Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 11:19
And when even was come, he went out of the city.
19. he went out ] or rather, they went out, of the city, crossed the ridges of Olivet, and sought once more the retirement of Bethany.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 19. He went out of the city.] To go to Bethany.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And when even was come, he went out of the city. Of Jerusalem, as he did the evening before, and for the same reasons: probably he went to Bethany, where he had lodged the last night, with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary; or to the Mount of Olives, where he sometimes spent the night in prayer: the Syriac version renders it, “they went out”; for Christ took his disciples with him, as is evident from the following verse.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Every evening ( ). Literally,
whenever evening came on or more exactly
whenever it became late . The use of ( ) with the aorist indicative is like with the imperfect indicative () and with the aorist indicative () in Mr 6:56. The use of makes the clause more indefinite and general, as here, unless it renders it more definite, a curious result, but true. Lu 21:37 has the accusative of extent of time, “the days,” “the nights.” The imperfect tense he (or they) would go (, ) out of the city suggests “whenever” as the meaning here.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
When evening was come [] . Lit., whenever evening came on; not on the evening of the purging of the temple merely, but each day at evening.
20 – 24. All the details are peculiar to Mark. Compare Mt 21:20 – 22.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And when even was come,” (kai hoten opse egeneto) “And when it became late,” in the day, when evening came again at the end of His second day of His visit in the temple area in Jerusalem, Mar 11:11.
2) “He went out of the city,” (ekseporeuonto ekso tes poleos) “They went forth out of and away from the city,” of Jerusalem to spend the night. He did not stay in the city over night at all, by mere choice, perhaps back out to Bethany, Mat 21:17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(19) And when even was come.Another note of time peculiar to St. Mark.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. When even was come The evening of Monday of the Passion Week.
Went out of the city To his friends at Bethany.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And whenever it was evening He went out of the city.’ This was necessarily so because their camp was on the Mount of Olives near Bethany. But in Mark’s eyes it probably also symbolises His unwillingness to be fully identified with Jerusalem. He would not accept the hospitality of those whom He had sentenced.
‘Whenever.’ Each night He returned with His disciples to where He was staying in or just outside Bethany (Mar 11:12; Mat 21:17), on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives (Luk 21:37). In view of their number they may well have set up camp there. Each day they again entered the city and passed the fig tree. During the day He was preaching in the Temple (see Luk 19:47; Joh 12:17-50). One can imagine the feelings of the authorities every time He arrived as they waited on tenterhooks for what He would do next.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Lessons Of The Fig Tree Which Has Withered (11:19-25).
When Peter calls Jesus’ attention to the fact that the fig tree has withered, Jesus uses the fact to draw a number of lessons. Firstly that anything is possible to the one who has faith, secondly that even the mountain that they could see before them (symbolic of the withered Temple) could be cast into the sea (symbolic of judgment) by faith, and thirdly of the necessity for forgiving and being forgiven if they too were to avoid becoming withered.
a And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots, and Peter calling to mind the situation says to Him, “Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away” (Mar 11:20-21).
b And Jesus answering says to them, “Have faith in God” (Mar 11:22).
c “Truly I say to you, Whosoever shall say to this mountain, ‘Be you taken up and cast into the sea’, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he says comes about, he shall have it” (Mar 11:23).
b “Therefore I say to you, All things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them” (Mar 11:24).
a “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one, that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mar 11:25).
Note that in ‘a’ Peter calls attention to the withered fig tree, withered because it represents the unspirituality of Jerusalem, with its unforgiving and arrogant behaviour towards sinners and Gentiles, and in the parallel Jesus provides the basis on which the ‘new Jerusalem’, His church, can avoid becoming withered, by being based on the twin pillars of forgiveness and being forgiven. In that way it will avoid the curse that has come on Jerusalem. Forgiveness was always intended to be central to God’s deliverance and salvation (compare Mat 6:14-15; Mat 18:15-35; Isa 43:25; Isa 44:22). In ‘b’ He tells them to have faith in God, and in the parallel He exemplifies this by describing how faith works. Centrally He depicts the downfall of Jerusalem and the Temple as flowing from His faith as expressed in the destruction of the fig tree.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
Ver. 19. He went out of the city ] Having first cried, and said, “He that believeth on me,” &c., Joh 12:42 , to the end of that chapter.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
19. ] See note on Mat 21:17 . On the Sunday and Monday evenings, our Lord appears to have gone to Bethany .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 11:19 . ( , T.R.) implies repetition of the action. We have here with the indicative instead of the optative without as in the classics. Field ( Ot. Nor. ) regards as a solecism due probably to Mk. himself (as in Mar 3:11 , ), and holds that the connection in Mk.’s narrative is decidedly in favour of a single action instead of, as in Lk., a daily practice.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 11:19
19When evening came, they would go out of the city.
