The Meaning of Mark 11:23 Explained

Mark 11:23

KJV: 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.

YLT: for verily I say to you, that whoever may say to this mount, Be taken up, and be cast into the sea, and may not doubt in his heart, but may believe that the things that he saith do come to pass, it shall be to him whatever he may say.

Darby: 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.

ASV: Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Mark 11:23 Mean?

Study Notes

whosoever
See, Matthew 17:20 ; Luke 11:1 ; Luke 17:6 ; John 14:13 ; John 14:14
teach us to pray
This is the central N.T. passage on prayer. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ had announced the new basis of prayer, viz.: relationship Matthew 6:9 ; Matthew 6:28-32 . The believer is a child of God through the new birth. (See Scofield " John 3:3 ") . The clear revelation of this fact at once establishes the reasonableness of prayer; a reasonableness against which the argument from the apparent uniformity of natural law shatters itself. God is more than a Creator, bringing a universe into being, and establishing laws for it; more than a decree- maker determining future events by an eternal fiat. Above all this is the divine family for whom the universe with its laws exists; Colossians 1:16-20 ; Hebrews 1:2 ; Hebrews 2:10 ; Hebrews 2:11 ; Romans 8:17 ".
When ye pray, say, Our Father." What God habitually does in the material universe concerns the reverent investigator of that universe. What He may do in His own family concerns Him, and them, and is matter for divine promise and revelation. Science, which deals only with natural phenomena, cannot intrude there 1 Corinthians 2:9 .
Christ's law of prayer may be thus summarized:
(1) He grounds prayer upon relationship, and reveals God as freely charging himself with all the responsibilities, as His heart glows with all the affections of a Father toward all who believe on Jesus Christ Matthew 6:25 ; Matthew 6:32 ; Matthew 7:9-11 . Prayer, therefore, is a child's petition to an all-wise, all-loving, and all-powerful, Father-God.
(2) In the so-called Lord's prayer Christ gives an incomparable model for all prayer. It teaches that right prayer begins with worship; puts the interest of the kingdom before merely personal interest; accepts beforehand the Father's will, whether to grant or withhold; and petitions for present need, leaving the future to the Father's care and love. Used as a form, the Lord's prayer is, dispensationally, upon legal, not church ground; it is not a prayer in the name of Christ (cf) John 14:13 ; John 14:14 ; John 16:24 and it makes human forgiveness, as under the law it must, the condition of divine forgiveness; an order which grace exactly reverses (cf) Ephesians 4:32 .
(3) Prayer is to be definite Luke 11:5 ; Luke 11:6 and,
(4) importunate, that is undiscouraged by delayed answers.

Context Summary

Mark 11:20-33 - The Conditions Of Prayer
The great lesson taught by this stricken tree justified its doom. It was not yet the time of the fig harvest, but some of last year's fruit might still be found; and the hope of this was still further aroused by the abundance of young leaves. It was a type of profession without performance. In addition to proclaiming the doom of promise which is not followed by performance, our Lord drew from the miracle the great lesson that faith can absolutely reckon on God's faith, that is, His faithfulness. Throughout His life, as we look into the heart of Jesus, we find only forgiving love, humility, faith. Forgiveness and love are the conditions of all successful prayers, Mark 11:24-26. We do not show sufficient appreciation for our Lord's marvelous intellectual power. He was more than equal to these clever intellects trained to argument. They were beaten at their own game. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 11

1  Jesus rides with triumph into Jerusalem;
12  curses the fruitless fig tree;
15  purges the temple;
20  exhorts his disciples to steadfastness of faith, and to forgive their enemies;
27  and defends his actions by the witness of John, who was a man sent of God

Greek Commentary for Mark 11:23

Shall not doubt in his heart [μη διακριτηι εν τηι καρδιαι αυτου]
First aorist passive subjunctive with ος αν — hos an The verb means a divided judgment Wavering doubt. Not a single act of doubt (διακριτηι — diakrithēi), but continued faith (πιστευηι — pisteuēi). [source]
Cometh to pass [γινεται]
Futuristic present middle indicative. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 11:23

Acts 11:12 Nothing doubting [μηδὲν διακρινόμενον]
The Rev. renders making no distinction, taking the verb in its original sense, which is to separate or distinguish. The rendering seems rather strained, doubting being a common rendering in the New Testament and giving a perfectly good sense here. See Matthew 21:21; Mark 11:23, and note on James 1:6. It was natural that Peter should hesitate. [source]
Romans 14:23 He that doubteth [ο διακρινομενος]
Present middle participle of διακρινω — diakrinō to judge between (δια — dia), to hesitate. See notes on James 1:6. for this same picture of the double-minded man. Cf. Romans 4:20; Mark 11:23. [source]
Romans 4:20 He wavered not through unbelief [ου διεκριτη τηι απιστιαι]
First aorist passive indicative of old and common verb διακρινω — diakrinō to separate, to distinguish between, to decide between, to desert, to dispute, to be divided in one‘s own mind. This last sense occurs here as in Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:23; Romans 14:23; James 1:6. “He was not divided in his mind by unbelief” (instrumental case). [source]
Revelation 6:14 As a scroll when it is rolled up [ως βιβλιον ελισσομενον]
Present passive participle of ελισσω — helissō old verb, to roll up, in N.T. only here (from Isaiah 34:4) and Hebrews 1:12 (from Psalm 102:27). Vivid picture of the expanse of the sky rolled up and away as a papyrus roll (Luke 4:17).Were moved (εκινητησαν — ekinēthēsan). First aorist passive indicative of κινεω — kineō to move.Out of their places See also Revelation 16:20 for these violent displacements in the earth‘s crust. Cf. Nahum 1:5; Jeremiah 4:24. Jesus spoke of faith removing mountains (of difficulty) as in Mark 11:23 (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:2). [source]
Revelation 6:14 Out of their places [εκ των τοπων αυτων]
See also Revelation 16:20 for these violent displacements in the earth‘s crust. Cf. Nahum 1:5; Jeremiah 4:24. Jesus spoke of faith removing mountains (of difficulty) as in Mark 11:23 (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:2). [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 11:23 mean?

Truly I say to you that whoever - shall say to the mountain this Be you taken away and be you cast into the sea not shall doubt in the heart of him but shall believe what he says takes place it will be done for him
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ Ἄρθητι καὶ βλήθητι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν μὴ διακριθῇ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀλλὰ πιστεύῃ λαλεῖ γίνεται ἔσται αὐτῷ

ἀμὴν  Truly 
Parse: Hebrew Word
Root: ἀμήν  
Sense: firm.
λέγω  I  say 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ὃς  whoever 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ἂν  - 
Parse: Particle
Root: ἄν  
Sense: has no exact English equivalent, see definitions under AV.
εἴπῃ  shall  say 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
τῷ  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ὄρει  mountain 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄρος  
Sense: a mountain.
τούτῳ  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
Ἄρθητι  Be  you  taken  away 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: αἴρω  
Sense: to raise up, elevate, lift up.
βλήθητι  be  you  cast 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: βάλλω 
Sense: to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
θάλασσαν  sea 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: θάλασσα  
Sense: the sea.
διακριθῇ  shall  doubt 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: διακρίνω  
Sense: to separate, make a distinction, discriminate, to prefer.
καρδίᾳ  heart 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: καρδία  
Sense: the heart.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
πιστεύῃ  shall  believe 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.
λαλεῖ  he  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
γίνεται  takes  place 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
ἔσται  it  will  be  done 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
αὐτῷ  for  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.