Great Tuesday.

The Withered Fig Tree.

(Mat. 21:20-22; Mark 11:20-26).

The circumstances surrounding the Lord’s curse on the fig tree, is explained By Saint Mark is sectional and in more detail than that by Saint Matthew. He narrates that as the Lord walked with His disciples from Bethany to Jerusalem, apparently along the same road as yesterday, the disciples noticed that the fig tree had withered. In answer to the amazement expressed by them to this incident, the Lord instructs them in the power of faith, saying that if they have God’s faith and overcome all doubts, they would be able to perform even greater miracles: “If you say to this mountain ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.” Of course, the relocation of the mountain is to show as an example that for faith, free of doubt — nothing is impossible. That’s why all prayers of requests, must be uttered with faith in order for them to be answered. In verses 25-26, Saint Mark adds that the condition for a prayer’s efficacy lies in forgiving your neighbor. Not to forgive is an insult to God’s love, and therefore, without forgiveness there can be no genuine firm faith, making the prayer ineffectual.