The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'” The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
When evening came, they went out of the city.
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:12-25)
The passage has its parallel in Matthew 21:12-13, 18-22, but whereas Matthew offers a topical presentation, Mark’s version is chronological and follows the order of the events as they happened. So, Mark 11:12-14, 20-25 corresponds to Matthew 21:18-22, and Mark 11:15-19 corresponds to Matthew 21:12-13.
In other words, Matthew separates what happened in Jerusalem with what happened in Bethany. He avoids confusion by leaving out time markers. On the other hand, Mark’s version follows the actual order of events, and shows the chronological relations between the events by including time markers. In addition, corresponding to each event, he also indicates the Lord’s direction of travel. So we read in chapter 11:
“As they approached Jerusalem…” (v. 1)
“Jesus entered Jerusalem…” (v. 11)
“Since it was already late, he went out to Bethany…” (v. 11)
“The next day as they were leaving Bethany…” (v. 12)
“On reaching Jerusalem…” (v. 15)
“When evening came, they went out of the city…” (v. 19)
“In the morning, as they went along…” (v. 20)
“They arrived again at Jerusalem…” (v. 27)
Both Matthew and Mark offer accurate accounts of what happened. Each approach serves the writer’s purpose and makes a particular impression upon the reader. We will work with Mark’s account to take advantage of how his chronological arrangement contributes to the interpretation of verse 23.
v. 12-14
Our passage begins as Jesus departs from Bethany and heads toward Jerusalem (v. 12). He sees a fig tree in the distance, but when he reaches it, he finds nothing but leaves. At this, he says to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (v. 14). The incident perplexes many people, since it appears to them that the tree receives overly harsh and even unjust treatment from the Lord.
Commentators typically offer two points of clarification.
The first has to do with the “complicated biology”[1] of the fig. There are two crops of figs gathered in this region. The earlier and smaller figs become ripe in May and June, and the later and larger ones become ripe around late August and September. New leaves begin to appear in March, and along with them would appear many tiny figs, called taksh in Arabic. They are eaten by people when hungry, and often gathered to be sold in the markets. These are not the true figs, but they grow only to a small size and then the majority would fall off.
This incident occurs at Passover time (14:1), about April, so it is “not the season for figs” (v. 13). However, this particular tree has leaves, and “When the young leaves are appearing in spring, every fertile fig will have some taksh on it, even though the season for edible figs (Mk. 11:13, AV) has not arrived. When the leaves are fully developed the fruit ought to be mature also. But if the tree with leaves has no fruit, it will be barren for the entire season.”[2] So the abundance of leaves gives Jesus reason to expect fruit as well – that is, taksh – but when he reaches the tree, he finds nothing but leaves.
The second point is that the fig tree merely functions as a symbol for something else, and the way Jesus treats it is intended as a parable in action. Hendriksen writes, “It is impossible to believe that the curse which the Lord pronounced upon this tree was an act of punishing it, as if the tree as such was responsible for not bearing fruit, and as if, for this reason, Jesus was angry with it.”[3]
We will discuss the symbolic action later. At this time, our focus is on the typical ways that commentators attempt to provide moral justification for how Jesus treats the fig tree. When it comes to this, we find that although both points are true, they fail as moral justification for Jesus’ action.
Regarding the first point, although Jesus has reason to expect fruit on the tree because of the leaves, the fact that the tree fails to meet this expectation is not a justification to curse it to death. Would the commentators say that anyone in this situation would be justified to do the same? Would they not say that one should exercise patience, gratitude, and contentment instead? We are not supposed to curse something just because it fails to meet what seems to be a reasonable expectation.
Regarding the second point, it is irrelevant whether or not the tree functions as a symbol of something else, or whether or not Jesus is acting out a parable. One action is not automatically justified just because it is symbolic. If it is wrong in itself, then it is wrong no matter what. I am not permitted to murder someone just as long as my intention is to make a point about something else. I am not permitted to steal from someone just because I am acting out a parable.
