Luke 20:16

16 Right. He'll come and clean house. Then he'll assign the care of the vineyard to others." Those who were listening said, "Oh, no! He'd never do that!"

Luke 20:16 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 20:16

He shall come and destroy these husbandmen
Which had its accomplishment at the destruction of Jerusalem: according to the other evangelists, these words are the answer of the chief priests, Scribes, and elders, to the above questions put to them by Christ, after he had delivered the parable; but here they seem to be the words of Christ, who also said the same, and confirmed what they had observed, and could not but own, that it was just and right, and what might be expected, with what follows:

and shall give the vineyard to others;
the land of Judea to the Romans in particular, and the church state, with the Gospel and ordinances of it, to the Gentiles in general, sometimes called "others"; (See Gill on Luke 5:29) and (See Gill on Luke 18:11).

and when they heard it, they said, God forbid;
though they were their own words, yet repeated and confirmed by Christ, and perceiving that they were the persons intended, deprecate the fulfilment of them; at least so far as they understood they related to the killing of the Messiah, and to the destruction of their nation, city, and temple.

Luke 20:16 In-Context

14 "But when the farmhands saw him coming, they quickly put their heads together. 'This is our chance - this is the heir! Let's kill him and have it all to ourselves.'

15 They killed him and threw him over the fence. "What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do?

16 Right. He'll come and clean house. Then he'll assign the care of the vineyard to others." Those who were listening said, "Oh, no! He'd never do that!"

17 But Jesus didn't back down. "Why, then, do you think this was written: That stone the masons threw out - It's now the cornerstone!?

18 "Anyone falling over that stone will break every bone in his body; if the stone falls on anyone, it will be a total smashup."