The Meaning of Matthew 21:21 Explained

Matthew 21:21

KJV: Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

YLT: And Jesus answering said to them, 'Verily I say to you, If ye may have faith, and may not doubt, not only this of the fig-tree shall ye do, but even if to this mount ye may say, Be lifted up and be cast into the sea, it shall come to pass;

Darby: And Jesus answering said to them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and do not doubt, not only shall ye do what is done to the fig-tree, but even if ye should say to this mountain, Be thou taken away and be thou cast into the sea, it shall come to pass.

ASV: And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Jesus  answered  and  said  unto them,  Verily  I say  unto you,  If  ye have  faith,  and  doubt  not,  ye shall  not  only  do  this  [which is done] to the fig tree,  but  also if  ye shall say  unto this  mountain,  Be thou removed,  and  be thou cast  into  the sea;  it shall be done. 

What does Matthew 21:21 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

Greek Commentary for Matthew 21:21

Doubt not [μη διακριτητε]
First aorist passive subjunctive, second-class condition. To be divided in mind, to waver, to doubt, the opposite of “faith” (πιστιν — pistin), trust, confidence. [source]
What is done to the fig tree [το της συκης]
The Greek means “the matter of the fig tree,” as if a slight matter in comparison with this mountain Removing a mountain is a bigger task than blighting a fig tree. “The cursing of the fig-tree has always been regarded as of symbolic import, the tree being in Christ‘s mind an emblem of the Jewish people, with a great show of religion and no fruit of real godliness. This hypothesis is very credible” (Bruce). Plummer follows Zahn in referring it to the Holy City. Certainly “this mountain” is a parable and one already reported in Matthew 17:20 (cf. sycamine tree in Luke 17:6). Cf. Zechariah 14:4. [source]
this mountain [τωι ορει τουτωι]
Removing a mountain is a bigger task than blighting a fig tree. “The cursing of the fig-tree has always been regarded as of symbolic import, the tree being in Christ‘s mind an emblem of the Jewish people, with a great show of religion and no fruit of real godliness. This hypothesis is very credible” (Bruce). Plummer follows Zahn in referring it to the Holy City. Certainly “this mountain” is a parable and one already reported in Matthew 17:20 (cf. sycamine tree in Luke 17:6). Cf. Zechariah 14:4. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 21:21

Matthew 23:24 Swallow the camel [την δε καμηλον καταπινοντες]
Gulping or drinking down the camel. An oriental hyperbole like that in Matthew 19:24. See also Matthew 5:29, Matthew 5:30; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 21:21. Both insects and camels were ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 11:4, Leviticus 11:20, Leviticus 11:23, Leviticus 11:42). “He that kills a flea on the Sabbath is as guilty as if he killed a camel” (Jer. Shabb. 107). [source]
Mark 11:22 Have faith in God [εχετε πιστιν τεου]
Objective genitive τεου — theou as in Galatians 3:26; Romans 3:22, Romans 3:26. That was the lesson for the disciples from the curse on the fig tree so promptly fulfilled. See this point explained by Jesus in Matthew 21:21 which see for “this mountain” also. [source]
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]
1 Corinthians 12:9 Faith [πιστις]
Not faith of surrender, saving faith, but wonder-working faith like that in 1 Corinthians 13:2 (Matthew 17:20; Matthew 21:21). Note here εν τωι αυτωι πνευματι — en tōi autōi pneumati (in the same Spirit) in contrast with δια — dia and κατα — kata in 1 Corinthians 12:8. [source]
James 1:6 Doubting [διακρινόμενος]
Compare Matthew 21:21. Not equivalent to unbelief, but expressing the hesitation which balances between faith and unbelief, and inclines toward the latter. This idea is brought out in the next sentence. [source]
James 2:4 Are ye not divided in your own mind? [ου διεκριτητε εν εαυτοισ]
First aorist (gnomic) passive indicative of διακρινω — diakrinō to separate, conclusion of the third-class condition (future) in a rhetorical question in the gnomic aorist (as if past) with ou expecting an affirmative answer. For this idiom (gnomic aorist) in a conclusion of the third-class condition see 1 Corinthians 7:28. “Were ye not divided in (among) yourselves?” Cf. James 1:6; Matthew 21:21. [source]

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

Answering now - Jesus said to them Truly I say to you if you have faith and not do doubt not only the [miracle] of the fig tree will you do but even if to the mountain this you should say Be you taken away be you cast into the sea it will come to pass
Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ἐὰν ἔχητε πίστιν καὶ μὴ διακριθῆτε οὐ μόνον τὸ τῆς συκῆς ποιήσετε ἀλλὰ κἂν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ εἴπητε Ἄρθητι βλήθητι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν γενήσεται

Ἀποκριθεὶς  Answering 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀποκρίνομαι  
Sense: to give an answer to a question proposed, to answer.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
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.
ἔχητε  you  have 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἔχω  
Sense: to have, i.e. to hold.
πίστιν  faith 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: πίστις  
Sense: conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it.
διακριθῆτε  do  doubt 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 2nd Person Plural
Root: διακρίνω  
Sense: to separate, make a distinction, discriminate, to prefer.
μόνον  only 
Parse: Adverb
Root: μόνον  
Sense: only, alone, but.
τὸ  the  [miracle] 
Parse: Article, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
συκῆς  fig  tree 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: συκῆ  
Sense: a fig tree.
ποιήσετε  will  you  do 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
κἂν  even  if 
Parse: Adverb
Root: κἄν  
Sense: and if.
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.
εἴπητε  you  should  say 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
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.
γενήσεται  it  will  come  to  pass 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.