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Marcos 11

BLIVRE · Chapter 11/16

1E quando se aproximaram de Jerusalém, de Betfagé, e de Betânia, junto ao monte das Oliveiras, [Jesus] enviou dois de seus discípulos,

2dizendo-lhes: Ide ao vilarejo que está adiante de vós; e assim que nela entrardes, achareis um jumentinho amarrado, sobre o qual ninguém se sentou; soltai-o, e trazei-o.

3E se alguém vos disser: Por que fazeis isso?, dizei: O Senhor precisa dele, e logo o devolverá para cá.

4Eles foram, e acharam o jumentinho amarrado à porta, do lado de fora em uma esquina, e o soltaram.

5E alguns dos que ali estavam lhes perguntaram: Que fazeis, soltando o jumentinho?

6Eles lhes disseram como Jesus [lhes] havia mandado, e os deixaram ir.

7Então trouxeram o jumentinho a Jesus. Lançaram sobre ele suas roupas, e [Jesus] sentou-se sobre ele.

8Muitos estendiam suas roupas pelo caminho, e outros cortavam ramos das árvores, e os espalhavam pelo caminho..

9E os que iam adiante, e os que seguiam, clamavam: Hosana, bendito o que vem no Nome do Senhor!

10Bendito o Reino que vem no Nome do Senhor, [o Reino] do nosso pai Davi! Hosana nas alturas!

11Jesus entrou em Jerusalém, e no Templo. E depois que ter visto tudo em redor, e sendo já tarde, ele saiu para Betânia com os doze.

12E no dia seguinte, quando saíram de Betânia, ele teve fome.

13E vendo de longe uma figueira que tinha folhas, [veio ver] se acharia alguma coisa nela; mas ao chegar perto dela, nada achou, a não ser folhas, pois não era o tempo de figos.

14Então Jesus lhe disse: Nunca mais ninguém coma fruto de ti! E seus discípulos ouviram isso.

15Depois vieram a Jerusalém. E entrando Jesus no Templo, começou a expulsar os que vendiam e compravam no Templo; e revirou as mesas dos cambiadores, e as cadeiras dos que vendiam pombas.

16E não consentia que ninguém levasse vaso algum pelo Templo.

17E ensinava, dizendo-lhes: Não está escrito: Minha casa será chamada casa de oração de todas as nações? Mas vós fizestes dela esconderijo de ladrões!

18Os escribas e os chefes dos sacerdotes ouviram isso, e buscavam uma maneira de o matar; pois o temiam, porque toda a multidão estava admirada do ensino dele.

19E como já era tarde, [Jesus] saiu fora da cidade.

20E passando pela manhã, viram que a figueira estava seca desde as raízes.

21Pedro se lembrou disso, e disse-lhe: Mestre, eis que a figueira que amaldiçoaste, se secou.

22E respondendo Jesus, disse-lhes: Tende fé em Deus.

23Porque em verdade vos digo que qualquer um que disser a este monte: Levanta-te, e lança-te no mar; e não duvidar em seu coração, mas crer que se fará o que diz, tudo o que disser lhe será feito.

24Portanto eu vos digo que tudo o que pedirdes orando, crede que recebereis, e vós [o] tereis.

25E quando estiverdes orando, perdoai, se tendes algo contra alguém, para que o vosso Pai, que [está] nos céus, vos perdoe vossas ofensas.

26Mas se vós não perdoardes, também o vosso Pai, que [está] nos céus, não vos perdoará vossas ofensas.

27Depois voltaram a Jerusalém; e, enquanto ele andava pelo Templo, vieram a ele os chefes dos sacerdotes, os escribas, e os anciãos.

28E disseram-lhe: Com que autoridade fazes estas coisas? E quem te deu esta autoridade, para fazerdes estas coisas?

29Jesus lhes respondeu: Também eu vos farei uma pergunta, e respondei-me; então vos direi com que autoridade faço estas coisas.

