Mark Chapter Eleven
The Triumphal Entry
[Text parallels Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:29-44 and John 12:12-19]
11:1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
As Jesus and His disciples approach Jerusalem, and the nearby communities of Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus asks two of His disciples to go into the village in front of them (identified by Matthew as Bethphage, see Matthew 21:1) to procure a colt (Greek ‘pōlon’,[1] a young animal, horse, donkey, etc. Matthew identifies it as a donkey, see Matthew 21:2). This colt is described by Jesus as one that no one has ever sat on. They are instructed to untie the animal and bring it to Him, if asked what they are doing, they are to simply say, “The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.” The disciples did as they were told and brought the colt to Jesus. They placed some of their cloaks on the animal and Jesus then sat on it.[2]
11:8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
Meanwhile, between the large crowd that had been following Jesus and the large crowd forming in Jerusalem due to the news of His arrival, they converged into a significantly larger group of people. They offer Jesus a royal welcome, as many placed their cloaks on the road, while others laid branches cut from trees before Him (identified as Palm trees by John, see John 12:13). The crowd shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” or when translated, “Please! Deliver us!”[3] The word ‘Hosanna’ is a strong and urgent plea for salvation, a request for an immediate rescue.[4] They also shouted, “Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David!” and, “You in the highest heaven! Please! Deliver us!”[5] Sadly, the cries for salvation and deliverance were not for personal spiritual salvation, but for the here and now, to be saved from Roman oppression.
This event marks the time when Jesus was to be revealed as the Messiah. In the past, Jesus often stated that it was not yet His time (or similar wording), pointing to a future event, to this loud and exuberant entry into Jerusalem.[6]
11:11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Jesus went to the Temple, apparently no one was around as it was late. So He left Jerusalem and went to the nearby town of Bethany with His disciples.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
[Text parallels Matthew 18:18-19a]
11:12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
As Jesus and His disciples left Bethany, Jesus became hungry and saw a fig tree with leaves and went up to it to pick some of its fruit. When He got closer He noticed that the tree had no fruit. Mark notes that it was not the season for figs. Jesus then spoke to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again,’ loud enough for the disciples to hear. While this often-thought to be ‘outburst’ of emotion seems out of character for Jesus to say, this is the first part of an object lesson that will be explained later in verses 20-25.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
[Text parallels Matthew 21:12-13 and Luke 19:45-48]
11:15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
Jesus entered the Temple and found the merchants once again taking advantage of people by charging high rates of exchange and high prices for animals sold for sacrifices.[7] The gospel of John records a similar event near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (see John 2:13-17). Jesus once again overturns tables and chairs and would not allow people through. He then quoted Isaiah 56:7, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations,” and further noted that they have made the Temple into a “den of robbers.”
11:18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
The chief priests and the scribes heard the commotion but did nothing at that time as they feared Him because the crowd listened to Him and were astonished by His teaching. Thinking that removing Jesus would resolve their problems so they decided to kill Him and began to look for a way to accomplish this without causing the people to get upset resulting in an insurrection (see Mark 3:6). When evening came Jesus and His disciples left Jerusalem.
Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree
[Text parallels Matthew 21:18-22]
11:20 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.”
Next morning they passed the fig tree that Jesus cursed the day before (see verses 12-14). Peter notices that the tree had completely withered and calls Jesus’ attention to what he saw.
11:22 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.”
Jesus tells them to have faith in God. He then emphasized the need to believe using the illustration of saying to a 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.” Jesus extends that to include those things asked for in prayer, that when requesting, if you believe you already have received what you asked for, it will be given to you. Jesus adds that if you hold a grudge against someone when you are praying, you are to forgive that person, so that God the Father can forgive you of your transgressions and sins.[8]
The Bible often uses the metaphor of figs for the people of Israel and a fig tree representing the nation of Israel (see Jeremiah 8:13; 24:1-10; Hosea 9:10; Amos 4:9; Micah 4:4). When Jesus cursed the fig tree on His way into Jerusalem He was illustrating what was going to happen to Israel if they remained fruitless. When Peter discovered the withered fig tree he saw firsthand what would happen to Israel if they continued seeking self-righteousness. Jesus told His disciples to instead have faith in God, as He will provide whatever they need. He also clarified that faith is understanding that they have indeed received what they ask for.
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
[Text parallels Matthew 21:23-27 and Luke 20:1-8]
11:27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”
Returning to Jerusalem, Jesus walks into the Temple area where the chief priests, scribes and elders came up to interrogate Him, asking Him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Seemingly legitimate questions, but by this time Jesus has offered a large number of supernatural signs and wonders throughout His ministry. But now He was involved in disrupting the merchants on the Temple grounds, a location that they would consider “home turf.” They could not let that action go without some investigation or perhaps punishment. However, their inquiry was not legitimate as they had been told both in plain language and through parables, that He is the Son of God, the Messiah. But, they were still trying to test, and if possible, trick Him into saying something they could use against Him.
11:29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Knowing their true motives (not interested in the truth), Jesus said He would answer their questions only if they answered one of His. He then asked, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” referring to the baptism that John the Baptist offered. These Jewish leaders discussed among themselves and determined that either answer had potential problems, they thought: 1) If they answered, “From heaven,” Jesus will ask them why they didn’t they believe John?; or 2) If they answered, “From man,” they were afraid that since the people considered John to be a real prophet of God, the people would rise up against them. So they answered, “We don’t know.” Jesus then said that He would likewise not answer their question regarding by what authority He does these things.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] Strong’s Greek 4454.
[2] See commentary under Matthew 21:1-5 and the Considerations under Matthew 21:6-11 to see how this event fulfills prophecy.
[3] Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible: an English version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament) (1st ed., Mk 11:9). Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications.
[4] See Considerations under Matthew 21: 6-11 regarding “Hosanna.”
[5] Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible: an English version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament) (1st ed., Mk 11:10). Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications.
[6] See Considerations under Matthew 21:6-11 “The Hour Has Come.”
[7] See commentary under Matthew 21:12-13 for more detail.
[8] See also the commentary under Matthew 21:20-22 for more information.