The Meaning of Matthew 21:20 Explained

Matthew 21:20

KJV: And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

YLT: And the disciples having seen, did wonder, saying, 'How did the fig-tree forthwith wither?'

Darby: And when the disciples saw it, they wondered, saying, How immediately is the fig-tree dried up!

ASV: And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How did the fig tree immediately wither away?

Discover Matthew 21:20

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Matthew 21:20?

MEANING: What does Matthew 21:20 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Matthew 21:20 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Matthew 21:20?

What is the context of Matthew 21:20?

The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree (Matthew 21:20-22)
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree (Matthew 21:18-22)
A Barren Fig Tree Cursed (Matthew 21:18-22)
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree .( V .) (Matthew 21:18-22)
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree (Matthew 21:18-22)
The Barren Fig Tree (Matthew 21:18-22)

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when the disciples saw [it], they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

What does Matthew 21:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 21:18-22 - Fruitlessness Judged And Faith Rewarded

Men have found fault with our Lord for smiting this tree with barrenness. Yet what teacher would not root up a plant, if he desired to teach his pupils some lesson, which could be taught only in that manner! Surely Jesus was perfectly justified in making that fig tree the symbol of the judgment that must overtake all who profess but do not possess. Beware lest He seek fruit of thee in vain!

But how wonderful those words on faith! He could speak thus, because He was the "author and perfecter" of faith. Paul lived by "the faith of the Son of God." See Galatians 2:20. All things are possible to him that believeth. Faith annihilates time and distance. To her the unseen is more real than the seen; and the distant as near as the things which the hand can touch. She is the open hand of the soul, which appropriates and takes from the hand of God. But faith is impossible apart from prayer. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 21

¹ Jesus rides into Jerusalem upon a donkey
¹² drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple;
¹⁷ curses the fig tree;
²³ puts to silence the priests and elders,
²⁸ and rebukes them by the parable of the two sons,
³³ and the husbandmen who slew such as were sent to them

What do the individual words in Matthew 21:20 mean?

And having seen [it] the disciples marveled saying How so quickly withered the fig tree

Καὶ ἰδόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ ἐθαύμασαν λέγοντες Πῶς παραχρῆμα ἐξηράνθη ἡ συκῆ

ἰδόντες	having seen [it]
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: εἶδον Sense: to see with the eyes.
μαθηταὶ	disciples
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: μαθητής Sense: a learner, pupil, disciple.
ἐθαύμασαν	marveled
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural Root: ἐκθαυμάζω Sense: to wonder, wonder at, marvel.
λέγοντες	saying
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: λέγω Sense: to say, to speak.
Πῶς	How
Parse: Adverb Root: πῶς Sense: how, in what way.
παραχρῆμα	so quickly
Parse: Adverb Root: παραχρῆμα Sense: immediately, forthwith, instantly.
ἐξηράνθη	withered
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular Root: ξηραίνω Sense: to make dry, dry up, wither.
συκῆ	fig tree
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: συκῆ Sense: a fig tree.

What are the major concepts related to Matthew 21:20?

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Similar Scriptures for Matthew 21:20

		Isaiah 40:6-8 [2]
		James 1:10-11 [2]
		Mark 11:20-21 [2]