When
evening came, he went out of the city. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. Peter, remembering, said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”
Mark 11:19-21
Mark 11 [18.] The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
Mark 11 [19.] When evening came, he went out of the city. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. Peter, remembering, said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”
Mark 11 [22.] Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
Meaning:
This passage completes the story that began the morning before, when Jesus found a fig tree with leaves but no fruit and said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” (Mark 11:12-14). Between the two halves Mark placed the cleansing of the temple (Mark 11:15-17). Now the disciples see the result of Jesus’ word, and the withered tree becomes a picture of what will happen to fruitless religion, and an opening for Jesus to teach about faith.
- “When evening came, he went out of the city”
Jesus kept the same pattern each day of that week. He taught in the temple by day and left the city at night, lodging at Bethany or on the Mount of Olives (Luke 21:37). The chief priests and scribes were now seeking how to destroy him (Mark 11:18), and the crowded city at night would have given them their chance. Jesus was not running from death; he would give his life at the time and in the way his Father had appointed, not when his enemies chose.
- “They saw the fig tree withered away from the roots”
The tree had not simply lost a few leaves. It was dead “from the roots”, completely and beyond recovery, in a single day. The prophets used this kind of language for judgment on a people who refused to listen. Hosea said of rebellious Israel, “Their root has dried up. They will bear no fruit” (Hosea 9:16), and Jeremiah spoke of the time when “the leaf shall fade” (Jeremiah 8:13).
The withered tree pointed to the temple. Within a few days Jesus would predict that not one stone of its great buildings would be left on another (Mark 13:2), and about forty years later, in AD 70, Roman armies destroyed it. At the moment of Jesus’ death a sign was already given that the old order was passing, for “the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom” (Mark 15:38).
- “Peter, remembering, said to him”
Peter had heard Jesus speak to the tree the day before, and now he remembered. Here we hear the eyewitness voice that many believe stands behind Mark’s Gospel. Peter calls Jesus “Rabbi”, teacher, and his words are full of surprise: “Rabbi, look!” He had seen Jesus calm storms and heal the sick, yet the power of a single sentence to wither a living tree still astonished him.
- “The fig tree which you cursed has withered away”
Peter was struck by the power of Jesus’ word. Jesus would answer by turning the disciples’ attention from the miracle to faith in God (Mark 11:22-24). But the lesson of the tree itself remains. John the Baptist had said, “Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!” (Matthew 3:8). God is patient, like the vine dresser in Jesus’ parable who asked for one more year for a barren tree (Luke 13:6-9). But patience is given so that there may be fruit, and when it is refused, judgment comes.
The Significance of Mark 11:19-21
- God’s patience has a purpose
The time of patience is a time to repent and bear fruit. It should not be mistaken for indifference.
- Remaining in the vine
A branch cut off from life withers, but Jesus promises, “He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit” (John 15:5).
- Jesus’ word does what it says
What Jesus speaks comes to pass. His warnings are real, and so are his promises of life to all who trust him.
Cross-References:
Jeremiah 8:13: "no grapes shall be on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade" Judgment on a fruitless people.
Luke 13:9: "If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down." Patience with a deadline.
Matthew 3:8: "Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!" The fruit God looks for.
Mark 15:38: "The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom." A sign that the old order was ending.
Conclusion: Jesus left the city at evening, and the next morning the disciples passed the fig tree he had cursed and found it withered from the roots. Peter remembered Jesus’ words and pointed it out in amazement. Set beside the cleansing of the temple, the dead tree was a sign of judgment on religion that had leaves but no fruit, a judgment that later fell on the temple itself. It calls us to remain in Christ and bear the fruit of real repentance and faith.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible