Chapter Text
The Triumphal Entry
And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
4And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
6And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
7And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
8And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
11And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree
12And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon : and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
15And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19And when even was come, he went out of the city.
The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree
20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Jesus' Authority Questioned
27And 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,
28And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?
29And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
31And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
32But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
33And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Summary
Jesus sends two disciples to bring a colt upon which no one has ever sat, and He rides into Jerusalem as the crowds cry Hosanna and spread garments and branches on the road. He enters the temple, looks around at everything, and withdraws to Bethany for the night.
The next morning, He curses a barren fig tree and then cleanses the temple, driving out those who bought and sold. By evening, the fig tree has withered. Jesus teaches about faith, prayer, and the necessity of forgiveness. The chief priests and scribes challenge His authority, but He silences them with a question about John's baptism.
Meaning
Mark's account uniquely frames the cursing of the fig tree around the temple cleansing, creating a prophetic commentary. The fig tree, bearing leaves but no fruit, symbolized Israel's outward religiosity without genuine spiritual fruit. The temple cleansing reveals the same judgment: religious activity without true worship.
Jesus' teaching on faith and prayer, prompted by the withered fig tree, assures the disciples that God's power is available to those who believe and pray without doubt. The addition of the requirement to forgive connects prayer's effectiveness to the condition of the heart.
Background
The colt that had never been ridden was significant in ancient cultures, as animals set apart for sacred purposes had to be previously unused. The Hosanna cries and references to the coming kingdom of David drew from Psalm 118.
Bethany was a small village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. It was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and served as Jesus' lodging during His final week.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-11The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
- vv. 12-14The Cursing of the Fig Tree
- vv. 15-19Cleansing of the Temple
- vv. 20-21The Withered Fig Tree Discovered
- vv. 22-26Teaching on Faith, Prayer, and Forgiveness
- vv. 27-33Jesus' Authority Questioned
Key Verses
“And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:”— 11:9
The Triumphal Entry acclamation, quoting Psalm 118:26, publicly identifies Jesus as the long-awaited Messianic king entering David's city.
“And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.”— 11:17
Jesus joins Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 to indict the temple establishment, asserting prophetic authority over worship and signaling judgment on a corrupted system.
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”— 11:24
One of the New Testament's strongest statements on believing prayer, frequently cited in teaching on faith and intercession.
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”— 11:25
Mark's parallel to the Lord's Prayer petition, binding the practice of forgiveness inseparably to the life of prayer.
People & Places
People
- Jesus — The Messiah, who enters Jerusalem as king, cleanses the temple, and confronts the religious authorities.
- The Twelve Disciples — Jesus' closest followers, who accompany him and witness the cursing of the fig tree.
- Peter — The disciple who notices and remarks on the withered fig tree the next morning.
- David — Israel's ancestral king, invoked by the crowds as the one whose kingdom Jesus comes to restore.
- John the Baptist — The forerunner whose disputed authority Jesus uses to silence his interrogators.
- Chief priests, scribes, and elders — The Sanhedrin leadership who plot Jesus' destruction and challenge his authority.
Places
- Jerusalem — The holy city and site of the temple, which Jesus enters in royal procession.
- Bethphage — A small village near Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, where the colt is procured.
- Bethany — A village about two miles from Jerusalem where Jesus lodges during Passion Week.
- Mount of Olives — The ridge east of Jerusalem from which Jesus descends in his royal entry, fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy.
- The Temple — The central sanctuary in Jerusalem, which Jesus inspects, cleanses, and claims as a house of prayer for all nations.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
The entry on an unridden colt enacts Zechariah 9:9, where Zion's king comes 'lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.' The crowd's cry in verses 9-10 quotes Psalm 118:25-26, the Hallel pilgrims sang at Passover, applying its messianic blessing directly to Jesus. The cursing of the leafy but barren fig tree (vv. 13-14, 20) functions as an enacted parable echoing Jeremiah 8:13 and Hosea 9:10, prophesying judgment on a temple that displays the leaves of religion without fruit. Jesus' citation of Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 in verse 17 places his temple action squarely within the prophetic tradition of judgment on false worship.
Devotional
Mark 11 confronts us with the difference between leaves and fruit. The fig tree looked alive from afar, and the temple bustled with religious activity, yet both failed to yield what God sought. It is a sobering invitation to ask whether our own faith bears anything beyond appearance.
And yet Jesus does not leave us only with warning. He turns to his disciples and teaches them to pray with bold trust, and in the same breath ties answered prayer to a forgiving heart. Real faith bears fruit in two directions at once: upward in believing prayer, and outward in released grievances.
Literary Style
Narrative gospel prose in Mark's characteristic brisk, sequential style, marked by the historic present tense and the evangelist's signature 'sandwich' technique—framing the temple cleansing within the two halves of the fig tree episode so that each interprets the other.