Text -- Luke 20:1-16 (NET)

The Authority of Jesus

20:1 Now one day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law with the elders came up 20:2 and said to him, “Tell us: By what authority are you doing these things? Or who it is who gave you this authority?” 20:3 He answered answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 20:4 John’s baptism– was it from heaven or from people?” 20:5 So they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 20:6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 20:7 So they replied that they did not know where it came from. 20:8 Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by whose authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

20:9 Then he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time. 20:10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave to the tenants so that they would give him his portion of the crop. However, the tenants beat his slave and sent him away empty-handed. 20:11 So he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him outrageously, and sent him away empty-handed. 20:12 So he sent still a third. They even wounded this one, and threw him out. 20:13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son; 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 they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 20:16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “May this never happen!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 20:1

¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “the temple.”

⁴ tn Or “preaching.”

⁵ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

⁶ sn The chief priests and the experts in the law with the elders came up. The description is similar to Luke 19:47. The leaders are really watching Jesus at this point.

NET Notes: Luk 20:2

¹ tn Grk “and said, saying to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

² tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.

³ sn The leadership is looking back to acts like the temple cleansing (19:45-48). How could a Galilean preacher do these things?

NET Notes: Luk 20:3

¹ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

NET Notes: Luk 20:4

¹ sn John, like Jesus, was not a part of the official rabbinic order. So the question “John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from men?” draws an analogy between John the Baptist and Jesus. See Luke 3:1-20; 7:24-27. The phrase John’s baptism refers to the baptism practiced by John.

² tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 6) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

sn The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.

NET Notes: Luk 20:5

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ question.

NET Notes: Luk 20:7

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.

² sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them. The point of Luke 20:1-8 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

NET Notes: Luk 20:8

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

³ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 2.

NET Notes: Luk 20:9

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The parable Jesus tells here actually addresses the question put to him by the leaders.

² tc ‡ There are several variants here, most of which involve variations in word order that do not affect translation. However, the presence or absence of τις (ti") after ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), which would be translated “a certain man,” does affect translation. The witnesses that have τις include A W Θ Ë¹³ 1241 2542 al sy. Those that lack it include א B C D L Ψ Ë¹ 33 Ï it. Externally, the evidence is significantly stronger for the omission. Internally, however, there is some pause. A feature unique to Luke-Acts in the NT is to use the construction ἄνθρωπος τις (cf. 10:30; 12:16; 14:2, 16; 15:11; 16:1; 19:12; Acts 9:33). However, scribes who were familiar with this idiom may have inserted it here. In light of the overwhelming external support for the omission of τις, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ places τις in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

³ 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.

⁴ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

NET Notes: Luk 20:10

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.

NET Notes: Luk 20:11

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

² sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

NET Notes: Luk 20:12

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first two slaves.

NET Notes: Luk 20:13

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

² 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.

NET Notes: Luk 20:15

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son.

² sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

NET Notes: Luk 20:16

¹ 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.

² 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.

³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.