Mark 11:14
in Mark 11Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And his disciples heard it.
KJV
And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
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This verse in Mark 11
Commentary
12 notes on this verseRemember 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.
This site's exposition
Jesus was hungry
on Mark 11:12-14
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.
This site's exposition
ever eat of your fruit again
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
We may also say, in another sense, that the Lord sought for fruit on the fig tree before its time, and not finding it, cursed it, because all who fulfil the commandments of the Law, are said to bear fruit in their own time, as, for instance, that commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but he who not only abstains from adultery but remains a virgin, which is a greater thing, excels them in virtue. But the Lord exacts from the perfect not only the observance of virtue, but also that they bear fruit over and above the commandments.
The owner of the fig tree did not obey the law but spurned it. Our Lord came and found that there was [nothing] left on it, so he cursed it, lest its owner eat from it again, since he had left [nothing] for the orphan …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Wishing to show His disciples that if He chose He could in a moment exterminate those who were about to crucify Him. In a mystical sense, however, the Lord entered into the temple, but came out of it again, to show that He left it desolate, and open to the spoiler.
But let us also examine the account of the fig tree, for here something seemingly strange and harsh appears. First, Jesus was hungry early in the morning; second, He demands fruit when the season for figs had not yet come; and furthermore, He punishes an …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
11 ), and its serviceableness therein to man, preferable to the preferment of being promoted over the trees; now to be deprived of that, was a grievous curse. This was intended to be a type and figure of the doom passed upon the Jewish church, to which he came, seeking fruit, but found none ( Luke xiii.
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The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
We see in the beginning of this passage, one of the many proofs that our Lord Jesus Christ was really man . We read that "He was hungry." He had a nature and bodily constitution, like our own in all things, sin only excepted. He could weep, and rejoice, and suffer pain. He could be weary and need rest. He could be thirsty, and need drink. He could be hungry, and need food. Expressions like this should teach us the condescension of Christ. How wonderful they are when we reflect upon them!
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
We see in the beginning of this passage, one of the many proofs that our Lord Jesus Christ was really man . We read that "He was hungry." He had a nature and bodily constitution, like our own in all things, sin only excepted. He could weep, and rejoice, and suffer pain. He could be weary and need rest. He could be thirsty, and need drink. He could be hungry, and need food. Expressions like this should teach us the condescension of Christ. How wonderful they are when we reflect upon them! He who is the eternal God — He who made the world and all that it contains — He from whose hand the fruits of the earth, the fish of the sea, the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, all had their beginning — He, even He was pleased to suffer hunger, when He came into the world to save sinners. This is a great mystery. Kindness and love like this pass man's understanding. No wonder that Paul speaks of the "unsearchable riches of Christ." (Ephes. 3:8.) Expressions like this should teach us Christ's power to sympathize with His believing people on earth. He knows their sorrows by experience. He can be touched with the feeling of their infirmities. He has had experience of a body and its daily needs. He has allowed Himself the severe sufferings that the body of man is liable to. He has tasted pain, and weakness, and weariness, and hunger, and thirst. When we tell Him of these things in our prayers, He knows what we mean, and is no stranger to our troubles. Surely this is just the Savior and Friend that poor aching, groaning, human nature requires! We learn, in the second place, from these verses, the great danger of unfruitfulness and formality in religion . This is a lesson which our Lord teaches in a remarkable typical action.
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀποκριθεὶς | apokritheis | answering | G611 → | 231 times |
| εἶπεν | eipen | He said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| αὐτῇ· | autea | to it; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| μηκέτι | meketi | No more | G3371 → | 21 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| αἰῶνα | aiona | age | G165 → | 121 times |
| ἐκ | ek | from | G1537 → | 911 times |
| σοῦ | sou | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| μηδεὶς | medeis | no one | G3367 → | 90 times |
| καρπὸν | karpon | fruit | G2590 → | 66 times |
| φάγοι. | phagoi | would eat. | G5315 → | 93 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἤκουον | ekouon | were listening | G191 → | 425 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μαθηταὶ | mathetai | disciples | G3101 → | 260 times |
| αὐτοῦ. | autou | of Him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀποκριθεὶςanswering
apokritheisG611 →231 times
εἶπενHe said
eipenG2036 →925 times
αὐτῇ·to it;
auteaG846 →5565 times
μηκέτιNo more
meketiG3371 →21 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
αἰῶναage
aionaG165 →121 times
ἐκfrom
ekG1537 →911 times
σοῦyou
souG4771 →2973 times
μηδεὶςno one
medeisG3367 →90 times
καρπὸνfruit
karponG2590 →66 times
φάγοι.would eat.
phagoiG5315 →93 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἤκουονwere listening
ekouonG191 →425 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
μαθηταὶdisciples
mathetaiG3101 →260 times
αὐτοῦ.of Him.
autouG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 15:6If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 15:2
He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 6:7–8
For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God.
- Matthew 13:41
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.
- Matthew 7:19
Through
Matthew 3:10The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
it leads to
- Luke 3:9
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- John 15:6
If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 13:6–9
Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 3:9
Through
Matthew 7:19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
it leads to
- Matthew 3:10
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 3:10
Where this verse is studied
About Mark
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 13:18; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.