TEXT [Commentary]

2. Jesus curses the fig tree and clears the Temple (11:12-25; cf. Matt 21:12-22; Luke 19:45-48)

12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.

15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.[*] 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”[*]

18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.

19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left[*] the city.

20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”

22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.[*]”

NOTES

11:12 Jesus was hungry. This brief remark sets the context for the cursing of the fig tree, a rare case in which Jesus used his power to judge.

11:13 fig tree. Often associated with the vine and having a rich and varied symbolic role in the OT, this tree and its fruit frequently represent the people of God (TDNT 7:752; Isa 28:4; Jer 8:13; 24:1-10; 29:17; Hos 9:10; France 2002:439-440).

it was too early in the season for fruit. Jesus sought figs from a tree whose fruit was not yet ripe. It was early to mid-April. Early figs ripened in May and June, while later figs came in August to October. The remark may indicate something about the timing for Israel, or better, the lack of timing for her. It is not yet her time. It was “too early” for her.

11:15 Jesus . . . began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers. The key point of background for this scene is the likelihood that over the objections of the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas had just relocated the place where sacrifices could be purchased. He had moved it closer to the central Temple area (France 2002:444), so what used to take place at the Mount of Olives was now located in the outer court of the Gentiles. This setup only lasted for a two to three week period during Passover (Hooker 1991:268).

11:16 he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. The NLT’s rendering is very interpretive. The Gr. says that Jesus did not allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple, which the NLT renders as a judgment against using the Temple as a “marketplace.” This was perhaps the case. Such activity was necessary because of the legal requirements that certain currency be used (Tyrian “shekels”; Exod 30:11-16) and the need for unblemished sacrifices (m. Sheqalim 1.1, 3; Lane 1974:405). Questions would have been about the location of such activity and how it was being done.

11:20 The next morning . . . the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. The curse had taken effect overnight. Matthew 21:19 simply notes that the tree withered at once.

11:21 The fig tree you cursed has withered and died! Peter noted that Jesus’ words had resulted in the fig tree’s death. The remark invited a comment from Jesus, which he supplied.

11:22 Have faith in God. Jesus began by noting that the unusual things they saw resulted from faith in God. His exhortation to have faith was also an observation that faith had a role in this event.

11:23 you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. Jesus used the rhetorical illustration of a particular mountain uprooting itself and being tossed into the sea. His point was that faith can accomplish things that would otherwise be impossible. “It will happen” renders “it will be done,” with the passive verbal suggesting that God will do it. It should be noted that the prayer in v. 24 is a corporate one; the text is not focused on private prayer (France 2002:448). The Mount of Olives or the Temple mount may be the particular mountain in view here. Evans (2001:188-89) opts for an eschatological reading rather than a proverbial one. His point is that Jesus was picturing a mountain’s removal, not mountain moving activity. God was bringing a transforming salvation to the earth (others, such as Hooker 1991:270, suggest that Mark is referring to the judgment of Israel, pictured as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem). This salvation is prayed for and the answer is about salvation. This could be the meaning of the passage. However, the generic reference to “all prayer” in 11:24 makes this view less likely, as it appears to look at prayer in principle, but it is possible that 11:24 expands as a principle that which the specific prayer of 11:23 addresses (Lane 1974:410).

But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. Here the NLT renders “does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass” (see Jas 1:6). Jesus emphasized that believing in God’s capacity to act was a significant part of the request.

11:25 first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. As Jesus noted, an unwillingness to forgive impedes prayer. Jesus mentions this theme elsewhere and it also shows up in the epistles (as the principle behind the request for forgiveness in the Lord’s prayer, Matt 5:21-26; with reference to worship, Matt 18:21-35; and with reference to forgiving, 1 Pet 3:7). The Father will hesitate to answer the prayer of an unforgiving spirit.

[11:26] See NLT mg on 11:25. This verse, which is not attested in the older MSS of Mark, makes the point that the Father will not forgive those who do not forgive; it is paralleled in Matt 6:15. The verse is present in A C D , but is absent in the key witnesses B L W.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The judgment miracle of the withered fig tree is the last miracle in Mark. The unfruitful tree is cast aside. Most commentators see this as a sign that Israel would be judged because they were not ready for Jesus’ coming (e.g. Hooker, 1991:261). Evans (2001:158) argues that nothing in Mark points in this direction. Rather, because of its juxtaposition with the following scene, he sees this as a picture of the destruction of the Temple. As such, it is another case of Mark sandwiching episodes together so that one helps explain another. As the fig tree was dead, so was Israel and her Temple worship. The scene ends with Jesus’ comment to the disciples. The fig tree will reemerge for attention in 11:20. The fact that the scene of Jesus clearing the Temple is embedded in that of the cursing of the fig tree is important, because the Temple scene helps to explain why the fig tree was cursed. The question is whether the imagery points to the Temple or to those who were in charge of it at that time.

