Mark 11:21
in Mark 11Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
KJV
And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
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This verse in Mark 11
Commentary
12 notes on this verseYou 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."
This site's exposition
dried up from the roots
on Mark 11:20-21
They saw the fig tree dried up from the roots, withered entirely and overnight, the visible half of the sandwich now closed around the temple scene it framed. Peter calling to remembrance names what he saw, thou cursedst, and his surprise at the speed of it draws out the teaching that follows. A tree of leaves without fruit and a temple of trade without prayer meet the same word and the same end.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(non occ.) The wonder of the disciples was the consequence of imperfect faith, for this was no great thing for God to do; since then they did not clearly know His power, their ignorance made them break out into wonder; and therefore it is added, And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, &c. That is; Thou shalt not only be able to dry up a tree, but also to change a mountain by thy command and order.
(de Con. Evan. ii. 68) The meaning is not that it dried up at the time, when they saw it, but immediately after the word of the Lord; for they saw it, not beginning to dry up, but completely dried up; and they thus understood that it had withered immediately after our Lord spoke.
The Medieval Church3 voices
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.
Peter perceives the dry root, which is cut off, and has been replaced by the beautiful and fruitful olive, called by the Lord; wherefore it goes on: And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
Although Matthew says that the fig tree withered at once and that the disciples, seeing this, marveled, do not be troubled hearing now from Mark that they saw the withered fig tree only on the next day. What Matthew said should be understood thus: "And …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
The good instructions Christ gave them from it; for of those even this withered tree was fruitful. (1.) Christ teacheth them from hence to pray in faith (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
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
13 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 |
| ἀναμνησθεὶς | anamnestheis | having remembered | G363 → | |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Πέτρος | petros | Peter | G4074 → | 155 times |
| λέγει | legei | says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| αὐτῷ· | auto | to Him; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ῥαββί, | rhabbi | Rabbi, | G4461 → | 15 times |
| ἴδε | ide | look | G2396 → | 30 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| συκῆ | suke | fig tree | G4808 → | 16 times |
| ἣν | hen | that | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| κατηράσω | kateraso | You cursed | G2672 → | |
| ἐξήρανται.¶ | exerantai | has been dried up. | G3583 → | 15 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀναμνησθεὶςhaving remembered
anamnestheisG363 →
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
ΠέτροςPeter
petrosG4074 →155 times
λέγειsays
legeiG3004 →1325 times
αὐτῷ·to Him;
autoG846 →5565 times
ῥαββί,Rabbi,
rhabbiG4461 →15 times
ἴδεlook
ideG2396 →30 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
συκῆfig tree
sukeG4808 →16 times
ἣνthat
henG3739 →1405 times
κατηράσωYou cursed
katerasoG2672 →
ἐξήρανται.¶has been dried up.
exerantaiG3583 →15 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
Matthew 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
- Jude 1:6–7
And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.
- Matthew 13:42
And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9
They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,
- 2 Peter 2:4
Through
Proverbs 3:33The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:22
Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed.
- Leviticus 26:14–46
If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,
- Psalms 91:10
no evil will befall you, no plague will approach your tent.
- Psalms 37:22
Through
1 Corinthians 16:22If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:24
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
- Ephesians 6:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Mark
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 1:4; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Mark; 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 (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.