Mark 11

Chapter context

What is happening in Mark 11?

discipleshipthe crosssecrecyauthority

Mark 11 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as the way of the cross. Mark is the swiftest and starkest Gospel, presenting Jesus as the mighty Son of God whose mission reaches its center in suffering, abandonment, and resurrection. Read this chapter with the wider themes of discipleship, the cross, and secrecy in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, ² And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. ³ And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. ⁴ And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. ⁵ And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? ⁶ And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. ⁷ And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. ⁸ And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. ⁹ And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: ¹⁰ Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. ¹¹ And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. ¹² And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: ¹³ And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. ¹⁴ And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. ¹⁵ And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; ¹⁶ And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. ¹⁷ And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. ¹⁸ And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. ¹⁹ And 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. ²⁷ And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, ²⁸ And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? ²⁹ And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. ³¹ And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? ³² But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. ³³ And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Study helps

Glossary

Bethany Place v. 1, 11-12: House of dates. (1. ) The Revised Version in John 1:28 has this word instead of Bethabara, on the authority of the oldest manuscripts. It appears to have been the name of a place on the east of Jordan. Modern identification: Al Eizariya.
Bethphage Place v. 1: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Et Tur.
Jerusalem Place v. 1, 11, 15, 27: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Jerusalem.
Mount of Olives Place v. 1: Biblical hill. Modern identification: Mount of Olives.
David Person v. 10: Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25 .
City People v. 19: The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain ( Gen. 4:17 ). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12).
Peter Person v. 21: Originally called Simon (=Simeon, i. e., “hearing”), a very common Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona ( Matt. 16:17 ). His mother is nowhere named in Scripture.
John Person v. 30, 32: (1. ) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John ( Acts 4:6 ). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown. (2. ) The Hebrew name of Mark (q. v. ).