20 And passing by early in the morning they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering [what Jesus had said], says to him, Rabbi, see, the fig-tree which thou cursedst is dried up. 22 And Jesus answering says to them, Have faith in God. 23 Verily I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou taken away and cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but believe that what he says takes place, whatever he shall say shall come to pass for him. 24 For this reason I say to you, All things whatsoever ye pray for and ask, believe that ye receive it, and it shall come to pass for you. 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive if ye have anything against any one, that your Father also who is in the heavens may forgive you your offences. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in the heavens forgive your offences.
27 And they come again to Jerusalem. And as he walked about in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders come to him, 28 and they say to him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority, that thou shouldest do these things? 29 And Jesus answering said to them, I also will ask you one thing, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 The baptism of John, was it of heaven, or of men? answer me. 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say, Why [then] have ye not believed him? 32 but should we say, Of men—they feared the people; for all held of John that he was truly a prophet. 33 And they answering say to Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus [answering] says to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Mark 11:20-33
Commentary on Mark 11:19-26
(Read Mark 11:19-26)
The disciples could not think why that fig-tree should so soon wither away; but all wither who reject Christ; it represented the state of the Jewish church. We should rest in no religion that does not make us fruitful in good works. Christ taught them from hence to pray in faith. It may be applied to that mighty faith with which all true Christians are endued, and which does wonders in spiritual things. It justifies us, and so removes mountains of guilt, never to rise up in judgment against us. It purifies the heart, and so removes mountains of corruption, and makes them plain before the grace of God. One great errand to the throne of grace is to pray for the pardon of our sins; and care about this ought to be our daily concern.
Commentary on Mark 11:27-33
(Read Mark 11:27-33)
Our Saviour shows how near akin his doctrine and baptism were to those of John; they had the same design and tendency, to bring in the gospel kingdom. These elders did not deserve to be taught; for it was plain that they contended not for truth, but victory: nor did he need to tell them; for the works he did, told them plainly he had authority from God; since no man could do the miracles which he did, unless God were with him.