Mark 11:23

For 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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(23) Those things . . . he shall have whatsoever he saith.—The better MSS. give, “that the thing which he saith cometh to pass,” and “he shall have it.” The promise is specific rather than general in its form, and so prepares the way for the wider generalisation of the next verse.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Have faith in God - Literally, "Have the faith of God." This may mean, have strong faith, or have confidence in God; a strong belief that he is able to accomplish things that appear most difficult with infinite ease, as the fig-tree was made to wither away by a word.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

23. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed … he shall have whatsoever he saith—Here is the lesson now. From the nature of the case supposed—that they might wish a mountain removed and cast into the sea, a thing far removed from anything which they could be thought actually to desire—it is plain that not physical but moral obstacles to the progress of His kingdom were in the Redeemer's view, and that what He designed to teach was the great lesson, that no obstacle should be able to stand before a confiding faith in God.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Mark 11:20"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain,.... The Mount of Olives, at, or near which they now were,

be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; that is, of Galilee, which was nearest, and yet many miles off:

and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; not only as to removing a mountain, and casting it into the sea, but any thing equally difficult;

he shall have whatsoever he saith: whatever he commands shall be done; See Gill on Matthew 21:21.

Geneva Study Bible

For 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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 11:23 in Matthew 17:20, Luke 17:6; Mark 11:24 in Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9; Mark 11:25 in Matthew 18:35; of course in somewhat altered form. Mk. seems here to make room for some important words of our Lord, as if to compensate for neglect of the didache which he knew to be an important feature in His ministry, doing this, however, as Meyer remarks, by way of thoughtful redaction, not by mere random insertion.—πίστιν Θεοῦ, faith in God, genitive objective as in Romans 3:22 and Hebrews 6:2 (βαπτισμῶν διδαχὴν).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

23. verily I say unto you] With great solemnity He seeks to impress upon them a truth which would be of the greatest import to them, when they went forth, as His Apostles, to establish and spread His kingdom—that an unfaltering faith in God would overcome all difficulties, even the most insuperable to the eye of sense.

shall say unto this mountain] Language like this was familiar in the schools of the Jews. They used to set out those teachers among them, that were more eminent for the profoundness of their learning, or the splendour of their virtues, by such expressions as these, “He is a rooter up or remover of mountains.” “They called Rabbah Bar Nachmani, A rooter up of mountains, because he had a piercing judgment.” Lightfoot, Hor. Heb.

shall not doubt in his heart] The word here translated “doubt” (a) in the active voice means to discriminate, distinguish, discern, as Matthew 16:3, “ye can discern the face of the heaven;” Acts 15:9, “He put no difference between us and them;” 1 Corinthians 11:29, “not discerning the Lord’s Body.” (b) In the passive and middle voice, it means (i) to get a decision, to go to law, to dispute, as Acts 11:2, “they of the circumcision contended with him;” James 2:4, “are ye not partial (become litigants or partisans) in yourselves?” (ii) to dispute with oneself, to doubt, waver, as Acts 10:20, “go with them, doubting nothing;” Romans 4:20, “he staggered not at (i. e. with regard to) the promise through unbelief;” James 1:6, “but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea.”

Mark 11:23

Vincent's Word Studies

Shall come to pass (γίνεται)

Rather cometh to pass, as Rev.