Luke 20:16

Luk 20:16. Μὴ γένοιτο) So the LXX. render the Hebrew חלילה. They mean to say this, Far be it from us, God forbid, that we should kill the heir. Comp. the following verse, and Joh 12:34.[214] [Frequently it happens that men refuse to acknowledge as in them that degree of wickedness which God upbraids them with.—V. g.]

[214] Comp. Joh 7:20 : “Who goeth about to kill thee,” with the, “God forbid” here.—E. and T.

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

Luk 20:16 . μὴ γένοιτο : here only in the Gospels, frequent in St. Paul’s Epistles (“a Pauline phrase,” Holtzmann, H. C.). Sturz ( De Dialecto Mac. et Alex. ) reckons it an Alexandrine usage, because found in the sense of deprecation only in Sept [164] , N.T., and late Greek writers. Raphel cites an example from Herodotus. This μὴ γένοιτο is put by Lk. into the mouth of the people, as unable to contemplate the doom pronounced on the husbandmen as described by Jesus. In Mt. (Mat 21:41 ) the people themselves pronounce the doom. The sentiment thus strongly expressed prepares the way for the reference to the “rejected stone”.

[164] Septuagint.

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

He shall come, &c.--This answer was given by the Pharisees themselves (Mat 21:41), thus pronouncing their own righteous doom. Matthew alone (Mat 21:43) gives the naked application, that "the kingdom of God should be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof"--the great evangelical community of the faithful, chiefly Gentiles.

God forbid--His whole meaning now bursting upon them.

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

Verse 16. God forbid.] Or, Let it not be, μηγενοιτο. Our phrase, God forbid, answers pretty well to the meaning of the Greek, but it is no translation.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) He shall come and destroy these husbandmen.—St. Luke agrees with St. Mark in putting these words into our Lord’s lips, and not, as St. Matthew does, into those of the by-standers.

They said, God forbid.—No other English phrase could well be substituted for this, but it is worth remembering that the name of God does not appear in the original, and that the ejaculation is simply, as it were, a negative Amen, “So be it not.” Its insertion hero is peculiar to St. Luke, nor does it occur elsewhere in the Gospels. St. Paul uses it frequently, as in Rom_3:4; Rom_3:6; Rom_3:31; Rom_6:2; Rom_6:15, et al.

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

16. He shall come and destroy] In Mat_21:41 this is the answer of the people themselves to our Lord’s question.

shall give the vineyard to others] “Lo, we turn to the Gentiles,” Act_13:46.

God forbid] Literally, “Might it not be!” Heb. Chalilah. In this utterance we hear the groan oi the Jewish people when the truth that they were indeed to be rejected burst upon them. It woke an echo even in the heart of the Apostle of the Gentiles. For the Hebrew expression Chalilah see Gen_44:7; Gen_44:17; Jos_22:29. It occurs ten times in the Epistle to the Romans alone. See Life of St Paul, 11. 206. It is the opposite of Amen, but occurs here alone in the Gospels.

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.

Whosoever shall fall on that stone, shall be broken,.... Not who shall fall upon Christ by faith, and build upon him as the foundation stone, for such shall be saved; but that stumble at him, and are offended with him, and fall by unbelief and hardness of heart; such do themselves much hurt and mischief and expose themselves to danger and ruin; they bid very fair for destruction:

but on whomsoever it shall fall; as it did with its full weight upon the Jews at their destruction, and as it will upon all Christless sinners at the last day:

it will grind him to powder; the ruin of such will be unavoidable, and there will be no recovery; See Gill on Mat 21:44.

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

10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.

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

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.

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

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

Ver. 16. God forbid] viz. that they should ever kill the Son of God sent unto them. We cannot get men to believe that their hearts are half so bad or their ways so dangerous as the preacher makes of them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deprecation and doom.

We may regard

I THE FORCE OF THESE WORDS AS ORIGINALLY APPLIED. The people who listened to this parable:

1. Deprecated a guilt in which they were to be partakers. "God forbid," said they, "that we should do such shameful things as these, that we should be in any way involved in such crimes as these! Whosesoever hands may be dyed with the blood of the Husbandman"s Son, ours shall be stainless." Yet were they moving on to the last and worst enormity, and already were they doing their best to bring about the guilty consummation.

2. Deprecated a doom to which they were descending. "God forbid," said they," that we should be subjected to the Divine wrath, and that we should lose that place of privilege we have so long enjoyed! May Heaven avert from us the calamity of having to yield to another nation or kingdom the post of honor, the place of privilege, which our fathers handed down to us!" But they were then pursuing the course which led inevitably to this very doom. If they only walked on in the path along which they were then hurrying, they were bound to reach that "miserable" end.

