were untying it. Jesus gave the answer before the question came.
Mark 11:3
“And straightway he will send him hither - From the text, I think it is exceedingly plain, that our Lord did not beg, but borrow, the colt; therefore the latter clause of this verse should be understood as the promise of returning him. Is not the proper translation the following? And if any one say to you, Why do ye this? Say, the Lord hath need of him, and will speedily send him back hither - και ευθεως αυτον αποστελλει ὡδε. Some eminent critics take the same view of the passage.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Mark 11:4-6
found the colt outside in the street: They found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway, as Jesus had said. The bystanders ask the question He foretold, and the people gave them permission.
Mark 11:4
“But they found the colt tied by the door without, because the Gentile people were bound by the chain of their sins before the door of faith, that is, without the Church. Or, in a place where two roads meet, that is, in the freedom of will, hesitating between life and death.”
Pseudo-Jerome · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:4
"His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him," that is, when he had manifested the power of his resurrection.… In short, mentally comparing with the contents of Scripture what was accomplished both prior to and in the course of our Lord's passion, they found this also in Scripture, that it was in accordance with the utterance of the prophets that he sat on an ass's colt.
Augustine of Hippo · written before 430 · Tractate on John 51.6patristic
Mark 11:4
“Or else, in a place where two roads meet, that is, in this life, but it was loosed by the disciples, through faith and baptism.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Mark 11:4
“And the prophecy, "He shall be the expectation of the nations," signified that there would be some of all nations who should look for Him to come again. And this indeed you can see for yourselves, and be convinced of by fact. For of all races of men there are some who look for Him who was crucified in Judaea, and after whose crucifixion the land was straightway surrendered to you as spoil of war.”
Justin Martyr · written before 165 · The First Apology, Chapter XXXIIpatristic
The question came just as Jesus said it would. Gill takes those standing there to be people of the village, the owners of the colt or their servants. Theophylact holds that such people gave permission only by the power of God.
Mark 11:5
“But they would not have allowed this, if the Divine power had not been upon them, to compel them, especially, as they were country people and farmers, and yet allowed them to take away the colt. Or else, those who prevent them are the devils, who were weaker than the Apostles.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
the people gave them permission: The disciples gave the very answer Jesus supplied, that the Lord needed the colt, and it was enough. Gill notes that the bystanders pressed no further. Clarke adds that they let the colt go trusting it would be returned soon, as verse 3 promised.
Mark 11:6
“And they said unto them,.... The very express words, even as Jesus had commanded: not that these were the words they said, but "the Lord hath need of him": upon which they said no more, were satisfied and contented, that they should untie the colt, and take it with them: and they let them go; and the colt with them, very freely; See Gill on Mat 21:6.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:6
“And they let them go - Having a full assurance that the beast should be safely and speedily restored.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Mark 11:7-8
threw their cloaks over it: They threw their cloaks over it for want of a saddle, and He sat on it, a colt never ridden. By the rabbinic reckoning John Lightfoot records, an animal never ridden was set apart for sacred use.
Mark 11:7
“And they brought the colt to Jesus,.... Where he was, and cast their garments on him; their clothes to be instead of a saddle, for Christ to sit upon: and he sat upon him; or "Jesus rode on him", as the Syriac version renders it. The Ethiopic version reads, "they made him to mount him"; that is, the disciples assisted him in getting upon it, and having mounted it, he sat on it without any trouble, though it had never been backed before, and rode on his way to Jerusalem; See Gill on Mat 21:7.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:7
“But by the garments of the Apostles, which they put upon it, we may understand the teaching of virtues, or the interpretation of the Scriptures, or the various doctrines of the Church, by which they clothe the hearts of men, once naked and cold and fit them to become the seats of Christ.”
Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
spread their cloaks on the road: Gill explains that garments laid on the road served as carpets for a king, so the crowd honours Jesus as royalty. Matthew Henry observes that this honour came amid great plainness, with a borrowed colt and the people's own cloaks.
