Mark 12:7

7 But those tenants said to one another, "This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and his property will be ours!'

Mark 12:7 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 12:7

But those husbandmen said among themselves
This, in the Persic version, is introduced thus, "when the vine dressers saw the son of the lord of the vineyard": agreeably to ( Matthew 21:38 ) . The Ethiopic version renders it, "and the servants said"; not the servants that had been sent, but the workmen in the vineyard:

this is the heir;
that is, "of the vineyard", as the Persic version expresses it they knew him by the prophecies of the Old Testament which had described him, and by the miracles which were wrought by him; and they could not deny but that the vineyard of the house of Judah belonged to him, and he was right heir to the throne of Israel; though they refused to embrace him, confess him, and declare for him: but, on the other hand, said,

come let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours;
that is, "the vineyard", and the Persic version again read. The priests, Scribes, and elders of the people consulted together to take away his life, with this view: that they might continue in the quiet possession of their nation, temple, and worship, in the office they bore, and in the privileges they partook of; and that the Romans might not come, and take away their place and nation, ( John 11:47 John 11:48 ) ; (See Gill on Matthew 21:38).

Mark 12:7 In-Context

5 The owner sent another slave, and they killed him; and they treated many others the same way, beating some and killing others.

6 The only one left to send was the man's own dear son. Last of all, then, he sent his son to the tenants. "I am sure they will respect my son,' he said.

7 But those tenants said to one another, "This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and his property will be ours!'

8 So they grabbed the son and killed him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

9 "What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do?" asked Jesus. "He will come and kill those tenants and turn the vineyard over to others.