11:20 fig tree dried up. The implications of the cleansing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple are discussed in the notes on Matthew 21:12-13,19. Mark’s account of the fig tree makes the chronological sequence clearer, showing that the temple incident occurred during the day while the fig tree was withering after being cursed by Christ that morning. When the disciples returned that evening, it had withered away. This miracle was not a miracle of creation (such as the feeding of the five thousand) but a miracle of providence, with the natural aging process of the tree greatly accelerated by the Lord who created—and therefore controls—the rate of all natural processes.