Both points fail to provide moral justification for Jesus’ action. The problem is that the commentators assume a man-centered reference point as they read the passage, and so they apply to divine actions and commands a human standard – a standard that is itself subordinate to and judged by divine actions and commands. The proper reference point is God-centered – it is God’s sovereign right and power. God’s actions and commands are righteous by definition. He does not need a moral justification or explanation that satisfies our standard. Rather, his actions and commands constitute the standard by which our lives are judged.
God and his creation are as the potter to the clay. He has the right to make whatever he wishes, then to smash it, make it into something else, and then smash it again. He has the right to command that which is normally forbidden, as when he told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Jesus is acting out a parable, but what if he is not? What if God decides to destroy a tree just because it fails to bear fruit, although God is the one who controls whether it bears fruit in the first place? So what? Why does he need to explain this, or show that he has been fair to the tree? Who makes the rules for the ethical treatment of trees? You? Why must God kneel to your standard?
If you ask your fellow servant for a favor, you should always thank him, and you will sometimes need to repay him. But when God tells you to do something, must he say “please”? And when you have done it, must he say “thanks”? No, he does not have to “thank the servant because he did what he was told to do,” but we must say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17:9-10).
Confusion arises when we forget the distinction between master and servants, and judge the master as if he is one of the servants. The master sets the standard according to what he considers right and proper. There is no hypocrisy in him if he is consistent with himself. A servant is in good standing as long as the master approves of him, and the master’s integrity is intact as long as he approves of himself, as long as he functions according to his own standard.
God can do whatever he wants with a tree – it is his tree. Just to think that there is a need to offer moral justification for his actions is to treat him as a mere man. It is blasphemy. Problems in biblical interpretation and theological formulation occur when people look at God as if he is a creature, so that he must be judged like one. There is no need for moral justification. The issue should have never come up. The Bible says that Jesus always performs the Father’s will, and that should be sufficient for us.
Nevertheless, there is a reason Jesus curses the fig tree, and there is a reason Mark tells us about it. The correct approach is not to look for moral justification, but to look for intention or meaning.
v. 15-19
When Jesus reaches Jerusalem, he enters the temple, probably into the Court of the Gentiles. This is the outer area of the temple, and the only place where non-Jews are permitted to worship. But worship is impossible, since the place has become a busy marketplace.
There we find the money changers, those who sell doves, and those who carry merchandise through the temple courts. The money changers are there to exchange foreign money into the only currency accepted in the temple area. Many pilgrims come from far away. It would be difficult for them to bring their own sacrificial animals with them, and then risk that they would fail the temple inspection.
It seems that these merchants perform a needed service; however, their business conduct in fact hinders worship, and the way they occupy the area desecrates the temple site. It is likely that they also exploit the pilgrims, charging high prices for the animals and offering them unreasonable exchange rates. As for those who “carry merchandise through the temple courts,” they are using the temple area as a shortcut as they travel between the Mount of Olives and the city. Their activities do not contribute to worship, but they obstruct worship for the sake of convenience and commerce.
Hendriksen remarks that the Lord expels not only the sellers from the temple, but also the buyers.[4] They may appear innocent, and even the victims of greedy and irreverent merchants, but they are not blameless in that they continue to tolerate this abomination in the temple. They have come to worship their God, and they should be zealous to preserve the honor of his name and the purity of his temple.
Some commentators become nervous again and scramble to offer moral justification for the Lord’s “fit of rage.” The answer is the same. There is nothing to explain, because there is nothing wrong with his behavior. Christ is the Lord of the temple, and indeed “greater than the temple” (Matthew 12:6), and this is what he thinks about what is happening at the place of worship. The culprit is the false impression that Jesus is always a mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and even an effeminate kind of person.
