Luke 20:16

16 He will come and kill those farmers and will give the vineyard to other farmers." When the people heard this story, they said, "Let this never happen!"

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 farmers saw the son, they said to each other, 'This son will inherit the vineyard. If we kill him, it will be ours.'
15 So the farmers threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him. "What will the owner of this vineyard do to them?
16 He will come and kill those farmers and will give the vineyard to other farmers." When the people heard this story, they said, "Let this never happen!"
17 But Jesus looked at them and said, "Then what does this verse mean: 'The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone'?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken, and the person on whom it falls, that person will be crushed!"
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.