Mark 12:3

3 But they seized him, beat him cruelly and sent him away 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 He began to speak to them in figurative language. "There was once a man," He said, "who planted a vineyard, fenced it round, dug a pit for the wine-tank, and built a strong lodge. Then he let the place to vine-dressers and went abroad.

2 At vintage-time he sent one of his servants to receive from the vine-dressers a share of the grapes.

3 But they seized him, beat him cruelly and sent him away empty-handed.

4 Again he sent to them another servant: and as for him, they wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully.

5 Yet a third he sent, and him they killed. And he sent many besides, and them also they ill-treated, beating some and killing others.