Mar 11:19 This verse should probably go with the paragraph Mar 11:15-18. This is another eyewitness detail of Peter. This little phrase is recorded differently in several Greek manuscripts (some have the plural and some have the singular).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
went = was going (i.e. where He was wont).
out of = without. Doubtless to Bethany, as before. Compare Mar 11:20, and see App-156.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
19.] See note on Mat 21:17. On the Sunday and Monday evenings, our Lord appears to have gone to Bethany.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
[19. , when evening was come) Mark has given with peculiar and extraordinary distinctness, the description of these last walks of the Saviour.-Harm., p. 457.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
when even
whenever, i.e. every day when evening came.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Mar 11:11, Luk 21:37, Joh 12:36
Reciprocal: Mat 21:17 – Bethany Luk 22:39 – as
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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On the return to Jerusalem they observed the fig tree that Jesus had cursed. So completely did this “curse” affect the fig tree that it had withered from its top to its roots.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 11:19. Out of the city. To Bethany, as on the evening previous (Mar 11:11). Comp. Mat 21:17, which also refers to Monday evening.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
CVII.
FINDING THE FIG-TREE WITHERED.
(Road from Bethany to Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 4, A. D. 30.)
aMATT. XXI. 20-22; bMARK XI. 19-25; cLUKE XXI. 37, 38.
c37 And every day he was teaching in the temple [he was there Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but he seems to have spent Wednesday and Thursday in Bethany]; and every night {bevening} he went forth out out of the city. cand lodged in the mount that is called Olivet. [As Bethany was on the Mount of Olives, this statement leaves us free to suppose that he spent his nights there, but it is not likely that he retired to any one house or place continuously, for had he done so the rulers could easily have ascertained his whereabouts and arrested him.] 38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, to hear him. [The enthusiasm of the triumphal entry did not die out in a day: Jesus was still the center of observation.] b20 And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. [It was completely withered–dead root and branch. We have observed before, Jam 4:2, Jam 4:3), or which it is unwise for us to seek ( 2Co 12:7-9), nor must we selfishly run counter to the will of God ( Luk 22:42, 1Jo 5:14, 1Jo 5:15), nor must we expect that God shall perform a miracle for us, for miracles have ceased–in short, we [584] must pray to God in full remembrance of the relationship between us, we must consider that he is the Ruler and we his subjects, and are not to think for one moment that by faith we can alter this eternal, unchangeable relation. The disciples whom Jesus addressed were very soon to enter upon a task which would seem to them as difficult as the removal of mountains. The license and immorality of paganism, and the bigotry and prejudice of Judaism, would seem insurmountable obstacles in their pathway to success. They needed to be assured that the power of faith was superior to all these adverse forces, and that the judgments of God could accomplish in a moment changes which apparently could not be wrought out in the tedious course of years. As we to-day look back upon this promise of Christ we can see that the mountains then standing have, indeed, been removed; and that which seemed vigorous and flourishing has been blasted in a day.] b25 And whensoever ye stand [a customary attitude– Luk 18:13] praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. [Forgiveness has already been enjoined (see pp. 253, 254). Here our Lord emphasizes the need of forgiveness because he had just performed a miracle of judgment, and he wished his disciples to understand that they must not exercise their miraculous gifts with a vengeful, unforgiving spirit. They must suffer evil and not retaliate with miracles of judgment.] [585]
[FFG 583-585]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
19 When even was come, he went out of the city. 20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Now as a point of application, this was to the apostles and possibly to some that were around them. It was not a general promise for all coming ages. If it were there would never be a Christian ministry that did not have full and adequate funding, there would be no Christian that was in poverty or in need of food and if it were true for all believers there would be no needs in the world because we could fulfill them all with our prayers.
