Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 12:6
Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
6. Having yet therefore ] Note here the description of this last of the ambassadors of the householder. Not only was he his son, but his only one, his well-beloved, “a sone most dereworth,” Wyclif. This marks as strongly as possible the difference of rank between Christ and the prophets, by whom “ at sundry times and in divers manners God spake in times past unto the fathers ” (Heb 1:1), the distinction between them and the dignity of Him, Who only was in the highest sense His Son, and Whom He hath “ appointed heir of all things ” (Heb 1:2; Heb 3:5-6).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved,…. The Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the one, and only Son of God his Father, his only begotten Son, for he has no other Son in the same way of filiation; and who is his dear Son, the Son of his love, who was loved by him before the foundation of the world; and whom he declared to be his beloved Son, both at his baptism, and at his transfiguration upon the mount, by a voice from heaven: this Son he having with him, in his bosom, as one brought up with him, and rejoicing before him,
he sent him also last unto them; after all the prophets had been with them, when the last days were come, the end of the Jewish state, civil and ecclesiastical; see Heb 1:1;
saying, they will reverence my son. The Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, “perhaps they will reverence my son”, as in Lu 20:13;
[See comments on Mt 21:37].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A beloved son ( ). Lu 20:13 has . Jesus evidently has in mind the language of the Father to him at his baptism (Mark 1:11; Matt 3:17; Luke 3:22).
Last (). Only in Mark. See on Mt 21:37 for discussion of “reverence.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Therefore. The best texts omit. Last. Mark only.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Having yet therefore one son,” (eti hena eichen huion agapeton) “Still he had one, he had not sent, a beloved son, or heir,” his only begotten, Joh 3:16; Gal 4:4-5. When he had sent all his other servants, and exhausted all messengers, he sent his son, Joh 20:31.
2) “He sent him also last unto them, saying,” (apesteilen auton eschaton pros autous legon) “He sent him to them last, saying,” Heb 1:1-3.
3) “They will reverence my son.” (hoti entrapesontai ton huion mou) “They will (surely) reverence my son,” regard with veneration my heir or only begotten Son, Joh 1:14; Joh 3:17. He went not armed with vengeance, but with an offer of mercy, Joh 3:17. To take away life is the work of the vile and the wicked, to give life is an act of God.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(6) His well-beloved.Added by St. Mark to St. Matthews briefer form, he sent unto them his son.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“And he had yet one, a beloved son. He sent him last to them saying, ‘They will treat my son with due honour’. But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ”
Here Jesus made His most clear public statement yet that He was the Messiah, and more than the Messiah, and yet He did it in a way that could not be used against Him. He was confirming that He was ‘God’s beloved Son’ (compare Mar 1:11; Mar 9:7). For the owner ‘sent his own beloved son’. Now Jesus was making clear that a greater than the prophets was here (Mat 12:41; Luk 11:32), one who was totally unique and was related to God as no other. He was their last opportunity. The change to ‘son’ would certainly be noted by the members of the Sanhedrin, eager as they were to pin any charge they could on Jesus.
‘They will treat my son with due honour.’ This emphasises the distinction between the slave-servants and the son. It is inconceivable that they could be so degraded as not to pay due honour to the son, for he is both distinct from the servants and has an authority which is singularly his own. Here is one who is like no other, having a unique relationship with the owner and a right to the vineyard which belongs to him by right of inheritance.
But the tenant farmers, instead of treating the son with honour, plotted his death, just as these members of the Sanhedrin present knew in their own hearts that they were doing as they sought to find a way to bring about the death of Jesus.
‘ Those tenant farmers.’ The ‘those’ points back to what we know of the tenant farmers, and is filled with contempt. It indicates ‘The ones I have described’. It is strongly disparaging.
‘Come let us kill him.’ The words are those used by Joseph’s brothers in Gen 37:20 (see LXX). Jesus was likening these men to Joseph’s brothers, full of hate and jealousy as they attacked the one whom God had chosen to honour.
