Luke 20:10-18

20:10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave ¹  to the tenants so that they would give ²  him his portion of the crop. ³  However, the tenants beat his slave ⁴  and sent him away empty-handed. 20:11 So ⁵  he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him outrageously, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁶  20:12 So ⁷  he sent still a third. They even wounded this one, and threw him out. 20:13 Then ⁸  the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son; ⁹  perhaps they will respect him.’ 20:14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’ 20:15 So ¹⁰  they threw him out of the vineyard and killed ¹¹  him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 20:16 He will come and destroy ¹²  those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ¹³  When the people ¹⁴  heard this, they said, “May this never happen!” ¹⁵  20:17 But Jesus ¹⁶  looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? ¹⁷  20:18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, ¹⁸  and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” ¹⁹ 

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¹ sn This slave (along with the next two) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

² tc Instead of the future indicative δώσουσιν (dwsousin, “they will give”), most witnesses (C D W Θ Ψ Ë¹ Ï) have the aorist subjunctive δῶσιν (dwsin, “they might give”). The aorist subjunctive is expected following ἵνα ({ina, “so that”), so it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, early and excellent witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B ˹³ 33 579 1241 2542 al), have δώσουσιν. It is thus more likely that the future indicative is authentic. For a discussion of this construction, see BDF §369.2.

³ tn Grk “from the fruit of the vineyard.”

⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

⁶ sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first two slaves.

⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁹ tn Grk “my beloved son.” See comment at Luke 3:22.

sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son.

¹¹ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

¹² sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.

¹³ sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.

¹⁴ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.

¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

sn The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The use of Ps 118:22-23 and the “stone imagery” as a reference to Christ and his suffering and exaltation is common in the NT (see also Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:6-8; cf. also Eph 2:20). The irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 here is that in the OT, Israel was the one rejected (or perhaps her king) by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.

¹⁸ tn On this term, see BDAG 972 s.v. συνθλάω.

¹⁹ tn Grk “on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

sn This proverb basically means that the stone crushes, without regard to whether it falls on someone or someone falls on it. On the stone as a messianic image, see Isa 28:16 and Dan 2:44-45.