Mark 11:8
“And many spread their garments in the way,.... Instead of carpets to ride on, and in honour to him as a king: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way; in token of joy, as at the feast of tabernacles; See Gill on Mat 21:8.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:8
“How ill doth it become Christians to take state, when Christ was so far from affecting it! The inside of this triumph was very great; not only as it was the fulfilling of the scripture (which is not taken notice of here, as it as in Matthew), but as there were several rays of Christ's glory shining forth in the midst of all this meanness.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 11:9-10
those who followed were shouting: Hosanna takes up the Hebrew plea of Psalm 118:25, save now, and turns it into a welcome. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David names the crowd's hope, a restored throne. He comes on a colt, an animal of peace, where that hope looked for a warhorse.
Mark 11:9
“And they that went before, and they that followed,.... They that came from Jerusalem to meet him, and they that followed him from Jericho and other parts; which two bodies, the one went before him, and the other followed after him: and cried, saying, Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; See Gill on Mat 21:9.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:9
The boys in the Gospel raised aloft their branches as the Savior entered Jerusalem. They kept on crying: "Hosanna." … They borrowed these versicles from Psalm 117. Hosanna, moreover, is the Hebrew for "O Lord, grant salvation!"
Jerome · written before 420 · HOMILIES 94patristic
Mark 11:9
“Blessed is he that cometh, the ho erchomenos , he that should come, so often promised, so long expected; he comes in the name of the Lord, as God's Ambassador to the world; Blessed be he: let him have our applauses, and best affections; he is a blessed Saviour, and brings blessings to us, and blessed be he that sent him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Mark 11:9
- QuotingPsalms 118:26“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.”
'Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord' (triumphal entry)
The crowd hails the kingdom promised to David's line. Theophylact explains that it is called David's kingdom because Christ came from David's seed. Bede observes that Jesus, who once withdrew when crowds wished to make Him king, now accepts the title as He goes to Jerusalem to suffer.
Mark 11:10
“They believed that, mean a figure as he made, he had a kingdom, which should shortly be set up in the world, that it was the kingdom of their father David (that father of his country), the kingdom promised to him and his seed for ever; a kingdom that came in the name of the Lord, supported by a divine authority.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:10
“In the name of the Lord - Omitted by BCDLU, some others, and several versions. Griesbach leaves it out. Hosanna in the highest! - See on Mat 21:9 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
He looked around at everything: in the temple courts, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve. Only Mark records this quiet first visit, an inspection before the cleansing of the next morning.
Mark 11:11
“And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon--surveyed. all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out into Bethany with the twelve--Thus briefly does our Evangelist dispose of this His first day in Jerusalem, after the triumphal entry. Nor do the Third and Fourth Gospels give us more light.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:11
“See this passage explained in the notes at Mat 21:18-22. Mar 11:11 Into the temple - Not into the edifice properly called “the temple,” but into the “courts” which surrounded the principal edifice. Our Saviour, not being of the tribe of Levi, was not permitted to enter into the holy or most holy place; and when, therefore, it is said that he went into the “temple,” it is always to be understood of the “courts” surrounding the temple. See the notes at Mat 21:12. And when he had looked round about upon all things - Having seen or examined everything.”
A Cursed Fig Tree and a Cleansed Temple
Mark 11:12-14
Jesus was hungry: A fig tree in leaf commonly carries small edible buds before the main crop. Leaves with no fruit at all marked a tree that would bear nothing that season.
Mark 11:12
“And on the morrow,.... The next day early in the morning, when they were come from Bethany; Christ, and his twelve disciples. The Syriac and Persic versions read, "when he came out of Bethany"; though not alone, but with the twelve disciples, who went with him there, and returned with him, as appears from Mar 11:14, as he and they came out of that place early in the morning, having ate nothing, before they came from thence, he was hungry; See Gill on Mat 21:18.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:12
“And on the morrow--The Triumphal Entry being on the first day of the week, this following day was Monday. when they were come from Bethany--"in the morning" (Mt 21:18). he was hungry--How was that?”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 11:12
“It may perhaps be said, `We find Him giving way to weeping, to hunger and thirst: must we not suppose Him liable to all the other affections of human nature?' But if we do not understand the mystery of His tears, hunger, and thirst, let us remember that He Who wept also raised the dead to life: that He did not weep for the death of Lazarus, but rejoiced; that He Who thirsted, gave from Himself rivers of living water. He could not be parched with thirst, if He was able to give the thirsty drink.”