John writes that as Jesus drives out the merchants and cries, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” his disciples remember that the Scripture says, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (John 2:16-17). True piety is always accompanied by godly zeal. You cannot be faithful and not zealous at the same time. You cannot call yourself spiritual and stay calm when God’s name is blasphemed and his worshipers misled and abused. This is why the temple episode is shocking to many readers – they have no zeal and do not understand zeal. They have a gentlemanly faith that cares more about social propriety than God’s honor. To them, this is Christian character, and it surprises them when Jesus does not act as “Christian” as they do. But there is a time to be gentle, and a time to be harsh.
Jesus does not storm out of the temple and leave the scene, but he teaches the people from the Bible, and says, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'” He cites Isaiah 56:7, where God designates the temple as a house of prayer for all nations. The Jews have not preserved the temple for its intended use, but have made it “a den of robbers.” The expression comes from Jeremiah 7:11. The context has to do with a false confidence – a false sense of safety – in the temple of God:
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!”
If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe” – safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 7:3-11)
The people were oppressing foreigners, orphans, and widows. They were shedding innocent blood, and they were following other gods. They have made the temple “a den of robbers,” but they still thought that they were safe. They appealed to the temple for protection and prosperity, but God told them that they needed to reform their ways, for only then would he allow them to remain and thrive in the land.
There is an obvious relevance to our passage in Mark’s Gospel. The temple is buzzing with people and activities, but there is no real worship, no true reverence. They use the place for financial profit, for social advancement, and sometimes for mere convenience. And in the process, they are crowding out those who have come to offer sincere prayer and worship.
Jeremiah’s emphasis is not that the people were using the temple to rob, but that they were using it as a robbers’ den – a place of rest and safety for criminals. Likewise, although the merchants are probably “robbing” the pilgrims and worshipers with their high prices and unfair exchange rates, by alluding to this expression in Jeremiah, Jesus also condemns their false security in the edifice and the system of the temple. They behave as if nothing would happen to them because they have the temple of God, and they refuse to reform their ways. But what if God abandons his own temple? We will consider this later.
This speaks directly to our times. The commercialism in the contemporary church is no less blatant and shameless. A book may be theologically weak or even heretical, but if it becomes popular, then it is repackaged as a daily devotional. After that comes a prayer journal that reinforces its message. Then there are the study guides, greeting cards, posters, calendars, bracelets, backpacks, T-shirts, music recordings, board games, computer games, picnics, dinners, seminars, retreats, cruises, and so on, all riding on the book’s popular theme.
Non-Christians laugh at the stupidity and hypocrisy, and since there is no substance to the movement, some of the followers eventually become disillusioned. Then comes another movement. This one will change everything. And the Christians are pulled into the scheme again. As in the case of the temple, both the sellers and the buyers are guilty. They enjoy the commercialism. They love to imitate the unbelievers as long as they can put a Christian label on everything.
Those who claim to be Christians often do not show more respect for God and concern for worshipers than the Jews in the day of Christ. Some of them use the church to collect business contacts or to sell their products. Others are in church to hunt for greedy and gullible people that they can swindle, people who are eager to jump on another scheme to get rich, or to save money by questionable or illegal means. Sometimes church leaders know what is happening, and although it is their responsibility to address this, they refuse to do anything about it. They are supposed to protect the sheep from the wolves, and to rebuke the sheep for being worldly, greedy, and gullible. Rather than attacking the problem, they often become a part of it.
As for favoring convenience over worship, there are many signs of this. We will not mention the extreme cases, but consider a seemingly less significant thing like answering a mobile phone during a church gathering. Forgetting to switch off the phone is bad enough, but sometimes a person would answer it and carry a conversation. He has no respect for God or for the people who wish to focus on the things of God. If the person who calls is so important, then he should invite him to church! If it is a business call, then he must choose between God and Mammon.
The temple area could not have turned into a marketplace without permission from the priests, who are probably receiving a handsome portion of the profits from the transactions. Jesus’ action and teaching greatly upset these priests, not only because he has disrupted the commercial activities, but because he has exposed their apostasy and undermined their authority. He has become a threat to their economic welfare and social standing.
