Christ's Need of us and Ours
'... Say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.'--Mark xi. 3. You will remember that Jesus Christ sent two of His disciples into the village that looked down on the road from Bethany to Jerusalem, with minute instructions and information as to what they were to do and find there. The instructions may have one of two explanations--they suggest either superhuman knowledge or a previous arrangement. Perhaps, although it is less familiar to our thoughts, the latter …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Nothing but Leaves
'And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply He might find any thing thereon: and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves; ... 14. And Jesus ... said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.'--Mark xi. 13, 14. The date of this miracle has an important bearing on its meaning and purpose. It occurred on the Monday morning of the last week of Christ's ministry. That week saw His last coming to Israel, 'if haply He might find any thing thereon.' And if you remember …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Nothing but Leaves
"Thine hands, dear Jesus, were not arm'd With an avenging rod, No hard commission to perform The vengeance of a God. But all was mercy, all was mild, And wrath forsook the throne, When Christ on his kind errand came And brought salvation down." Let us rejoice that God commendeth his love towards us, because in "due time Christ died for the ungodly." Yet, as if to show that Jesus the Savior is also Jesus the Judge, one gleam of justice must dart forth. Where shall mercy direct its fall? See, my brethren, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864