II ITS APPLICATION TO OUR OWN HEARTS AND LIVES.

1. We may be supposing ourselves incapable of wrong-doing the seeds of which are already sown in our heart. Hazael proved to have "dog" enough in him to do the worst things he shuddered at when he spoke. (2Ki_8:13) David discovered that he was capable of a selfishness which he was condemning to death in another. (2Sa_12:5-7) These Jews shrank from an action which was described to them, as a thing too base for them to commit; and yet they were in the very act of committing it. We little know what possibilities of evil are within us; we cannot estimate aright our own capacity for wrong-doing. Probably every man has in his heart something of which sin may lay hold in some dark hour, and by which he may conceivably be led down to guilt and shame. The declension and fall of those who once stood among the worthiest and the most honored speaks to us in earnest tones of the possible wandering of our own souls from God and goodness. Even Paul realized this stern possibility, and acted upon it. (1Co_9:27) The histories of the erring and ruined souls of men who once seemed beyond the reach of wrong and crime, but who became entangled in their meshes and were slain by them, call upon us to be

(1) watchful with a constant vigilance, and

(2) prayerful with an unflagging earnestness, lest we too fall under the power of temptation. (Mat_26:41)

2. We may be supposing ourselves safe from a doom which lies straight in front of us. How many a youth imagines himself secure from a degradation and a darkness toward which he has, in the sight of God, already set his foot! How many a man considers himself safe from a low and dishonorable level, when he is already on the slope that leads down to it I What if we could see the goal to which the path we tread is tending! "God forbid," we say, "that this should be our destiny!" and all the while our face is turned in that direction. There is "an earnest need for prayer" that God would show us what is the way in which we are walking; that, if we are in the wrong road, he would "apprehend" us even as he apprehended his chosen messenger, (Php_3:12) and turn our feet into the way of his testimonies. C. (Psa_139:23, Psa_139:24)

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

He will destroy these husbandmen - Probably he pointed to the scribes, chief priests, and elders: who allowed, he will miserably destroy those wicked men, Matt. xxi, 41; but could not bear that this should be applied to themselves. They might also mean, God forbid that we should be guilty of such a crime as your parable seems to charge us with, namely, rejecting and killing the heir. Our saviour answers, But yet will ye do it, as is prophesied of you.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

16. ἐλεύσεται καὶ ἀπολέσει. In Mat 21:41 this is the answer of the people themselves to our Lord’s question.

δώσει τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἄλλοις. “Lo, we turn to the Gentiles,” Act 13:46.

μὴ γένοιτο. ‘Might it not be!’ Heb. Chalîlah. In this utterance we hear the groan of the Jewish people when the truth that they were indeed to be rejected burst upon them. It woke an echo even in the heart of the Apostle of the Gentiles. For the Hebrew expression Chalîlah see Gen 44:7; Gen 44:17; Jos 22:29. It occurs ten times in the Epistle to the Romans alone. See Life of St Paul, II. 206. It is the opposite of Amen, but occurs here alone in the Gospels.

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.

16. ἐλεύσεταιλ καὶ ἀπολέσει … καὶ δώσει . Three points: He will no longer send but come; will punish the wrong-doers; will transfer their privileges to others. The Jews were familiar with the idea of the Gentiles being gathered into the Messianic Kingdom (Isa 2:2; Isa_60. passim; Jer 3:17). Yet this was restricted to those Gentiles who had taken no part in oppressing Israel, but had submitted to Israel; and later Judaism as a rule denied even this to the heathen (Charles, Enoch, 90:30). Here the Jews are to lose what the Gentiles gain. In vv. 16-19 Syr-Sin. is confused.

ἀκούσαντες δὲ εἶπαν Μὴ γένοιτο . We need not confine this to the people and conclude that “the Pharisees had too much wariness and self command to have allowed such an exclamation to escape from their lips.” The exclamation may not mean more than “That is incredible,” or “Away with the thought.” See Lft. on Gal 2:17 and Sanday on Rom 3:4. This is the only instance of μὴ γένοιτο in N.T. outside the Pauline Epp., where it generally is used to scout a false inference which might be drawn. Burton., § 176, 177. Here it probably refers to the punishment rather than to the sin which brings it,—to ἀπολέσει καὶ δώσει rather than to ἀπέκτειναν.

The expression is rare in the Pauline Epp. except in Rom., where it occurs ten times: twice in Gal. and once in 1 Cor. In LXX it is rare, and never stands as an independent sentence: Gen 44:7, Gen 44:17; Jos 22:29, Jos 22:24:16; 1Ki_20 [21] 3.

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

Destroy. See on Matthew 21, 41.

God forbid [μη γενοιτο] . Lit., may it not be.

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