There is an interesting record in the gospel of Mark that I'd like to look at with you in this issue of Chapter and Verse. It contains some puzzling events and a frequently misunderstood scripture.
Mark 11:12-14 12And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:13And 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.14And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.Mark 11:20-24 20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.23For 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.24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
The problem we have had with this verse is the same problem we have with other sections of scripture. We don't adhere to the keys on how scripture interprets itself and particularly here in the context.
Scripture interprets itself in the verse, in the context and where it's been used before.
As regards to how scripture interprets itself in the verse there are 3 subcategories.
(1) The words in the verses must be interpreted according to the meaning of the words at the time of the translation.(2) Any one verse must always be in harmony with all Scripture relating to the identical subject.(3) That one Scripture may not tell all the details; other Scriptures may add to it without contradicting each other.
The next key we need to consider in order to understand Mark 11 is all scripture interprets itself in the context.
And the third we will consider and apply is previous usage.
Mark 11:20-24 20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
So the context is the cursing and withering of the fig tree. The extended context is its Sunday the 11 of Nissan. Jesus cursed the fig tree Saturday the 10th of Nissan the weekly Sabbath the day he entered the second time into Jerusalem.
As he went back to Jerusalem a second time he went with two animals. An ass and a colt, the foal of an ass.
They placed their garments on the ass, and the colt set him on the ass. A very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the palm trees, and strawed them in the way.
According to Exodus 12 the Passover lamb was chosen on the 10th of Nissan. With the masses of Jerusalem looking on, Jesus was selected as God's Passover lamb. He then cleansed the Temple, for God's Passover.
Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold. He taught and healed the people and returned to Bethany with his disciples to lodge at Lazarus house.
The scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his doctrine.
Thus ended the 10th of Nissan the second entry into Jerusalem his coming as a king.
So the immediate context is the cursing and withering of the fig tree. He cursed it on the 10th Peter brought it to Jesus attention on the 11th the next day as they were going back to the temple in Jerusalem.
22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. {Have...: or, Have the faith of God}23For 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.24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
The problem we have had with this verse is that
1. We don't adhere to the keys we were taught on how scripture interprets itself.2. We never under stood the word faith.
Look at your bible carefully and lets read it in its context with common sense.
Mark 11:20-24 20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. {Have...: or, Have the faith of God}
Ok the first part of verse 22 says "And Jesus answering… " The word and is a conjunction. Its CORE-MEANING is to indicate an additional thing, a situation, or a fact.
So in response to Peters statement " Master behold the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away." Jesus is now going to respond and indicate to all present, not just Peter, something additional. He is going to take this opportunity to teach and expound to them additional truths about what is going on with the fig tree. His response was have faith in God. However the marginal reading of the KJV is "have the faith of God."
The Bible in Basic English (1949/64), the Douay-Rheims American Edition of 1899 and Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898) all read as follows.
BBE Mark 11:22 And Jesus, answering, said to them, Have God's faith.DRA Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering, saith to them: Have the faith of God.YLT Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith to them, 'Have faith of God;
The verse should read "Have the faith of God" Or "Have the faith that comes from God" or "Have the God kind of faith".
Now remember the context. Jesus is responding to Peter's statement. "Master behold the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away." Jesus response is to take time and teach all present about the faith of God. And specifically tells them they need to have this kind of faith. Because if they have this kind of faith they will be able to say unto a mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and if they don't doubt in their heart, but believe that those things which they say it shall come to pass; they shall have whatsoever they say.
Then he continues to explain and expound that they need to apply the same truth to prayer not intercession prayer or daily prayer but praying with the faith of God. This I know because he uses the words "ye shall have them." That means it absolutely will come to pass. The only way you can guarantee it will absolutely come to pass is if God's involved.
Mark 11:22-24 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. {Have...: or, Have the faith of God}23For 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.24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Now this is where we miss it. We take verse 23-24 out of context and teach what some call the law of believing as if believing in and of itself is a power that appropriates results for saint or sinner alike. That is not true. Look, there are only two supernatural powers in the world. One is God, the other is the devil.
Whenever and wherever something supernatural takes place and spiritual power is manifested, this power… this spiritual demonstration of power has its source from either the true God or the devil and in isolated occasions is a combination of both. There are only 2 sources of spiritual power, no more no less — only two. Any supernatural any spiritual power that does not come from the true God DOES come from the devil.
Mark 11:20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
Would you agree that a fig tree withered away and dried up from the roots overnight is a manifestation of spiritual power? Would you place it in the category of a supernatural manifestation? Why? Because it's clearly not natural or a normal manifestation right? Things like this normally don't happen according to the laws of the universe.
Trees don't die this way. This tree died from the roots up. Trees normally die from the leaves down this tree died backwards making it even more spectacular.
To Be Continued …ÿ