Ver. 19.—And when even was come; literally, and whenever (Stray) evening came ; that is, every evening. During these last days before his crucifixion, he remained in Jerusalem during the day, and went back to Bethany at night. St. Matthew says (xxi. 17), speaking of one of these days, “ And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.” So true it was that “he came unto his own, and his own received him not.” No one in that city, which he loved so well, offered to receive him. ‘The end was drawing near. But the intercourse with Martha and Mary must have been soothing to him; and Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem.
Vers. 20, 21.—And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. They had returned the evening before, probably after sunset, to Bethany; and so, in the twilight, had not noticed the withered tree. St. Matthew gathers the whole account of the fig tree into one notice. St. Mark disposes of the facts in their chronological order. It was on the Monday morning, the day after the triumphant entry, and when they were on their way to Jerusalem, that our Lord cursed the fig tree. Thence he passed on at once into Jerusalem, and drove out the profaners of the temple, and taught the ee In the evening he returned to
ethany ; and then on the next morning, as they were on their way into the city, they saw what had happened to the fig tree. And then Peter calling to remembrance ,
saith unto him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which thou oursedst is withered away (éifp- avra.), the same Greek word as in the pre- ceding verse. Some have thought that the fig tree was the tree forbidden to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. (See Cornelius &% Lapide on Gen. ii. 9).
Vers. 22, 23.—Have faith in God; literally, have the faith of God—full, perfect, effeo- tual faith in him; faith like a grain of mustard seed. You may be staggered and perplexed at what you will see shortly ; but “have faith in God.” The Jews may seem for a time to flourish like that green fig tree; but they will “soon be cut down as the grass, and be withered as the green herb.’ What seems difficult to you is easy with God. Trust in the Divine omnipotence, The things which are impossible with men are possible with him. Our Lord then uses a metaphor frequently employed to indicate the accomplishment of things so difficult ag to be apparently impossible. He employs a bold and vivid hyperbole; and, pointing probably to the Mount of Olives otetianine them, and on the shoulders of which they were then standing, he says, “ With this faith you might say to this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, and it shall come to pass.”
Ver, 24.—All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them; and ye shall have them. But you must “ask in faith, nothing wavering.”
Ver. 25.—And wheresoever ye stand pray- ing (orhente mpooevxduevo:). The ordinary attitude of Eastern nations in prayer ia here indicated, namely, “standing,” with the head, doubtless, bowed in reverence. The promise of this text is that requests offered in prayer by a faitlful heart will be granted — granted as God knows best. The connection of these verses with the former is close. One great hindrance to the faith without which there can be no spiritual power, is the presence of angry and uncharitable feelings. These must all be put away if we would hope for a favour- able answer from God.
Ver. 26.—There appears to be sufficient evidence to justify the Kevisers in their omission of this verse; although its omission or retention does not affect the general exegesis of the passage.
Vers. 27, 28.—By what authority doest thou these things? We learn from ver. 18 that the chief priests and scribes had already been seeking how they might destroy him, and they wanted to establish some definite charge, whether of blasphemy or of sedition, against him, They now ap proach him as he walked in the temple, and demand by what authority he was doing these things, such as casting owt the pro-
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faners of the temple, teaching and instruct- ing the people, accepting their Hosannas, eto. And who gave thee this authority todo these things? According to the best read- ing, this sentence should run, or (?) instead of nal) who gave thee, etc., instead of “ and who gave thee,” etc. So that the questions are directed to two things—was his autho rity inherent? or, was it derived ?
Ver. 29.—I will ask of you one question (érepwthow tipas eva Adyov). The verb justifies the translation, one question, for “one word.” The question which our Lord put to them was one on which hung the solution of that proposed by the scribes. It is as though he said, “ You do not believe me when I say that I have received power from God. Believe then John the Baptist, who bare witness of me that I was sent from God to do these things.”
Ver. 30.—The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men! By the “bap- tism of John” our Lord means his testimony concerning himeelf, his doctrine, and all his preaching. It isa synecdoche—the part put for the whole. The argument is incontro- vertible. It is this: “ You ask from whence I derive my authority—from God or from men? I in my turn ask you from whom did John the Baptist derive his authority to baptize and to teach? from heaven or from men? If he had it from God, as all will confess, then I too have the same from God; for John testified of me, saying that he was but a servant, the friend of the Bridegroom; but that I was the Messiah, the Son of God: and this too when you sent messengers to him for his special purpose, that you might know from him whether he
Mark’s style, and of our Lord’s dignified earnestness.
Vers. 31, 32.—They reasoned with them- selves, like men anxious and perplexed. If we shall say, From heaven; he willsay, Why then did ye not believe him? For he told you I was the promised Meassias, and bade you prepare yourselves by repentance to receive my graceand salvation. But should we say, From men—they feared the people: for all verily held John to be a prophet, This is a broken sentence, but very expres- sive. The evangelist leaves his reader to supply what they meant. They deemed it prudent not to finish the sentence; and probably cut it short with some significant gesture. They did not like to confess that they feared the people; although this was the true reason why they hesitated to say that John’s baptism was of men. They knew that all the people held John to bea prophet. They were thus thrown on one or other horn of a dilemma.