Luke 20:10-14

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!’

Matthew 21:34-40

21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves ¹⁰  to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. ¹¹  21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, ¹²  killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 21:37 Finally he sent his son to them, ¹³  saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 21:39 So ¹⁴  they seized him, ¹⁵  threw him out of the vineyard, ¹⁶  and killed him. 21:40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

John 15:16

15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you ¹⁷  and appointed you to go and bear ¹⁸  fruit, fruit that remains, ¹⁹  so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

Galatians 5:22

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ²⁰  is love, ²¹  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²² 

Philippians 4:17

4:17 I do not say this because I am seeking a gift. ²³  Rather, I seek the credit that abounds to your account.

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.

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.

¹⁰ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

¹¹ tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

¹² sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

¹³ sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.

¹⁵ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

¹⁶ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

¹⁷ sn You did not choose me, but I chose you. If the disciples are now elevated in status from slaves to friends, they are friends who have been chosen by Jesus, rather than the opposite way round. Again this is true of all Christians, not just the twelve, and the theme that Christians are “chosen” by God appears frequently in other NT texts (e.g., Rom 8:33; Eph 1:4ff.; Col 3:12; and 1 Pet 2:4). Putting this together with the comments on 15:14 one may ask whether the author sees any special significance at all for the twelve. Jesus said in John 6:70 and 13:18 that he chose them, and 15:27 makes clear that Jesus in the immediate context is addressing those who have been with him from the beginning. In the Fourth Gospel the twelve, as the most intimate and most committed followers of Jesus, are presented as the models for all Christians, both in terms of their election and in terms of their mission.

¹⁸ tn Or “and yield.”

¹⁹ sn The purpose for which the disciples were appointed (“commissioned”) is to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains. The introduction of the idea of “going” at this point suggests that the fruit is something more than just character qualities in the disciples’ own lives, but rather involves fruit in the lives of others, i.e., Christian converts. There is a mission involved (cf. John 4:36). The idea that their fruit is permanent, however, relates back to vv. 7-8, as does the reference to asking the Father in Jesus’ name. It appears that as the imagery of the vine and the branches develops, the “fruit” which the branches produce shifts in emphasis from qualities in the disciples’ own lives in John 15:2, 4, 5 to the idea of a mission which affects the lives of others in John 15:16. The point of transition would be the reference to fruit in 15:8.

²⁰ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

²¹ sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

²² tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

²³ tn Grk “Not that I am seeking the gift.” The phrase “I do not say this…” has been supplied in the translation to complete the thought for the modern reader.