30O batismo de João era do céu ou dos homens? Respondei-me.

31E eles argumentavam entre si, dizendo: Se dissermos do céu, ele dirá: Por que, pois, não crestes nele?

32Porém, se dissermos dos homens, tememos ao povo, porque todos consideravam que João era verdadeiramente profeta.

33Então responderam a Jesus: Não sabemos. E Jesus lhes replicou: Também eu não vos direi com que autoridade faço estas coisas.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a young donkey, acclaimed by the crowd, curses a fruitless fig tree, drives the merchants out of the temple, and, on returning, teaches about faith and forgiveness upon seeing the withered fig tree, then is questioned by the religious leaders about his authority.

Explanation

The triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with people spreading cloaks and branches along the road, fulfills Zechariah's prophecy of a humble king arriving on a young donkey, rather than a war horse. The cursing of the fruitless fig tree, even though it was not the season for figs, functions as a symbolic prophetic sign against the apparent, unproductive religiosity of Israel represented by the temple. The cleansing of the temple, driving out sellers and money changers, denounces the commercial exploitation of a space that was meant to be devoted to prayer for all nations, including the Gentiles, who could only pray in that outer court. The teaching on faith that moves mountains and on the need to forgive before praying, linked to the episode of the withered fig tree, connects genuine faith with a heart willing to forgive, not merely with isolated spiritual power.

