He
began to tell the people this parable. “A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time. At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty. He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out. The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’ “But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”
Luke 20:9-16
Luke 20 [8.] Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Luke 20 [9.] He began to tell the people this parable. “A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time. At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty. He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out. The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’
Luke 20 [14.] “But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.”
When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”
Luke 20 [17.] But he looked at them, and said, “Then what is this that is written,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
the same was made the chief cornerstone?’
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces,
but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust.”
Meaning:
The chief priests, scribes and elders had demanded to know by what authority Jesus acted, and he had refused to tell them because they would not answer his question about John (Luke 20:1-8). Now he tells the people a parable that answers their question in another way. It reveals who he is, the beloved Son of the owner, and what the leaders are about to do to him. Mark and Matthew record the same parable (Mark 12:1-9; Matthew 21:33-41).
- “A man planted a vineyard”
Jesus’ hearers knew Isaiah’s song of the vineyard, which ends, “For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7). The owner is God, the vineyard is his people, and the farmers who rented it are the leaders entrusted with caring for them. Absentee landlords were common in Galilee, and tenants paid their rent with a share of the harvest.
- “The farmers beat him, and sent him away empty”
Three times the owner sends a servant to collect his share, and three times the servant is beaten, shamed or wounded and thrown out. These servants are the prophets God sent to Israel again and again. The Chronicler wrote that the people “mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets” (2 Chronicles 36:16). The owner’s patience is astonishing. He keeps sending when any other landlord would have acted long before.
- “I will send my beloved son”
The owner’s question, “What shall I do?”, shows the heart of God. He sends his own son, hoping they will respect him. The words “beloved son” recall the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism: “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Here Jesus answers the leaders’ question about his authority: he is not merely another servant but the Son.
- “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him”
The farmers think that by killing the heir they can take the inheritance for themselves. This is a picture of the leaders’ plan to get rid of Jesus and keep control of the people. “They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.” Jesus was crucified outside the city walls, and the letter to the Hebrews says that he “suffered outside of the gate” (Hebrews 13:12).
- “He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others”
Jesus answers his own question. Judgment will fall on the wicked tenants, and the vineyard will be entrusted to others. The hearers reacted with horror: “May it never be!” They understood that Jesus was speaking of the loss of their leaders’ privileged place. In the next verses Jesus quotes Psalm 118 about the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone (Luke 20:17-19).
The Significance of Luke 20:9-16
- The patience and love of God
The parable shows God sending messenger after messenger, and finally his own Son. His patience with rebellion is long, and his love goes to the greatest length.
- Stewards, not owners
Those who lead God’s people are tenants, not owners. Every believer is called to give God the fruit that belongs to him rather than treating his gifts as our own possession.
Cross-References:
Isaiah 5:7: "For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel" The background to the parable.
Mark 12:6: "Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’" Mark’s version of the owner’s decision.
2 Chronicles 36:16: "but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets" The rejection of the prophets.
Conclusion: In the parable of the wicked tenants God sends servant after servant to collect fruit from his vineyard, and finally his beloved son, whom the farmers kill in order to seize the inheritance. Jesus revealed himself as the Son, foretold his death at the hands of Israel’s leaders, and warned that the vineyard would be given to others.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible