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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_21:20-22
20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither all at once?" 21And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,'it will happen. 22And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
Mat_21:21 "Truly" See note and Special Topic at Mat_5:18.
▣ "if" This is a third class conditional sentence which meant potential future action.
▣ "have faith and do not doubt" This theme is crucial (cf. Mat_17:20; Jas_1:6-8) because the new age of the Spirit is different from the current evil age. It is an age of faith/trust in God, His word, and His Son! This verse does not relate to the will of individual believers, but to the revealed will of God acted out in life. Israel failed the faith test! There were consequences to this failure! This event is theologically parallel to the cleansing of the temple earlier in the chapter.
▣ "this mountain" This referred to the Mt. of Olives, which would have been in clear view.
▣ "the sea" This referred to the Dead Sea, also visible from the Mt. of Olives. In the OT this action of lowering the mountains and raising the valleys was usually associated with the Gentiles having physical access to YHWH in Jerusalem. The context then should not be interpreted as advocating power miracles through faith but is idiomatic of spiritual access to God for the Gentiles which the Jewish leaders actions had stifled (i.e., court of Gentiles used primarily for merchant booths). This context must be seen as one of a series of rejection passages (Mat_21:12-17; Mat_21:28-46; Mat_22:1-14).
Mat_21:22 "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" Notice the unconditional promise linked to mankind's conditional response. This was a quite common way to express biblical truth but it is difficult for western-oriented people, who like clear cut black and white statements, to deal with biblical, dialectical paradoxes. Answered prayer must be linked to God's will and mankind's faith (compare Mat_18:19; Joh_14:13-14; Joh_15:7; Joh_15:16; Joh_16:23; 1Jn_3:22; 1Jn_5:14-15 with Mat_7:7-8; Luk_11:5-13; Luk_18:1-14; Mar_11:23-24; and Jas_1:6-7; Jas_4:3).
The worst thing that God could do for faithless children is answer their selfish, materialistic requests. Those believers who seek the mind of Christ ask for things that please God and extend His kingdom. See Special Topic on Prayer at Mat_18:19.