Luke 20:13

20:13 my cherished son: The Messiah was predicted to have a unique father-son relationship with God (see 2 Sam 7:14; Pss 2:7; 89:26-29).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 20:13. Ἴσως) Ἴσως occurs once in the New Testament, and once in the LXX. for אך, 1Sa 25:21. It denotes, humanly speaking, an opinion, conjecture, or hope, which might reasonably be entertained (as also profane authors employ ἴσως for per chance, it may be that); in the present case there is signified the altogether wise frankness (sincerity) of the Divine goodness.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 20:13 . τί ποιήσω ; deliberative subjunctive, serving to make the step next taken appear something extraordinary. In Mt. it appears simply as the next (final) step in common course. In Mk. the son is the only person left to send. He had yet one, a beloved son, “beloved” added to bring out the significance of sending him. In Lk. the reference to the son has a theological colour: τὸν υἱόν μου τὸν ἀγαπητόν . ἴσως : more than “perhaps” or “it may be” (A.V [162] , R.V [163] ), and less than “without doubt” (“sine dubio,” Wolf). It expresses what may naturally and reasonably be expected = τάχα (Hesychius), or οἶμαι (Bornemann) = I should think (they will reverence him). Here only in N.T.

[162] Authorised Version.

[163] Revised Version.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

my beloved son--Mark (Mar 12:6) still more affectingly, "Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved"; our Lord thus severing Himself from all merely human messengers, and claiming Sonship in its loftiest sense. (Compare Heb 3:3-6.)

it may be--"surely"; implying the almost unimaginable guilt of not doing so.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(13) It may be.—The doubt implied in the qualification is a feature peculiar to St. Luke’s report. The better MSS. omit the clause “when they see him.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. What shall I do?] Gen_1:26; Gen_6:7.

I will send my beloved son] who “took on Him the form of a servant.” Our Lord’s teaching respecting His own divine dignity advanced in distinctness as the end was approaching.

it may be] Literally, “perhaps.” It occurs here alone in the N. T. and once only in the LXX., 1Sa_25:21 (Heb. E. V. ‘surely’). This ‘perhaps’ belongs of course only to the parable, but it (i) indicates their free will, and (ii) enhances their awful crime to represent it as having seemed all but inconceivable.

when they see him] Omitted in א, B, C, D, L, Q.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So they cast him out of the vineyard,.... Rejected him as the Messiah, even denied that he was of the Jewish nation; said he was a Samaritan, and delivered him to the Gentiles that were without, and were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; and at last had him without their city, and put him to death, as follows:

and killed him; the Prince of life, the Lord of glory, and heir of all things; see Act 2:23

what therefore shall the Lord of the vineyard do unto them? the husbandmen, the chief priests, elders, Scribes, and Pharisees; at whose solicitations the life of his Son, and heir, was taken away; by which he must be greatly provoked and incensed.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do! I will send my beloved son. The guilt of the husbandmen who acted as vine-dressers here reached its highest measure. The words represented here by Jesus as spoken by God, possess the deepest doctrinal value. They, under the thin veil of the parable-story, answer the question of the Sanhedrim (ver. 2), "By what authority doest thou these things?" The deliberative words, "What shall I do?" recall the Divine dialogue alluded to in Gen_1:26. St. Luke here represents the Father as calling the Son, "my Beloved. " St. Mark adds that he was an only Son. Such sayings as this, and the remarkable prayer of Mat_11:25-27, are a clear indication of the Christology of the synoptists. Their estimate of the Person of the blessed Son in no wise differed from that given us by St. John at much greater length and with fuller details.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The climax of the story and its application:

v. 13. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will relevance him when they see him.

v. 14. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

v. 15. So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?

v. 16. He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid!

v. 17. And He beheld them and said, What is this, then, that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

v. 18. Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

The patience of the master of the vineyard is brought out with remarkable power. He deliberates upon the situation with himself, finally concluding to send his only, his beloved son. Surely the vine-dressers would not be so lacking in all qualities of decency and honorable dealing as to show disrespect and relevance for the son of the owner, whose authority stood second to that of his father: I should think that without doubt they will relevance him. But his kindness had not reckoned with the utter depravity of the wicked husbandmen. For, seeing the son coming, the renters immediately held a consultation, with the result that they determined to kill the heir and to put themselves into possession of the property. And, acting upon this heinous plan, they took the son, cast him out of the vineyard, and put him to death.

The explanation of the parable must have been evident to the leaders of the Jews at once. The owner of the vineyard is God. The vineyard, as Isaiah says in his song, is the kingdom of God, which He had planted in the midst of His people, the children of Israel. God had made Israel His people by the covenant of Mount Sinai. And His people had lacked nothing under His fatherly care. He had planted the hedge of His Law around them, He had given them the tower of the kingdom of David, and the wine of the Word of God flowed in streams of unchanging richness. But the great benefits which God showered upon His people were not repaid by them in kind. The vinedressers are the individual members of the Jewish congregation, especially the leaders of the nation. When God sent them His servants, the prophets, expecting from them the fruit, the obedience they owed Him, these servants were treated with contempt and every form of hatred. They were despised, derided, mistreated and even put to death, 2Ki 17:13-14; 2Ch 36:15-16. Isaiah, Amos, Micah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, the son of Jehoiadah, and others were obliged to feel the murderous hatred of the Jews, Heb 11:36; Act 7:52. When all other means had failed, God sent His only-begotten Son. But against Him their enmity rose to heights hitherto untouched. They held councils against Him to kill Him. They did not want Him to rule over their nation as the King of grace and mercy. The Jewish leaders wanted to rule the people in their own selfish way, for their own sinful gain. And so the murder of Christ was the climax of their wickedness.