Hilary of Poitiers · written before 367 · On the Trinity 10.24patristic
ConnectionsMark 11:20
not the season for figs: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain why Jesus looked for figs out of season: a fig tree in leaf so early gave a sign of fruit. Bede sees in the tree the people who had the leaves of the law and no fruit.
Mark 11:13
“If we render the words, It was not the season of figs, that is, the time of gathering them in, it may mean, The season was not yet: and so (inclosing the words in a parenthesis, And coming to it, he found nothing but leaves) it may refer to the former part of the sentence, and may be considered as the reason of Christ's going to see whether there were any figs on this tree.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:13
“For, as to what you have said about the fig-tree, Augustine speaks aptly in the same sense; for, when the evangelist subjoined, For the time of figs was not yet, it is plainly shown that the figs which the Lord had sought were fruit in the synagogue, which had the leaves of the Law, but not the fruit of works. For the Creator of all things could not be ignorant that the fig-tree had no fruit; which was a thing that all might know, since it was not the time of figs.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Register of Epistles, Book 10, Epistle 39patristic
Mark 11:13
“Perhaps all that is meant is, that as the proper fig season had not arrived, no fruit would have been expected even of this tree but for the leaves which it had, which were in this case prematurely and unnaturally developed.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 11:13
“For the time of figs was not yet - Rather, For it was not the season of gathering figs yet. This I am fully persuaded is the true sense of this passage, ου γαρ ην καιρος συκων. For a proof that καιρος here signifies the time of gathering the figs, see the Lxx. in Psa 1:3. He bringeth forth his fruit, εν καιρω αυτου, in his season; i.e. in the time in which fruit should be ripe, and fit for gathering.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the disciples' hearing as the link to verse 20, where the tree is found withered. Matthew Henry reads the curse as a figure of the Jewish church's doom, where Christ sought fruit and found none. Cyril of Jerusalem recalls the fig leaves of Eden.
Mark 11:14
“And Jesus answered and said unto it,.... The fig tree; a Jewish way of speaking, often used when nothing before is said; the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions, leave out the word "answered", as they do also the word "Jesus"; and which is likewise omitted by the Vulgate Latin, though the other is retained: no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever; which is all one, as if he had said, as the other evangelist does, let no fruit grow on thee; for where no fruit is, none can be had, or eaten of.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:14
“Remember at the time of the sin of Adam and Eve they clothed themselves—with what? Fig leaves. That was their first act after the fall. So now Jesus is making the same figure of the fig tree the very last of his wondrous signs. Just as he was headed toward the cross, he cursed the fig tree—not every fig tree, but that one alone for its symbolic significance—saying: "May no one ever eat fruit of you again." In this way the curse laid upon Adam and Eve was being reversed. For they had clothed themselves with fig leaves.”
Cyril of Jerusalem · written before 386 · Catechetical Lecture 13:18patristic
Mark 11:14
“And his disciples heard it--and marked the saying. This is introduced as a connecting link, to explain what was afterwards to be said on the subject, as the narrative has to proceed to the other transactions of this day.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 11:15-17
began to drive out those who were buying and selling there: The trade filled the Court of the Gentiles, the space set aside for the nations to pray. His words join Isaiah's house of prayer for all the nations to Jeremiah's den of robbers.
Mark 11:15
“Having described this, what the Lord did is added: because, entering the temple, he began to cast out those selling and buying in it, saying to them: It is written that my house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. For he who foretold the evils to come and immediately entered the temple to cast out from it those selling and buying, clearly made known that the ruin of the people came chiefly from the fault of the priests.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 39patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:15
“And they come - Several MSS. and versions have παλιν, again. This was the next day after our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem; for on the evening of that day he went to Bethany, and lodged there, Mar 11:11, and Mat 21:17, and returned the next morning to Jerusalem.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
carry merchandise through the temple courts: Matthew Henry records a Jewish rule that no one should carry a load through the temple courts or use them as a road. Jesus held the temple to its own rule. Clarke notes that the word Mark uses could name anything used for buying and selling there.
Mark 11:16
“Should carry any vessel - Among the Jews the word כלי keli, vessel, had a vast latitude of meaning; it signified arms, Jer 21:4; Eze 9:1; clothes, Deu 22:5, and instruments of music, Psa 71:22. It is likely that the evangelist uses the Greek word σκευος in the same sense, and by it points out any of the things which were bought and sold in the temple.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
a house of prayer for all: Jesus joined Isaiah 56:7, a house of prayer for all, to Jeremiah 7:11, a den of robbers, as Pseudo-Jerome observes. Matthew Henry recalls that Solomon had called the house a place of prayer for the nations. Bede reads all the nations as prayer in the whole world.