Instead of being driven to self-examination and repentance, they conspire to murder Jesus. They think that they have spiritual standing with God because Abraham is their natural ancestor, but elsewhere Jesus tells them, “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things” (John 8:39-40).
Although they are Abraham’s natural descendants, they are nothing like him, but they are like those of their ancestors who killed the prophets that were sent to them. Jesus perceives their hypocrisy, and he says to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets'” (Matthew 23:29-31). They claim to be better people, but they are exploiting the temple for financial profit and plotting murder against the one who corrects them. They are exactly like the apostates in the past, whom God punished and exiled from the land.
With this mention of Israel’s sins and exiles, we are ready to consider the fig tree’s significance.
v. 20-21
In Mark’s account, Jesus’ visit to the temple (v. 15-19) is placed between the cursing of the fig tree (v. 12-14) and the withering of the fig tree (v. 20-21), or more precisely, the disciples’ realization that the fig tree has withered. The order is chronological, so it does not demand an explanation; nevertheless, it naturally produces an effect that we must not ignore.
Imagine that you are watching a movie. As a new scene begins, the camera closes in on a tiny yellow flower growing out of the cracks at the edge of the pavement. Suddenly, you hear loud tire screeches…the camera backs away from the flower…a car speeds into sight and breaks hard by the pavement. Several men rushes out of the car, and at the same time, the camera focuses on the face of a young man, perhaps the protagonist. His expression exhibits fear and resolve at the same time. Someone pushes him out of the car and says, “Let’s get to it.”
What is happening? The young man has never known crime before, but through various circumstances and decisions, he has joined up with the wrong crowd. Now they burst into a grocery store by the road, pull out their weapons, and yell, “Give me all your money!” Seconds later, the leader emerges from the store and looks around, then runs toward the car, followed by the rest.
The camera closes in on the flower again. Have we forgotten all about it? How beautiful it is. Look at the bright color, and the shape of the petals. You marvel that it manages to thrive on such a rough terrain. Just then, one of the robbers steps on the flower as he runs toward the car. When he picks up his foot, you notice that the flower has been crushed, and its stem ripped from the base.
The flower’s significance is obvious, and the more context that you have been given, the more obvious it would be to you. It represents the young man, the main character of the story. It is a symbol of his hope and innocence. By sandwiching the robbery between the life and death of the flower, the man becomes identified with the flower, and what happens to the flower is what happens to the man. In fact, in this case the flower “acts out” something that is happening in the heart of the man, something that, despite the robbery, remains less obvious on the outside.
Likewise, by placing the temple episode between the cursing and the withering of the fig tree, Mark identifies the tree with the temple – that is, the temple system of worship and the Jews’ privilege of having the temple of God in their midst. What happens to the fig tree is what happens to the temple. The fact that the fig tree has been repeatedly used to represent Israel in the Bible makes the symbolism unmistakable (Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:7; Zechariah 3:10).
When Jesus approaches the fig tree on his way to Jerusalem (v. 12-14), he finds on it only leaves but no fruit. So he curses it, saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” This immediately generates tension in the narrative: Why does Jesus do this?
The issue is not moral justification, since no moral justification is needed. A tension that seeks moral justification for the action betrays a clash between the reader’s personal standard and the perfect righteousness of Jesus, who always performs the Father’s will. In other words, it is a damning indication that the reader sees himself as God over Jesus and the Father. Rather, the tension is produced by the distance between the action and the result. It seems that Jesus does not have to curse the fig tree, so why does he do it? He must have a reason. The incident must have some meaning to it. But what is it?
Without relieving this tension, Mark rushes us forward to the temple at Jerusalem. There Jesus finds a center of religion that is buzzing with activities, but even a causal inspection reveals that they do not constitute or contribute to true worship. More than that, these activities in fact make true worship impossible, and prevent any sincere seeker from using the temple for its intended purpose. In other words, like the fig tree with leaves but no fruit, there is much noise and movement at the temple, but no spiritual substance. There is an appearance of religious dedication, but there is no reality and no power to it.
