Q: Did Jesus curse the fig tree before the Cleansing of the Temple, or afterwards? Matthew 21:19-20 says that Jesus cursed the fig tree and proceeded to cleanse the temple. But in the parallel-passage in Mark 11:12-14, Jesus visited the Temple, and then left, and then cursed the fig tree, and then proceeded to cleanse the temple. Isnt this a contradiction?
A: A lengthy essay at www.xenos.org/ministries/...noprob.htm includes a section devoted to this question. Gleason Archer also addressed this question in his Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. This is a case in which I can really sympathize with the honest objector who is sincerely using an inappropriate yardstick to measure the reports accuracy, because if Matthew and Mark were both represented as completely historical, completely chronologically accurate accounts, there could be no denying that at least one of them contains an error here.
But they should not be approached as if they are arranged in perfect chronological sequence, as if Matthew and Mark were modern-day journalists. The Gospel of Matthew is more like a verbal photo-album than a chronologically arranged biography. This doesnt mean that there's no general chronological flow to the narrative; there clearly is. But thats not the only factor that affected Matthews decisions about how to arrange his material. Here in Matthew 21, the photo-album is arranged topically; the topic is Jesus and the Temple. Jesus activity in the Temple -- the cleansing, and the healing of the blind and lame, and a brief chat with some chief priests and scribes -- Matthew presents together, in 21:12-16, as if it had all occurred at once. But by consulting Mark, we can see that historically these events transpired over the course of two days -- Palm Sunday and the following Monday.
This still leaves the question of when Jesus cursed the fig tree. It looks to me like Matthew and Mark both place this event on the morning of the Monday after Palm Sunday. Matthews account is condensed; he combines into a single pericope the two occasions which Mark reports (when Jesus and the disciples approach Jerusalem from Bethany in Mark 11:12-14, and when they pass by the fig tree again the following morning.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: A lengthy essay at www.xenos.org/ministries/...noprob.htm includes a section devoted to this question. Gleason Archer also addressed this question in his Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. This is a case in which I can really sympathize with the honest objector who is sincerely using an inappropriate yardstick to measure the reports accuracy, because if Matthew and Mark were both represented as completely historical, completely chronologically accurate accounts, there could be no denying that at least one of them contains an error here.
But they should not be approached as if they are arranged in perfect chronological sequence, as if Matthew and Mark were modern-day journalists. The Gospel of Matthew is more like a verbal photo-album than a chronologically arranged biography. This doesnt mean that there's no general chronological flow to the narrative; there clearly is. But thats not the only factor that affected Matthews decisions about how to arrange his material. Here in Matthew 21, the photo-album is arranged topically; the topic is Jesus and the Temple. Jesus activity in the Temple -- the cleansing, and the healing of the blind and lame, and a brief chat with some chief priests and scribes -- Matthew presents together, in 21:12-16, as if it had all occurred at once. But by consulting Mark, we can see that historically these events transpired over the course of two days -- Palm Sunday and the following Monday.
This still leaves the question of when Jesus cursed the fig tree. It looks to me like Matthew and Mark both place this event on the morning of the Monday after Palm Sunday. Matthews account is condensed; he combines into a single pericope the two occasions which Mark reports (when Jesus and the disciples approach Jerusalem from Bethany in Mark 11:12-14, and when they pass by the fig tree again the following morning.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