Instead of ending the parable in the usual narrative style, Jesus, for the sake of emphasis, put the direct question to His hearers as to what the owner of the vineyard would do to those wicked vine-dressers. And He answered Himself, saying that he would come and destroy those husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. This answer was echoed by some of the bystanders, though the chief priests and scribes felt that the parable was spoken for them. Some of them, therefore, called out in apparent horror: Let it not be done! Since the Jews rejected Christ and His Gospel, the Lord carried out His judgment against them by taking from them the proclamation of His love and giving it to the heathen, many of whom heeded His call and brought forth fruits meet for the kingdom of God. Undisturbed by their shocked objection, therefore, Jesus fixed His eyes upon the Jews and reminded them of the words of the prophet, in the very Hallel Psalm which they sang with so much show of sincerity on their great festivals, Psa 118:22. The chosen people rejected the Chosen Stone, and were. therefore rejected by God. Christ is the Corner-stone of His Church, Eph 2:20. By faith in His atonement there is salvation for both Jew and Gentile. But everyone that rejects the salvation through His blood must take the bitter consequences which he thus brings upon himself. It is a peculiar, a paradox judgment that falls upon the opponents of the Gospel. Foolish, mentally deranged, and spiritually blind people they are that want to run their heads, with the product of man’s wisdom, against the rock of the eternal Wisdom of God. Instead of making so much as a dent in the Rock of Ages, they find themselves staggering back with badly battered heads. And their rejection, in turn, reacts upon them, for the Stone falls on them with crushing judicial effect. They have their sentence of condemnation even here in time. And they will find out, in a dreadful eternity, what it means to reject the mercy of God. These solemn words of warning may well be brought to the attention of many people in our days that think the world has outgrown the old Gospel of salvation through the redemption of the blood of Jesus.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

What will I do?

This question emphasizes that the vineyard owner thought carefully about what he was going to do. AT: "Here is what I will do:" (See: Rhetorical Question)

when the vine growers saw him

"when the farmers saw the owner's son"

Let us kill him

They were not asking permission. The said this to encourage each other to kill the heir.

translationWords

lord

beloved

son

heir

inherit

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

13. The ἰδόντες at the end of the verse is omitted by אBCD, Edd.

13. τί ποιήσω; Gen 1:26; Gen 6:7.

πέμψω τὸν υἱόν μου τὸν ἀγαπητόν. Who “took on Him the form of a servant.” Our Lord’s teaching respecting His own divine dignity advanced in distinctness as the end was approaching.

ἴσως. ‘Perhaps.’ It occurs here alone in the N. T. and once only in the LXX[350], 1Sa 25:21 (Heb. אך, E. V. ‘surely’). This ‘perhaps’ belongs of course only to the parable, but it (i) indicates their free will, and (ii) enhances their awful crime to represent it as having seemed all but inconceivable.

[350] LXX. Septuagint.

[ἰδόντες.] Omitted in אBCDLQ.

ἐντραπήσονται. See on Luk 18:2.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. Τί ποιήσω ; Peculiar to this account; as also is the qualifying ἴσως, which occurs nowhere else in N.T., and only once in LXX (1Sa 25:21), where English Versions have “surely.” Godet contends for such a meaning here: pourtant, en tout cas, certainement. But comp. ΚΛ. Ἴσως. ΑΘ. Οὐκ ἴσως, ἀλλʼ ὄντως ὦ δαομόνιε (Plat. Laws, xii:965).

We must remember that it is the ἄνθρωπος of ver. 9 who deliberates as to what he shall do, says ἴσως, and expects that his son will be well received. All this is the setting of the parable, and must not be pressed as referring to God. This man represents God, not by his perplexity, but by his long-suffering and mercy.

ἐντραπήσονται. In all three: for the meaning see on 18:2. This form of the fut. is late. In Polyb. and Plut. the verb sometimes has an acc., but in class. Grk. a gen., when it means “reverence” Comp. Exo 10:3, Wisd. 2:10.

The ἰδότες of TR. with A R, Vulg. Goth. comes from ver. 14; om. א B C D C Q, a c d e ff2 i l q r, Bob. Arm. The Syriac Versions are divided. Syr-Sin. is defective here.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It may be [ισως] . Only here in New Testament. The adverb of isov, equal. It expresses more than perhaps, implying rather a strong probability. Compare the phrase, it is an even chance that.

Reverence. See on Mt 21:37.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.