12:1 Then 3 he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. 4 He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then 5 he leased it to tenant farmers 6 and went on a journey.
1 tn Grk “the mystery.”
sn The key term secret (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).
2 tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4 sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
6 sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.