Luke 20:15

Luke 20:15, in plain English

They throw the son out of the vineyard and kill him. Then Jesus asks: what will the owner do to those tenants? The answer is obvious — and terrifying.

Why it's here

Jesus is describing what's about to happen to Him, told as a parable. The son thrown out and killed is Jesus thrown outside the city and crucified.

Who's speaking

Jesus narrates the son's murder and asks the crowd to consider the consequences.

Where it sits in the story

The most tragic scene in the parable — the beloved son is killed. And Jesus makes the audience face the aftermath: what does a father do when his son is murdered?

The scholarly reading

The tenants throw the son out of the vineyard and kill him. Jesus then asks the consequential question: 'What will the owner do to them?' The ejection before killing parallels Jesus' crucifixion outside Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:12).

Language and setting

Throwing the son out 'of the vineyard' before killing him may allude to Jesus' crucifixion outside the city walls. The question to the audience forces them to pronounce judgment on themselves.

Voice

Jesus narrates the son's murder and poses a rhetorical question about consequences.

Significance

They throw him out and kill him — just as Jesus will be taken outside Jerusalem's walls to die. Then Jesus turns to the audience and asks: what happens now? He forces them to judge themselves.

13‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

14But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

16He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

17But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

Read all of Luke 20 — The religious leaders challenge Jesus' authority. He answers with a parable about murderous tenants that leaves them furious and afraid.