Luke 20:13

13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps [a] they will respect him.'

Luke 20:13 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 20:13

Then said the Lord of the vineyard
Who planted it, and let it out to husbandmen, and expected fruit from it, and sent his servants from time to time for it:

what shall I do?
or what can be done more than has been done? ( Isaiah 5:4 ) who else can be sent that is likely to do any good with such an ungrateful and unfruitful people?

I will send my beloved Son;
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lay in his bosom, was the darling of his soul, and the delight of his heart; him he determined to send, and him he did send to the lost sheep of the house of Israel:

it may be they will reverence him, when they see him:
it might be thought after the manner of men, that considering the greatness of his person, as the Son of God, the nature of his office, as the Redeemer and Saviour of men, the doctrines which he preached, the miracles which he wrought, and the holiness and harmlessness of his conversation, and the great good he did both to the bodies and souls of men, that he would have been had in great esteem and veneration with the men, to whom he was sent, and among whom he conversed: but, alas! when they saw him, they saw no beauty, comeliness, and excellency in him, and nothing on account of which he should be desired by them.

Luke 20:13 In-Context

11 He sent yet another slave, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
12 And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out.
13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.'
14 "But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him, so the inheritance will be ours!'
15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Other mss add when they see him
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.