OET interlinear MARK 11:22

Section 11:20–26: Jesus used the withered fig tree as an example

The events in this section took place the morning after Jesus chased the merchants from the temple. On his way to Jerusalem the previous day, Jesus had spoken to a fig tree. He had said that no one would ever eat fruit from it again (11:12–14). In this section, 11:20–26, it was the next day. Jesus and his disciples were again walking from Bethany back to Jerusalem. They saw the same fig tree, which was now completely withered. It had died.

Jesus used the withered fig tree as an example to teach his disciples to trust God to do great things.Commentators think that what happened to the fig tree had a deeper meaning. The various interpretations include:(1) The withering of the fig tree at Jesus’ command was a symbol of God’s judgment on Jerusalem and the temple. (Kaiser, Evans page 182) thinks the judgment was of the temple.) France (page 444) mentions this interpretation but disagrees with it. That indicates that it might be good to check Kaiser on this matter, too.(2) The withering of the fig tree at Jesus’ command was a symbol of the coming judgment of Israel. It doesn’t seem necessary to give so much support for this. Lane (page 406) writes in his commentary: “Mark may have had in mind the passage from Hosea 9:16: The people of Israel are stricken. Their roots are dried up; they will bear no more fruit. And if they give birth, I will slaughter their beloved children. [NLT]”(3) The withering of the fig tree at Jesus’ command symbolized that the means of approaching God through worship at the temple was replaced so that now people would approach God through Jesus. (Edwards writes: “the fig tree thus symbolizes the temple: as the means of approach to God, the temple is fundamentally—‘from the roots’—replaced by Jesus as the center of Israel” page 346) He implied that he was able to make the fig tree wither because he trusted God. He told the disciples that their prayers would be answered if they trusted God. God would forgive their sins if they forgave others.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The Power of Faith (NCV)

A Lesson from the Fig Tree (CEV)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:19–22 and Matthew 6:14–15. See also Matthew 17:20, 18:35, and Luke 17:6.

Paragraph 11:22–26

In 11:22–26, Jesus taught his disciples about trusting in God and praying. It may not be clear why he started doing this after Peter’s remark about the fig tree. You should make it clear in your translation that what Jesus said in the following paragraph was a response to Peter’s remark. Jesus used what happened to the fig tree as an example of the great things that can happen when people trust God.

“Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them.

• ¶ Jesus answered them, “Have^(plur) faith/trust in God.

• ¶ In response, Jesus said to his disciples, “You^(plur) need to trust/believe in God.

• ¶ Jesus responded by telling his followers that they must trust God: