Mark 11:20-25 – The Lesson From the Withered Fig Tree

Mark 11:20

1. What Jesus had said the day before had now been fulfilled.
2. The fact that the tree had dried from the root down shows that it will never be able to bear fruit again.

Mark 11:22

1. Jesus urges his disciples to trust that God has the power to do what he wants.
   1. Nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37).
2. There is a difference between “believing in faith” and “believing in God“.
   1. A person can have faith for great miracles to happen, but Jesus urges his disciples to believe that God can do great miracles.
   1. A person can rely and focus so much on his own faith that he forgets the goal of faith; God.

Mark 11:23

1. A mountain is a symbolic image of something that is insurmountable and immovable.
2. Jesus gives many different lessons about how we should believe. Here he shows us not to doubt when we pray, but to expect to receive what we ask for.
   1. In the same way, Jesus knew that the fig tree would dry up the next day even if it did not do so instantly.

Mark 11:24

1. What we ask for must be in accordance with God’s word and God’s will, otherwise we cannot expect to receive it (John 15:7, 1 John 5:14-15).
   1. Jesus exemplifies this in Gethsemane when he asks not to die on the cross. Jesus receives no answer because the prayer is against God’s will (Mark 14:36).
2. If a disciple of Jesus prays in accordance with God’s Word and God’s will, he can expect to receive what he asks for.
   1. However, the answer to the prayer may be delayed, but the disciple should still trust that God has heard the prayer and that the answer will come when the time is right.
   1. For example, it took a number of weeks for Daniel’s prayer to be answered, but it was finally answered (Dan 10:12-14).

Mark 11:25

1. In Mark 5:36, Jesus teaches us that fear can be an obstacle to faith. Here we see that even unforgiveness can be an obstacle to answering prayer.
   1. In many cases, the biggest “mountain” to move, the biggest obstacle to our faith, may be that we have an unforgiving heart.
2. A person who has received God’s forgiveness is also expected to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32).
3. A person who cannot forgive other people is unlikely to have been forgiven himself.