ContradictionsReading order 260Bible context 2 min read
When did the cursed fig tree die?
Matthew makes immediate withering part of the scene, whereas Mark separates the curse from the disciples' later observation.
- Textual conflict
- Interpretive tension
- The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
- Importance
- Supporting
- A supporting event, teaching, or biographical claim.
Matthew stages immediate withering and amazement while Mark stages next-morning discovery, but delayed observation does not establish delayed death.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Matthew describes the tree withering at once
And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
Matthew 21:19-20
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Matthew 21
Context affects the comparison
Matthew describes the fig tree withering immediately. Mark separates the curse from the disciples' observation of the withered tree the next morning, with the temple episode between them. The time an event happens and the time someone notices it should be distinguished when comparing the sequences.