Chapter # 11 Paragraph # 2 Study #4
March 12, 2024
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(474)
1901 ASV
11:20 And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots.
11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
11:23 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it.
11:24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
11:25 And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
11:26 [But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.]
11:27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders;
11:28 and they said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? or who gave thee this authority to do these things?
11:29 And Jesus said unto them, I will ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
11:30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me.
11:31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; He will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
11:32 But should we say, From men--they feared the people: for all verily held John to be a prophet.
11:33 And they answered Jesus and say, We know not. And Jesus saith unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
- I. The Structure Of This Section.
- A. Following the chiasm of 9:1-11:11.
- B. The record of "rejection" begins with Jesus' curse upon the fig tree (11:12-26); a record that is structured in terms of "The Curse", "The Reason", and "The Necessity for Faith".
- C. The record of the "interruption" between the segments of Jesus' treatment of the fig tree.
- D. The record of the cursed fig tree.
- 1. Is founded upon the previous day's "curse" for "fruitlessness".
- 2. Is a record of the tree withered from its roots.
- a. The "curse" was that no one should ever eat of its fruit again.
- b. Once its purpose for being was denied to it, it shriveled up and died within a single day.
- 3. Is a record of Peter's reaction.
- a. He, having been reminded by the sight of the tree, "is saying" to Him.
- 1) Rabbi
- 2) Behold the fig tree which You cursed...
- 3) It has been withered ("exerantai"; Perfect Passive Indicative)
- b. He made this comment and Mark recorded it to lay the foundation for what Jesus is being pictured as "saying".
- 4. Is a record of Jesus' insistence that the disciples operate out of a "faith of God" concept.
- a. "To them..." includes the group.
- b. "Have ("exete"; Present Imperative) faith of God..." is a command.
- 1) It has to do with "faith".
- 2) The description of this "faith" is that it is "of God".
- c. Verily I am saying to you that if anyone should say to this mountain...
- 1) "You be raised..."
- 2) "...and be cast into the sea..."
- 3) "...and he should not be vacillating in his heart..."
- 4) "...BUT should be believing (Present Active Subjunctive) that what he is saying ("laleo"; Present Indicative Active) is coming to be, it shall be to him..."
- 5) "On this account I am saying to you, all things whatsoever you are praying and asking, be believing that you receive and it shall be to you".
- 6) "And whenever you are standing praying, if anyone is having against whoever, forgive (Present Active Imperative)..."
- 7) "...in order that your Father Who [is] is the heavens should forgive you your trespasses".
- 8) Verse 26 is not in any of the early manuscripts of Mark.
- 5. Must be understood in harmony with John 20:23, and the reality of the fact of Jesus' refusal to forgive the nation for its fruitlessness, and the other teachings on forgiveness.
- a. Jesus' requirement of "forgiveness" must be understood in a way that does not contradict His teachings on forgiveness in multiple other places.
- b. The only way I can see to harmonize this statement with the others in other places is to see it as a demand that we do not harbor any sense of "self-righteous superiority" toward others who sin because we are as guilty as they, and that we make sure that our attitude towards others who have sinned against us is one of legitimate "Love" so that we act toward them as we have been instructed in the variety of texts that address the situation of having been injured by another.