The tension remains fresh in the reader’s mind, since he still does not know what has happened to the fig tree. However, if he has been paying close attention, by now he probably understands why Jesus has cursed it. Just as Jesus responds with a pronouncement of final destruction to the tree with only leaves but no fruit, so he will destroy a religious system that appears active on the outside, but that is lifeless and faithless on the inside.
The juxtaposition of the fig tree and the temple, while the tension of the curse is still fresh in mind, leads the reader to perceive the two incidents as one unit. Then, when he comes to verses 20 and 21, he finds out what has happened to the fig tree. The tension is resolved, and because he has identified the tree with the temple, he cannot shake the impression that what has happened to the tree will also happen to the temple. The fact that the tree is not merely damaged but destroyed (withered from the roots) suggests that Jesus’ action at the temple foreshadows something greater than a temporary cleansing or reform, but something much more drastic and final – that is, the permanent destruction of the temple and its religious system.
Mark would emphasize this again and again, and with increasing clarity. For example, there is a parable at the beginning of chapter 12, just several verses after our passage. It concludes, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (v. 9-11; also Matthew 21:43).[5] The message becomes very explicit: “Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them” (v. 12).
By the time we reach chapter 13, figurative language has been replaced by plain explanation. We are told directly that the temple would be destroyed: “As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!’ ‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down'” (v. 1-2).
Jesus even specifies the time of the event: “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (v. 30). The parable in chapter 12 indicates that, because the people would kill the son of the vineyard’s owner (v. 6-7), “He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others” (v. 9). Later, as the Jews were calling for Jesus to be crucified, they said, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25). They cursed their own generation and prophesied its doom. Thus “all these things” include the slaughter of the Jews and the destruction of the temple.
Within one generation, in AD 70, all these things happened exactly as Jesus predicted. The Romans marched into Jerusalem, and destroyed the temple along with its system of worship. Multitudes of Jews were slaughtered, but the Christians were saved, because Jesus had said, “Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (13:14). The believers obeyed, and they were preserved.
v. 22-25
In verse 21, Peter says to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” Then, in verses 22-25, it appears that instead of giving a relevant response, Jesus suddenly changes the subject to teach about faith, prayer, and forgiveness. But these verses in fact make sense when interpreted within the context of the destruction of the temple.
When Solomon dedicates his temple back in 1 Kings 8, he prays, “May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive” (v. 29-30). He associates the temple with prayer, and the temple with forgiveness.
To the Jews, this is the house of prayer, and where they offer sacrifices for their sins. However, many of them have so connected worship, prayer, and forgiveness to the place and the system that they are taken over by a false sense of piety and a false sense of security. Jeremiah would rebuke the people for oppressing the foreigners, the poor, the orphans and the widows, and for following false gods, but still think that no disaster would come upon them because they have the temple of God.
What if God abandons his temple? How then will the people’s prayers be answered? And how then will they find forgiveness for their sins? Verses 12-21 tell us that theirs is a religion with only leaves but no fruit, and rather than continuing to tolerate this, God has pronounced a final curse upon it. Within one generation, the temple and its system would be destroyed, and the Jews would be either killed or scattered. Peter refers to the tree, but it is as if he exclaims, “Rabbi, look! The Jewish system you cursed has withered!” What would become of true worship? How will man find contact and favor with God?
Jesus answers, “Have faith in God.” Faith has always been the basis of a right relationship with God. As Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” It does not say that one must come to God through the temple system, but as Paul explains, “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law” (Galatians 3:24-25).
The issue had always been faith, and that was the problem with the Jews. Although they went through the motions of prayer and sacrifice, they remained in unbelief. “Therefore,” Jesus tells them, “I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matthew 21:43). Of course, the kingdom of God cannot be destroyed, but the administration of grace is no longer associated with the temple or the Jews, but with the church or the Christians, a temple made without hands, made up of those who are circumcised in the heart by the Spirit (see John 4:19-24). The elements of temple worship remain, but we have them in their reality and full manifestation instead of in types and shadows. There is Jesus our mediator, Jesus our sacrifice, and the heavenly Holy of Holies, to which we have access by faith.