As for the Temple clearing, Jesus was not opposed to the selling of sacrifices per se. The Temple worshippers needed sacrifices, but the way in which these sales were taking place was desecrating the sacred space (see note on 11:15). More important was the authority this symbolic act presupposed. Evans (2001:166) calls the action a “demonstration” in the Temple precincts—a prophetic protest, not a takeover. The act declared that Jesus had the right to assess the way the Temple was being operated, apart from the opinions of the Temple leadership; thus the act was a direct attack on the validity of the Temple’s Jewish leaders.

Jesus made the bold declaration, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (11:17). In so doing, he cited Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, contrasting what the Temple should be (a house of prayer for the nations) with what it had become (a den of thieves). Jeremiah 7 is a particularly significant critique of the Temple; it did not guarantee the protection of Jerusalem because its worship was corrupt (Evans 2001:173-179 has a full discussion). If its worship was a sham, there is a sense in which the people were “brigands,” robbing God and the Temple of its honor by their insincere worship (Hooker 1991:264). This was open and public robbery (NIDNTT 3.377-379; John 12:6; Luke 10:30). There is also a potential parallel to 1 Kings 8:41-43, in which Solomon looked to the day when all nations would worship at the Temple. Jesus portrayed himself as understanding God’s will and intentions for the Temple, and he stood up for the honor of God that the leaders had failed to uphold. He also defended the Temple as a place for Gentiles, something that Caiaphas had undercut in allowing the sales to take place there. Mark’s emphasis, however, is on the compromise of the whole Temple as a sacred site.

Jesus could not have challenged the Jews’ leadership more directly, and he did this in the most sacred, public locale possible. Jesus was not alone in his criticism of the Jewish leaders, as Qumran and other texts show (1QpHab 1:13; 8:9; 9:9; 11:4; Testament of Moses 7:6-10; Antiquities 20.179-81, 207; 2 Baruch 10:18; Evans 2001:168). What may have been unique was that he made his protest about the Temple on the sacred site (for other Temple-related protests in Judaism that were not about the Temple per se but which met with strong official reaction, see Evans 2001:170; Josephus Antiquities 13.292, 13.372-373, 17.149-167). The chief priests and scribes decided that Jesus had to be stopped. His challenge to them through his actions in the sacred holy place would spell his demise, but they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at Jesus’ teaching. Jesus’ popularity was the major obstacle to their murderous plan. They had to figure out how to arrest Jesus without inciting the crowd.

In summary, the Temple cleansing and the cursing of the fig tree are key events in Mark. They show Jesus as exercising authority at the sacred center of Judaism. Whether his actions predicted the destruction of the Temple or were a call to reform it, Jesus made an important claim to speak for God about the most holy location in Judaism. It was probably an act of reform, as he proclaimed that the Temple should be a “house of prayer for all nations.” However, his use of Jeremiah with its exilic context may imply that the Temple was subject to judgment.

Did Jesus act as a prophet or as a messianic figure? At the least, his actions were prophetic, but in his entry into Jerusalem, the people invoked the Davidic hope by hailing him as a king. They expected, as seen in the fourteenth blessing of the Eighteen Benedictions, that the coming of the king and the purging of Jerusalem would come at the end. (Bock 2002b:373 discusses this specific benediction, which prays for Jerusalem’s restoration, the building of a Temple and the raising up of David’s throne; also Schürer 1979:2.458 discusses the entire prayer.) Jesus’ actions in the Temple were regal.

Jesus actions’ also directly challenged the leaders’ authority and reinforced their commitment to stopping him so that they could remain in control. This set up the backdrop for the cursing of the fig tree, which most likely alluded to Israel’s status as the people of God. Jesus cursed the tree as a picture of imminent judgment, because the nation was about to reject him.

Jesus’ act of judgment through a miraculous declaration got the disciples’ attention. Jesus turned this into a call to believe in God. He was at work, even in unusual ways; therefore, the possibility that God will continue to work in surprising and seemingly impossible ways continues for those who believe that God can do this. Jesus issued a call to pray with faith: “You can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours” (11:24). God can and will do great things, if they are requested in faith. This remark is stated in absolute and unqualified terms, probably for rhetorical impact. Jesus was not giving a blank check, promising that anything we want that we believe God can supply will be ours. Rather, he was calling for prayer of faith. In the end, God determines how prayers are answered.