Mark 12:3

3 "They grabbed him, beat him up, and sent him off empty-handed.

Mark 12:3 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 12:3

And they caught him
This clause is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions, though it seems proper to be retained; and denotes the rudeness and violence with which the prophets of the Lord were used by the Jewish nation:

and beat him:
either with their fists, or with rods, and scourges, till the skin was flayed off:

and sent him away empty;
without any fruit to carry with him, or give an account of, to the owner of the vineyard.

Mark 12:3 In-Context

1 Then Jesus started telling them stories. "A man planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, erected a watchtower, turned it over to the farmhands, and went off on a trip.
2 At the time for harvest, he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect his profits.
3 "They grabbed him, beat him up, and sent him off empty-handed.
4 So he sent another servant. That one they tarred and feathered.
5 He sent another and that one they killed. And on and on, many others. Some they beat up, some they killed.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.