Although there is no temple – that is, the building – our prayers are powerful and effective through faith. By faith, we can command a mountain to move (v. 23), and by faith, we can receive “whatever” we ask from God (v. 24). As for forgiveness, although the system of animal sacrifice has disappeared, Jesus Christ has come. He is the Lamb of God, the true sacrifice who takes away our sins. Forgiveness belongs to anyone who has faith – this is not the mere appearance of piety, but a sincere heart that has been transformed by God’s grace, and that freely extends forgiveness to others (v. 25; also Matthew 18:21-35).
Peter marvels that the tree has withered, even from the roots. Jesus apparently wishes to push his disciples’ thinking further and tells them that if a person has faith, he can command even a mountain to be taken up and to be cast into the sea, and it will happen. From what we understand about the location, “this mountain” is the Mount of Olives and “the sea” refers to the Dead Sea. For our purpose, it does not matter which mountain or which sea Jesus is talking about. However, as we will see, the fact that Jesus points to a particular mountain carries some significance.
Commentators of all varieties and persuasions immediately scramble to assert that Jesus’ statement is not to be taken in the literal sense, but that the mountain is symbolic of some difficulty or obstacle (Zechariah 4:6-7). However, although it is true that the mountain represents something more than the physical object, and to “move mountains” is indeed a common rabbinic expression, it remains that we must first take the mountain in its literal sense, and then acknowledge that it is also a symbol of other things.
It is stupid to think that if something is a symbol for something else, then the symbol itself has no literal status. For example, the Passover lamb represents Jesus Christ, the true and final sacrifice, but at the Passover Feast there is indeed a physical lamb, not an imaginary or metaphorical one. Verse 23 is couched in the context of the cursing of the fig tree. The fig tree represents something else, but there is really a fig tree, which Jesus curses, and which withers from the roots.
We cannot say that because the mountain is a symbol for difficulties and obstacles, it is therefore not literal. The same commentators would say that Jesus is pointing to the Mount of Olives as he makes the statement. So when he says “this mountain,” does he mean this mountain or not? The commentators think that he means, “If you have faith, you can say to this mountain, but not really any mountain.” This is ridiculous and impossible. If X is a symbol for Y, then a statement using X to make a point about Y would apply to both X and Y, not only Y.
There is the claim that the statement is a hyperbole, a deliberate exaggeration to get a point across. Although there might be nothing wrong with the idea that the Bible sometimes uses hyperbole as a literary or rhetorical device, Mark 11:23 cannot be interpreted this way. In fact, to see it as solely hyperbolic would produce blasphemous implications.
The position that it is hyperbole to say that we can command a mountain to move through faith implies that we can accomplish lesser things through faith. That is, if moving a mountain is an exaggeration of the power of faith, then it means that faith can still perform lesser things than moving a mountain. However, Jesus says, “Have faith in God” and not “Have faith in yourself.” The feats of faith are by definition performed in utter dependence on God, through the power and energy of God. When we have faith in God for something to be accomplished, such as to move a mountain, it is in fact God who performs the task.
Therefore, to say that this statement is mere hyperbole is to say that it is an exaggeration of what God can accomplish, so that even God cannot uproot a mountain and throw it into the sea. Otherwise, it implies that anything that is accomplished by faith is in fact our own doing, so that a faith that moves a mountain is an exaggeration because in ourselves we cannot move a mountain. Both implications are false, but since verse 22 excludes the second option, this means that the interpretation must reject God’s omnipotence, and it results in blasphemy. In any case, since both implications are wrong, the interpretation that leads to them is also wrong. Verse 23 cannot be mere hyperbole.