Fun facts

  • The 'court of the Gentiles' in the temple of Jerusalem was the only area where non-Jews could come near to pray, which is why the commercialization of that specific space was particularly offensive to the purpose of inclusion mentioned by Isaiah.
  • Fig trees in the region of Judea would typically produce small green fruits (called 'paggim') before the full leaves appeared; the presence of leaves with no fruit at all, not even those early buds, signaled an abnormally barren tree.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Marcos 11:1The Mount of Olives carried prophetic weight in Jewish tradition, linked to the arrival of important events, a symbolic setting for the start of this entry into Jerusalem.
  2. Marcos 11:2Asking for a colt that no one had ever ridden echoes an ancient prophecy about a king arriving mounted this way, besides the fact that an animal never used before was considered more fitting for a special purpose.
  3. Marcos 11:3The instruction sounds almost like a prearranged password: saying "the Lord hath need of him" would settle any objection, suggesting either a prior arrangement or knowledge the text does not spell out.
  4. Marcos 11:4The disciples find exactly what Jesus had described, in the exact spot, confirming the instruction they had received.
  5. Marcos 11:5The question from bystanders is the natural reaction of anyone seeing two strangers untying a tied-up animal, unaware that there was authorization.
  6. Marcos 11:6Repeating the same explanation Jesus had given is enough to make them let the disciples move on without further argument.
  7. Marcos 11:7Placing their own cloaks on the animal worked as an improvised saddle, a practical gesture before the triumphal entry.
  8. Marcos 11:8Spreading garments and branches along the road were traditional gestures of honor used to welcome kings or important figures arriving in a city.
  9. Marcos 11:9Hosanna was originally a cry for help, something like "save us, we pray", but by that time it also worked as a shout of celebration and recognition, used during pilgrimages to the Passover feast. Calling Jesus the one who comes in the name of the Lord is the crowd treating this entry as the arrival of a king from the right line.
  10. Marcos 11:10The mention of the "kingdom of our father David" ties this festive welcome directly to the hope for a king from the ancient royal line, and "Hosanna in the highest" extends the same greeting all the way to heaven.
  11. Marcos 11:11After all the acclaim of the entry, the scene ends almost anticlimactically: Jesus simply looks around the temple and heads back to spend the night in Bethany, saving any more decisive action for the next day.
  12. Marcos 11:12Jesus' hunger on this daily walk between Bethany and Jerusalem is what sets up the fig tree scene right after.
  13. Marcos 11:13This episode puzzles many people because the text itself says it was not the season for figs, but fig trees in the region often carried small edible buds before the regular harvest, so a tree full of leaves at least promised that much. Jesus curses the tree that promised fruit and delivered nothing, a gesture Mark uses as a figure for the temple, criticized right after in the same chapter.
  14. Marcos 11:14The curse is spoken in front of witnesses. The detail that the disciples heard it is recorded on purpose, because it matters again when the tree turns up withered a few verses later.
  15. Marcos 11:15Anyone coming from far away to the temple needed to exchange Roman coins, which carried forbidden images under Jewish law, for currency accepted for offerings, and to buy doves, the cheapest sacrifice for those who could not afford a larger animal. Jesus is not attacking commerce itself, but the fact that this courtyard, the only part of the temple open to non-Jews, was taken over by business instead of serving as a place of prayer.
  16. Marcos 11:16Forbidding even the ordinary carrying of goods through the temple courtyard shows that Jesus' action there was not only against the merchants, but against treating the sacred space as a mere shortcut.
  17. Marcos 11:17Jesus combines two Old Testament quotations: one about the temple being a house of prayer for all nations, including non-Jews, and another about it becoming a den of thieves. Together they reinforce His criticism of what was happening there.
  18. Marcos 11:18The religious leaders' fear did not come only from Jesus' boldness, but from the popular support He had: acting against Him openly could provoke a reaction from the crowd that the leaders themselves wanted to avoid.
  19. Marcos 11:19The pattern repeats: Jesus spends the day in Jerusalem and leaves the city at night, likely for Bethany, as already indicated earlier in the chapter.
  20. Marcos 11:20From one day to the next, the cursed tree was withered down to the root, a sign too fast to go unnoticed. Peter reacts with astonishment, and it is from this scene that Jesus goes on to speak about faith and prayer, tying the tree's fate to a broader teaching.
  21. Marcos 11:21Peter notices the exact fulfillment of the previous day's curse, confirming out loud that the fig tree had withered very quickly, from the root up.
  22. Marcos 11:22Instead of commenting directly on the tree, Jesus uses the episode as a bridge to a broader teaching about trusting God.
  23. Marcos 11:23The image of moving a mountain into the sea is a deliberate exaggeration to describe faith without hesitation, not a literal promise about geology, but about the size of the trust expected.
  24. Marcos 11:24The promise about prayer is bold: asking with the certainty of having already received, not as a magic condition, but as an expression of total trust.
  25. Marcos 11:25Jesus ties the effectiveness of prayer to forgiveness: praying while holding a grudge against someone contradicts asking God for forgiveness for oneself.
  26. Marcos 11:26The same logic repeats even more directly: withholding forgiveness from others brings the same refusal in return from the Father.
  27. Marcos 11:27The scene returns to the temple, now with a formal delegation of chief priests, scribes, and elders, the three groups that made up the official religious leadership of Jerusalem.
  28. Marcos 11:28The religious leaders wanted to know who had authorized Jesus to act that way in the temple, since formal title and authorization were serious matters in the religious structure of the time. He answers with a question about John the Baptist that traps them: any answer they gave would compromise them politically, so they choose to say they do not know.
  29. Marcos 11:29Jesus answers the challenge with a counter-challenge, a common tactic in debates of the time: I will only answer if you answer first.
  30. Marcos 11:30The question about John's baptism is a mirrored trap: any answer they gave would land them in trouble, the same way the original question tried to do to Jesus.
  31. Marcos 11:31The dilemma is clear: admitting that John came from God would require explaining why they had not believed him earlier.
  32. Marcos 11:32The other option was also risky, this time out of fear of the people, who regarded John as a true prophet. Their decision is purely political, not a sincere search for the right answer.
  33. Marcos 11:33By saying, "We cannot tell", the religious leaders take the safest way out, and Jesus answers in the same coin: if they will not answer honestly, He will not answer either.

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