This was a promise to the apostles time and no more. The reality of this came to me years ago when I read this passage out of its context. We were in a dire straight financially, we had little to eat, my job was not paying very well and we had just moved to attend college – and of course no money for tuition. I read this passage and set to praying for all of our needs knowing that God would answer. He did not answer that day, or the next, nor many after that. We did see God provide for all our needs over time but as I started college I found that the context had a lot to dowith claiming a passage.
I found I could know that God would provide the need, but not based on this passage but upon passages that related to the New Testament Christian. We went through college and a lot more with the Lord’s able assistance – not wealthy but we made it through with some very thin times as well as some plump times – each teaching us their own lesson.
The last portion of this text is of deep importance to the believer. 25 “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Seems quite clear what the Lord was saying to the apostles – if you do not have forgiveness in your life for others DO NOT EXPECT IT FROM YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER. I do not think He could have made it clearer for us.
If you want forgiveness from the Lord, be sure that you have forgiven all those that have need of your forgiveness.
Now I was impressed with the fact that the Lord placed the forgiveness within the confines of prayer. It is through His strength that we can forgive others for their wrongs to us. Many situations in life will cause others to wrong you, and some of those wrongs may be terribly hurtful, but in prayer you can do that which you must to gain forgiveness for your wrongs toward God.
This forgiveness passage was directly linked to the moving of mountains type prayer so the apostles must have gotten the link between the power of prayer and their own forgiveness of others.
The obvious question is whether this forgiveness thing relates to us today. It was already presented that the asking for mountains to be moved is for the apostles so why not this as well?
Appropriately it does not relate directly to us as the moving of mountains, but there is application for our day.
We are to be steadfast in our faith when praying for God to work and the application of the forgiveness section would seem quite obvious. There is a relationship between God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others. We should tend those relationships quite closely.
Both principles can be found elsewhere in Scripture for us. Not forgiving others is sin in our lives, thus God will not be responding to our prayers that are hindered by sin. Faith is the basis of all prayer. If we have no faith we would not be praying and asking.
Verse 22 and following mention “That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore Isay unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].”
As I was reading this today it called my mind to a television show I watched yesterday. The show was about Island Mountains that have slid into the sea and the devastation that it causes thousands of miles away in the form of tsunamis. The powerful force of the displacement of so much water can wipe out coastal areas in a moment.
Now this is a bit of a stretch for application but I think it bears bringing up as we discuss the power of prayer.
This relates somewhat to the Lord’s comments about prayer. He said if someone asks that a mountain be cast into the sea that it will happen. The point that we should take from this is not only the power of prayer, but maybe the consequences of prayer. We may have need of moving a mountain, but what are the consequences of doing so? Are we certain that we want to face the consequences of our prayers? Do you really mean what you say when you make a deal with God? When you tell Him you will do something if He answers your prayer are you getting serious with yourself and your commitment to that deal?
Many years ago I was praying for a man to come back to the Lord. I was convinced that I should continue to pray for this man and his spiritual condition. Over the months there seemed no real change in the man’s walk in this life.
One day I was so burdened for his life that I told the Lord that He could take my life if it would wake this man up to his need. As I verbalized the words in my mind I was brought up short with what I was suggesting. I stopped to do some serious consideration of the consequences of the “deal” but I went on and told the Lord that He was free to do so if it would change the man.
Since I am sitting here typing we all know that the Lord did not take me up on the deal, but the experience was one that taught me to think about what I prayed – is my sincerity in order? Am I really open to what I verbalize? Please consider the consequence of casting that mountain into the sea. If it is needed for God’s glory then have at it, but be sure there may be consequences that cost.
Of course the Lord was using hyperbole to make his point and it is certain that the apostles received the point of His comments. One must wonder how often the apostles thought back to this account as they faced great adversity and met with the Lord in prayer. We must wonder how many mountains they cast into the sea as they ministered for the Lord in their lives.
Just a short rabbit trail, can you imagine the apostles having walked and talked with the Lord for so many months but now He is gone you pray to Him. They had an intimate knowledge of the Lord and they could address Him directly in prayer. That must have been such a comfort to them as they faced terrible times.
That might be a good reason to spend a lot of time in the Gospels getting to know Him moreintimately.