It is despicable for biblical scholars to regard the verse as hyperbole when miracles of similar and greater magnitudes had already happened. For example:
On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel! (Joshua 10:12-14)
Whether Joshua made a petition or a command, he said it before God, who answered by a miracle. In this way, our faith can destroy a tree, move a mountain, or stop a planet in the literal and physical sense. This is a faith in God and not in ourselves. It is God who does the work, and to limit the possibilities of this faith is to limit the possibilities of God’s power.
Verse 14 says, “There has never been a day like it before.” The miracle was greater than those that occurred before that day. Faith does not need permission from precedence. It also says, “There has never been a day like it…since.” The miracle was greater than those that occurred up to the time of the writing of this account, but it does not say that there would never be a greater miracle. Faith raises the standard for future achievements.
Then, some commentators suggest that verse 23 refers to the kind of miracles that the Jews demanded from Jesus, and which he refused to perform. First, the Gospels contain no evidence that the Jews required from Jesus a miracle of this magnitude. It might have never crossed their minds to demand something like this. Second, Jesus indeed performed tremendous signs and wonders, more than what was demanded of him. He walked on water and calmed the storm. He cursed the fig tree and caused it to wither. He raised Lazarus from the dead before many witnesses, and multiplied fish and bread before thousands of people (John 11:19, 45; 6:10). And he was willing to perform miracles before his critics. For example, he healed a man with a shriveled hand before the Pharisees and the scribes (Luke 6:7-10).
What Jesus refused to do was to perform miracles on demand, especially when the challenge came from hardened unbelievers, who already knew he could work miracles, and who did not look for reasons to believe, but for reasons to convict him of crime. Since Jesus performed very great miracles, and since he performed many of them in public and before hostile skeptics, the commentators slander the Lord when they claim that he refused to perform such miracles.
Then, they make the observation that spiritual miracles are greater than moving a mountain, such as the conversions of human hearts. Conversion is indeed greater, but this works against their position, for if greater miracles like conversions happen every day, then there is nothing to prevent much smaller miracles like moving mountains. Spectacular miracles of nature happen throughout the Bible. It is absurd to suggest that because there are greater miracles, therefore the much smaller miracles never happen and are never supposed to happen. The truth is that if more biblical scholars are converted, more of them would believe in Mark 11:23.
Another way that some people have challenged a literal interpretation of verse 23 is to ask, “What good is it?” Why would someone ever need to move a mountain, and to do it by a command? This is irrelevant to the discussion. We are considering whether it can happen, not whether we need it to happen. Many things that we never need to happen are nevertheless possible. Joshua’s miracle also addresses this. It was very practical.
In Matthew 21, when the disciples ask, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” (v. 20), Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done” (v. 21). He says, “not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain.” Jesus cursed a literal tree, a physical tree, and he says that one who has faith can do the same thing, that is, to curse a literal tree, a physical tree, and to do something even greater, that is, to command a mountain to move.
There is no reason to soften the meaning, and there is no excuse for a symbolic interpretation. One commentator has the audacity to claim that although the fig tree that Jesus curses is literal, when he says that his followers can do the same thing in Matthew 21, both the tree and the mountain have become symbolic. He has no justification for this ridiculous interpretation. Jesus’ language does not leave room for this. He outright tells the disciples that they can do “what was done to the fig tree.” Instead of inventing ways to overturn what Jesus says, it would be easier for these scholars to throw away their Bibles and confess that they are non-Christians, agents of the devil who pose as experts to deceive God’s people.
Mark 11:23 demands a literal interpretation. The real reason for a symbolic interpretation is unbelief. There is a strong motivation to camouflage spiritual weakness and rebellion under an appearance of sensible and refined scholarship. The theologians and interpreters condemn the very thing that the verse promotes – the idea that wonderful and miraculous things will happen when a person believes in God and relies on his power. They attempt to neutralize the teachings of Jesus, and commit the same thing that he condemned in the Jews. They are disqualified from instructing God’s people.