Mark 11:17
“It shall be the house of prayer to all nations; it was so in the first institution of it; when Solomon dedicated it, it was with an eye to the sons of the strangers, 1 Kings viii. And it was prophesied that it should be yet more so. Christ will have the temple, as a type of the gospel-church, to be, (1.) A house of prayer.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Mark 11:17
Mark 11:18-19
they looked for a way to kill Him: When the chief priests and scribes heard this, they looked for a way to kill Him. Mark gives the reason: they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
Mark 11:18
“They found that he had a great interest, that all the people were astonished at his doctrine, and that every thing he said, was an oracle and a law to them; and what durst he not attempt, what could he not effect, being thus supported?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Jesus and His disciples went out: Gill notes that Jesus left Jerusalem each evening, likely lodging at Bethany with Lazarus, Martha and Mary, or praying on the Mount of Olives. The pattern sets up the next morning's walk. Matthew Henry suggests they passed the fig tree in the dark and saw it withered only at daylight.
Mark 11:19
“And when even was come, he went out of the city. Of Jerusalem, as he did the evening before, and for the same reasons: probably he went to Bethany, where he had lodged the last night, with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary; or to the Mount of Olives, where he sometimes spent the night in prayer: the Syriac version renders it, "they went out"; for Christ took his disciples with him, as is evident from the following verse.”
Have Faith in God: Mountains Moved
Mark 11:20-21
they saw the fig tree withered from its roots: On the way back they saw the fig tree withered from its roots, the whole tree gone in a night. The frame closes around the temple scene it holds, and Peter's surprise draws out the teaching that follows.
Mark 11:20
“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 Mt 21:19 it is said it withered away as soon as it was cursed.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:20
“The greatness of the miracle appears in the drying up so juicy and green a tree. But though Matthew says that the fig tree was at once dried up, and that the disciples on seeing it wondered, there is no reason for perplexity, though Mark now says, that the disciples saw the fig tree dried up on the morrow; for what Matthew says must be understood to mean that they did not see it at once, but on the next day.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Mark 11:20
“More is included many times in Christ's curses than is expressed, as appears by the effects of them. The curse was no more than that it should never bear fruit again, but the effect goes further, it is dried up from the roots.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The fig tree You cursed: Peter traces the withering to the curse of verse 14. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that Matthew gives this as the disciples' surprise at how quickly it happened. Matthew Henry observes that Jesus turns the withered tree into a lesson on praying in faith.
Mark 11:21
“And Peter, calling to remembrance,.... Not so much the tree, and its spreading leaves, and the greatness of it, and the flourishing condition it was in, the other day, as the imprecation of Christ upon it: saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away; which he observed, as matter of astonishment, and as an instance of Christ's surprising power and authority; See Gill on Mat 21:20.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:21
“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 (Mt 21:20) gives this simply as a general exclamation of surprise by the disciples "how soon" the blight had taken effect.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 11:21
You are now being joined with the holy vine. If, then, you abide in the vine, you grow into a fruitful branch, but if you do not so abide, you will be burnt in the fire. Let us therefore bring forth worthy fruit. For let it not come about that it should happen to us what happened to the barren fig tree in the Gospel. Let not Jesus come in these days and utter the same curse upon the fruitless. But instead may all of you say, "I am like a green olive tree in the house of God."
Cyril of Jerusalem · written before 386 · Catechetical Lecture 1:4patristic
Mark 11:22-23
Have faith in God answers Peter's surprise, and the faith He names has God for its object. A mountain lifted up and thrown into the sea was a proverb for an obstacle that looks fixed.
Mark 11:22
And Jesus answering, saith unto them,.... To all the disciples; for what Peter said, he said in the name of them all; and according to Matthew, the disciples said, "how soon is the fig tree withered away?"
