Lukas 20:13-16

20:13 Then ¹  the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son; ²  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 ³  they threw him out of the vineyard and killed ⁴  him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 20:16 He will come and destroy ⁵  those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ⁶  When the people ⁷  heard this, they said, “May this never happen!” ⁸ 

[20:13]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:13]  ² tn Grk “my beloved son.” See comment at Luke 3:22.

[20:13]  sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.

[20:15]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son.

[20:15]  ⁴ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[20:16]  ⁵ 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.

[20:16]  ⁶ 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.

[20:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:16]  ⁸ sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.