Barren Temple and the Withered Tree

The overall aim of this investigation of Mark 11.12-14 20ff. is to ascertain the attitude to the Temple taken by the author of the earliest Gospel and his community. More specifically it is a meticulous study of the most curious of all the Synoptic miracle-stories in which the place of the story within the Markan redaction and subsequently in the Synoptic Gospels is explored. The study also entails a detailed exploration of the story's origin background and Sitz in Leben prior to Mark involving thorough consideration of the Old Testament and Jewish background of its motifs.