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:22
“Have faith in God - Εχετε πιϚιν θεου is a mere Hebraism: have the faith of God, i.e. have strong faith, or the strongest faith, for thus the Hebrews expressed the superlative degree; so the mountains of God mean exceeding great mountains - the hail of God, exceeding great hail, etc.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Mark 11:22
“Have faith in God - And who could find fault, if the Creator and Proprietor of all things were to destroy, by a single word of his mouth, a thousand of his inanimate creatures, were it only to imprint this important lesson more deeply on one immortal spirit?”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
if anyone says to this mountain: Chrysostom reads the saying as he reads the withered fig tree, as a sign of the power of God. He holds that such a thing is possible with God. Matthew Henry applies it to the faith in God that believers hold in the heart.
Mark 11:23
“There is one special phrase to which I want to call to your attention, and shall not doubt in his heart. The heart is the main spring.”
Smith Wigglesworth · Ever Increasing Faith, Chapter 1: "Have Faith in God" (1924)British Pentecostal
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:23
“This Gnostic, to speak compendiously, makes up for the absence of the apostles, by the rectitude of his life, the accuracy of his knowledge, by benefiting his relations, by "removing the mountains" of his neighbours, and putting away the irregularities of their soul. Although each of us is his own vineyard and labourer.”
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · The Stromata Book 7patristic
Mark 11:23
“The apostles speak of a faith which would do that, and yet might be found where holy love was not, 1 Cor. xiii. 2 . [2.] It may be applied to that miracle of faith, which all true Christians are endued with, which doeth wonders in things spiritual.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
believe that you have received it: This promise extends the lesson of the fig tree to prayer in general. The passage sets its conditions around it, no doubt in the heart before it and a forgiving heart after it.
Mark 11:24
“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 Mr 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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:24
That faith is of advantage altogether, and that we can do as much as we believe. In Genesis: "And Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Also in Isaiah: "And if ye do not believe, neither shall ye understand." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? " Also in the same place: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Pass over from here to that place, and it shall pass over; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews.patristic
Mark 11:24
“THIS VERSE has something to do with the faith of miracles; but I think it hath far more reference to the miracle of faith. We shall say at any rate, this morning, consider it in that light. I believe that this text is the inheritance not only of the apostles, but of all those who walked in the faith of the apostles, believing in the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. The advice which Christ gave to the twelve and to his immediate followers, is repeated to us in God’s Word this morning.”
when you stand to pray: Jesus ties answered prayer to a forgiving heart, the same condition the Lord's Prayer names at Matthew 6:12. Verse 26 is missing from some of the oldest manuscripts and is widely judged to have been drawn in from the Matthew parallel.
Mark 11:25
“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 (see on Mt 6:12); 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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:25
“When ye stand praying, forgive. Note, Standing is no improper posture for prayer; it was generally used among the Jews; hence they called their prayers, their standings; when they would say how the world was kept up by prayer, they expressed it thus, Stationibus stat mundus--The world is held up by standings.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 11:25
He has clearly joined herewith and added the law, and has bound us by a certain condition anti engagement, that we should ask that our debts be forgiven us in such a manner as we ourselves forgive our debtors, knowing that that which we seek for our sins cannot be obtained unless we ourselves have acted in a similar way in respect of our debtors. Therefore also He says in another place, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer.patristic
Mark 11:25
“When ye stand praying - This expression may mean no more than, When ye are disposed, or have a mind, to pray, i.e. whenever ye perform that duty. And it is thus used and explained in the Koran, Surat. v. ver. 7. See on Mat 21:20-22 (note). But the Pharisees loved to pray standing, that they might be seen of men.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Mark 11:26
“At the end of this verse, the 7th and 8th verses of Matthew 7. Ask and ye shall receive, etc., are added by M, and sixteen other MSS. The 26th verse is wanting in BLS, seven others, some editions, the Coptic, one Itala, and Theophylact.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
A Question They Would Not Answer
Mark 11:27-28
the chief priests, scribes, and elders came up to Him: , the three groups of the Sanhedrin, priestly, teaching and civic, joined in one delegation. Their demand to know by what authority He acts presses at the cleansing of the temple the day before.
Mark 11:27
“Let us observe in these verses, how much spiritual blindness may be in the hearts of those who hold high ecclesiastical office . We see "the chief priests and scribes and elders" coming to our Lord Jesus, and raising difficulties and objections in the way of His work. These men, we know, were the accredited teachers and rulers of the Jewish Church. They were regarded by the Jews as the fountain and spring-head of religious knowledge. They were, most of them, regularly ordained to the position they held, and could trace their orders by regular descent from Aaron.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 11:27
“And they come again to Jerusalem,.... The Persic and Ethiopic versions read, "he came", which must be understood with his disciples; for they never parted from him till he was apprehended in the garden.”
