Mark 11:20-26--The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

Mark 11:20-25
English Standard Version
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The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

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Hopefully you see this passage along with the last two (and partially the next one) revealing a single truth about the spiritual state of the nation of Israel at that time--they looked like they were something other than what they were.

On Tuesday morning when Jesus and the disciples once again passed by the fig tree He had cursed on Monday, the disciples saw that the tree had withered from the roots up.  Peter remembered what Jesus had said and pointed out to Jesus that the fig tree He had cursed had withered (as if Jesus didn't know what His words would do).

Jesus responded to them (the apostles) that they should have faith in God and then they will see even greater things happen.  Jesus uses a bit of hyperbole here to say that things that man thinks are impossible are not impossible with God.  The mountains were thought to be immovable and unshakeable, but Jesus said that by faith they could command the mountain to be taken up and hurled into the sea and it would happen if they believed by faith that God would do it (and they asked for it in accordance with His will).  In other words, Jesus is promising them that whenever they need a sign to validate the message they are preaching, they need only ask by faith and no matter how large or small their request, He will provide the sign.  I believe this promise was made specifically to the Eleven believing apostles (it was made to Judas as well but didn't really matter for Him) as I think the Bible is clear that we should not expect everyone to be equipped with the same gifts to be able to perform signs and miracles.  I think I've spoken enough on my personal position on "sign gifts" to not need to go into that again here, but you can ask me directly if you have any questions.  Fair warning that my answer will be nuanced and will take some time for you to have a discussion with me.

Jesus then equates asking for a miraculous sign with praying for anything by faith.  In the same way, we must ask in faith expecting that the request will be answered.  If we ask expecting nothing in return, then why are we asking?  James calls such a person a double-minded man that should expect nothing when he prays.  More specifically, Jesus drills down on them praying, they need to have forgiven everyone that they are holding anything against.  If they have unforgiveness in their hearts, then God will forgive the one praying.

This last teaching is a hard one for us because we believe that all our sins were forgiven at one time when we came to Christ by faith.  In practice, we ask for forgiveness when we sin, but we usually say that we think we're asking for something that has already been provided and acknowledge we are in need of it.  That's not really what the text says though--it says that there's a constant need for us to come for forgiveness and that if we withhold forgiveness from others, forgiveness will be withheld from us (this is taught in the Old Testament and New Testament in many places).  This is a "hard teaching" for many as they want to think that if they said a prayer, they are good forever as they have their "fire insurance," but Jesus tells us that we must forgive if we are really people who have been forgiven.  It will be part of our new nature that we've been given.  To say that you are a Christian and then be an unforgiving person is at least hypocritical and maybe shows that you aren't really saved (look at what happens to the Unmerciful Servant in Jesus' parable--he is thrown into Hell because his unwillingness and inability to forgive a small "debt" proved that he was never changed by the mercy his Master showed him, so that mercy was removed).  This truth is all throughout Jesus' parables and teachings and it is one of the last things He wants His disciples to hear before He goes to the cross--He wants them to be able to forgive the people who were going to kill Him because Jesus wants to send them out to preach the gospel to these very Jews and Gentiles.  With man, something like that would be impossible, but with God, all things are possible.  The same God that can move a mountain and throw it into the sea can change the heart of someone that we imagine to be "irredeemable."  (Look at Saul of Tarsus if you doubt this).

So then, what does any of that have to do with the fig tree?  God can change the heart of the nation and bring Israel back to Himself (and He will).  It may seem as impossible as throwing a mountain into the sea, but God desires for His people Israel to welcome Jesus as King when He comes to sit on the throne of His father David.  Like on Palm Sunday, they will sing, "Hosana, blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" but they will really be welcoming Him as King this time.  He loves Israel for the sake of Abraham and for the sake of His Great Name, and He will never break covenant with them, so we cannot and should not interpret the fig tree to mean that God is in some way done with Israel.  He swore by nothing other than Himself and put no conditions on Abraham.  If God can break that covenant, what would keep Him from breaking the covenant of redemption with you that is also supposed to be an eternal covenant which He swore only by Himself?  That also is a topic I'll answer for anyone that has questions--just message me through the website or send me a DM/PM through Facebook or Discord.  I have also written quite a bit about this on the website if you want to use the search bar to try to find some of my previous articles.