Supposedly, many scholars and preachers undermine Mark 11:23 and similar verses because they wish to combat abuse. This is an excuse, because the worst abuse is their rejection of what Jesus teaches about faith. Their unbelief is far more sinister and dangerous than the alleged errors that they labor to extinguish.
They have in mind the teaching that if a person has faith, then whatever he says will happen, and the consistent application of this teaching could bring health and wealth. However, Jesus indeed teaches that if a person has faith, then whatever he says will happen – this is exactly what Mark 11:23 says. Then, there are indeed promises of health and wealth in the Bible, along with many other kinds of blessings.
It is true that there are errors and abuses, but the essential principles about the power of faith and the promises of blessings are undeniable. Moreover, the critics have proven themselves to be unqualified to issue corrections, since they proceed from a viewpoint of unbelief, and there is no worst error and abuse than this. Their unbelief also results in foolish arguments, as demonstrated in how they handle Mark 11:23. Their treatment of other verses, such as God’s promises on health, wealth, and other blessings, are not any better. Just as they attempt to explain away Mark 11:23, they attempt to explain away God’s promises. They disguise themselves as defenders of orthodoxy, but they are the real enemies of the faith.
Mark 11:23 teaches that if we have faith, we can command even a mountain to move, and it will happen. God is the source of faith, and he can infuse us with this kind of faith. This faith is not a force in itself – the power is not in belief as such – but it relies on God to perform the work. Thus even though it might be expressed as a command, it is a form of prayer toward God, looking to him to make it happen. Accordingly, verse 24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
The Bible portrays faith as something that honors God and promotes his purpose, but also as something that draws on God’s resources for our own welfare and success. Any hesitation to exercise faith in God for our needs and wants is self-righteous and hypocritical, as if God’s resources are needed for ministry but optional for our everyday living. It is false piety, and betrays a gross arrogance, as if we are above depending on God for these things. We should look to God for everything, and ask him for everything, even our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). Faith works for our benefit and for God’s purpose, and these two are not in conflict when we place our welfare within the broader concern for his kingdom.
Faith needs persistence to fulfill its work. In the Bible, faith sometimes performs instantaneous feats of greatness, but it is sometimes a stubborn conviction that produces consistent speech and conduct over long durations. Hebrews 11 presents both facets of faith. It is through “faith and patience” that we inherit God’s promises (Hebrews 6:12). This is important for those who venture out in faith for the work of the gospel. We trust in God’s word, which never fails, and not in immediate or short-term results.
One man’s faith can move a mountain without support from others. This does not mean that faith disregards relationships, since verse 25 teaches that faith reflects God’s forgiveness toward people. We cannot love God and at the same time hate our brothers and sisters in Christ. We cannot have faith toward God and at the same time harbor resentment toward others. Faith is consistent with an environment where God’s people live in love and harmony, but strife will hinder it. As 1 Peter 3:7 says, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”
Jesus tells us that faith can move mountains. It can receive answers from God. This teaching is not for us to explain away or to drown under a thousand qualifications. It condemns unbelief, tradition, false piety, false scholarship, and false orthodoxy. It shows us that those who claim to be defenders of the faith are often servants of the devil. It tells us to have faith! It inspires us to attempt new things, attain greater heights, and stretch our imagination. It teaches us to ask for miracles, and to expect miracles.
Lord, we believe, help our unbelief! Teach us to have faith, so that we may “encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble” (Isaiah 35:3, NASB). Grant us a faith that can move mountains. Lord, grant us this faith – now in the form of an explosive power, now in the form of a persistent trust – so that we may cast aside all obstacles and perform exploits in your name, for your glory and for the good of your people. Amen.
[1] New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition (InterVarsity Press, 1996), p. 368.
[2] The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Edition (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 302. See the entire article on “Fig; Fig Tree” for more information.
[3] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Mark (Baker Books, 1975), p. 442.
[4] Ibid., p. 452.
[5] “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matthew 21:43).