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Mark 11:14

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard [it].

Mark 11:14 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Mark 11:14

Theological / Devotional

Answered. The tree had not spoken; Jesus was simply “answering” the fully leafed but fruitless condition of the fig tree.

No man … hereafter. Literally, “no one … never.” The Greek double negative makes the prohibition most emphatic. The barrenness of the tree represented the unproductiveness of Israel, and the curse, the judgment Jesus was to pronounce the following day—“your house is left unto you desolate” (see on Matt. 23:38). It was also on the day following that Jesus sternly censured the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocritical pretensions (see Matt. 23:13–33).

The purpose of this acted parable was to prepare the minds of the disciples for the scenes of the next few days, during which the Jewish leaders would confirm their rejection of Jesus. Acted parables often lead men to think more effectively than mere words could possibly do. For other acted parables see Isa. 20:2–6; Eze. 4:1 to 5:17.

By SdaBc