The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
Parallel translations
- WEB When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree immediately wither away?”
- KJV And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
- BSB When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
- NKJV And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
- NASB Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The disciples are amazed that the fig tree Jesus cursed withered so quickly. Their wonder sets up His teaching on faith and prayer.
Overview
On the way back to Jerusalem the disciples notice that the fig tree, cursed the day before, has completely dried up. Their astonishment focuses on the speed of the result rather than its meaning. The cursed tree had served as an enacted parable of fruitless Israel under judgment, and the disciples' reaction gives Jesus the opening to teach about believing prayer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Isa 40:6–8The voice of one saying, “Cry!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.
- Mark 11:20–21As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots.
- Jas 1:10–11and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 21:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.