Mark 11:27
“This colt was borrowed too. Christ went upon the water in a borrowed boat, ate the passover in a borrowed chamber, was buried in a borrowed sepulchre, and here rode on a borrowed ass. Let not Christians scorn to be beholden one to another, and, when need is, to go a borrowing, for our Master did not.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The rulers ask the day after the cleansing. Gill lists what they meant by these things: taking charge of the temple, healing the sick and teaching the people. Bede judges that the second question implies Jesus acted by another's power, and so denies that He is the Son of God.
Mark 11:28
“And say unto him, by what authority dost thou do these things?.... Enter into the temple, as if he was Lord of it; and correct in such a magisterial way every thing he thought an abuse in it; do the miracles he did, as healing the lame, and blind; and take upon him to instruct the people, a work he was now engaged in: and who gave thee this authority to do these things? See Gill on Mat 21:23.”
Mark 11:29-33
Jesus answers with a question about John’s baptism, whether it was from heaven or from men, and either answer costs them. From heaven concedes John’s witness to Christ, and From men provokes a crowd that held that John truly was a prophet.
Mark 11:29
“And Jesus answered and said unto them,.... Being not in the least intimidated by such a body of men: I will also ask of you one question; or "one word", or "one thing"; λογος, here answers to the Hebrew word דבר, which signifies both "word" and "thing": and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things; See Gill on Mat 21:24.”
from heaven or from men?: Matthew Henry notes that the council had already sent men to examine John, as John 1 records. Jesus asks them to report their own finding. Bede, on the next verse, explains that if John came from heaven, his witness to Jesus already answered their question.
Mark 11:30
“The baptism announced by John formed the subject, even at that time, of a question, proposed by the Lord Himself indeed to the Pharisees, whether that baptism were heavenly, or truly earthly: about which they were unable to give a consistent answer, inasmuch as they understood not, because they believed not.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Baptismpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:30
“Christ might with the better grace put this question to them, because they had sent a committee of their own house to examine John, John i. "Now," saith Christ, "what was the result of your enquiries concerning him?" They knew what they thought of this question; they could not but think that John Baptist was a man sent of God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
They deliberated among themselves: Their private reasoning shows the trap. Bede explains that John, whom they would have to confess as sent from heaven, had borne witness to Jesus in their hearing. To answer from heaven was to admit they had refused both John and the one he announced.
they were afraid of the people: Their sentence breaks off, and Mark supplies the reason. Bede observes that they feared stoning, and feared still more to confess the truth. Gill notes that the crowd held John to be a prophet sent from God, so denying him risked the people's anger.
Mark 11:32
“But if we shall say, of men,.... That John's baptism was an human invention, and he had no authority from God to preach and administer it, they feared the people; lest being enraged thereby they should, at once, rise up, and destroy them: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed; a real prophet, one truly sent from God, and had his commission and credentials from him: this was the general sentiment of the people; See Gill on Mat 21:26.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 11:32
“They feared the people - Or rather, We fear, etc. Instead of εφοβουντο, they feared; the Codex Bezae, seven others, later Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, and all the Itala, read φοβουμεν, or φοβουμεθα. The common reading appearing to me quite improper. We fear the people. Εαν, if, before ειπωμεν, we shall say, is omitted by ABCEFGHLS, and more than fifty others. Bengel leaves it out of the text, and puts a note of interrogation after Εξ ανθρωπων; and then the whole passage reads thus: But shall we say, Of men?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Their answer was chosen to escape the trap. Bede gives the sense of the reply of Jesus as a refusal to tell what He knew, since they would not confess what they knew. Gill observes that they could have answered and chose silence, so the refusal began with them.
Mark 11:33
“They envied the Lamp, and were in the dark, wherefore it is said, I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed; his enemies will I clothe with shame. (Ps. 132:17, 18) There follows: And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Pseudo-Jerome · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Mark; Bede; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 13:18; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Mark; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Justin Martyr, The First Apology, Chapter XXXV; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.