‘And the inheritance will be ours.’ Not by right of inheritance but by possession. There would be no one left to challenge them. They would be able to go on illegally holding it in spite of their rejection of the owner. (They did not think he would trouble to come himself, and there were certain land laws that enabled the takeover of land held by tenants undisturbed for a number of years). So in the same way the leaders of the Jews had convinced themselves that once they had got rid of Jesus they would be able to carry on in their position as religious leaders of the people without interference.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
DISCOURSE: 1446
THE REGARD DUE TO CHRIST
Mar 12:6. They will reverence my son.
THERE are many passages of Scripture, wherein God speaks of himself as frustrated and disappointed by the conduct of his creatures. We are not however to suppose that events happened really contrary to the purposes he had fixed or the expectations he had formed: for it is certain that he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and that known unto him are all his works, from the foundation of the world. The truth is, that God speaks after the manner of men, for the sake of accommodating himself to our low and feeble apprehensions; and therefore we must understand his words in a popular sense, without deducing from them all the conclusions which they may appear to warrant.
In the parable before us, he is represented as adopting an expedient, which, humanly speaking, could not fail of success. He had sent many servants to the Jews, in order to obtain from them the fruits of his vineyard: but some of them they had beaten, and others they had killed. Having therefore One Son, his well-beloved, he determined to send him, judging it impossible, as it were, that they should lift up their hands, or move their tongues against him; They will reverence my Son. But in the sequel of the parable we are informed, that, notwithstanding the numerous and solid grounds on which this expectation was formed, their hostility to him was more inveterate than it had been to any who had preceded him; and their treatment of him was the more cruel on account of the relation he bore to God, and the interest he claimed in the vineyard.
Conforming ourselves to the mode of speaking which God himself has suggested in the text, it will be proper to consider,
I.
The grounds of his expectation
If we were to confine the subject to Christs reception among the Jews, we should notice the peculiar circumstances of his incarnation, the spotless purity of his character, the multitude of his benevolent and stupendous miracles, and his perfect correspondence with all that had been predicted concerning him. But, that we may bring the subject home to our own bosoms, we shall omit these general topics, which interest us chiefly as proving his Messiahship, and shall notice others which mark more strongly the grounds of a believers attachment to him.
God then may well expect us to reverence his Son,
1.
On account of the dignity of his person
[Jesus, though born of a woman, differed infinitely from any other of the human race. He was, in an exalted and appropriate sense, the Son of God; his only Son, his well-beloved. He was God as well as man, God manifest in the flesh. As he was perfect man, so was he also perfect God, equal with the Father as touching his Godhead, at the same time that he was inferior to the Father as touching his manhood. Now if God had sent us an angel, or only a worm like ourselves, we ought to reverence him, because the authority of the king is to be acknowledged in his ambassador. But when he sends his co-equal, co-eternal Son, who is Jehovahs fellow, even God over all blessed for evermore, ought we not to testify all possible respect for him? Surely when he comes to us in his Gospel, and declares who he is, and whence he came, it becomes us to bow the knee before him, and to welcome him from our inmost souls.]
2.
On account of our extreme need of him
[If we did not need a Saviour, we might disregard the Lord Jesus, on the principle that the whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But who amongst us is free from sin? or who can make compensation to God for his iniquities? Who can satisfy Divine justice, or avert the wrath which his sins have merited? If we cannot do these things, and God has sent his only dear Son to do them for us, ought we not to reverence his Son? Ought we not to receive him with the warmest gratitude and affection? Suppose that having sent his Son into this world, God were now to send him to the regions below, where millions of our fellow-creatures are enduring the punishment due to their transgressions: Would the unhappy sufferers disregard his offers of mercy as we do? Would they not throng him on every side, and vie with each other in rending the air with their acclamations and hosannas? Why then should not we do the same? for wherein do we differ from them, except in this, that we are under a sentence of condemnation, but on them the sentence is already executed? Surely God may well expect, that we should be as solicitous to escape the wrath we fear, as others would be to obtain deliverance from the wrath they feel.]
3.
On account of the benefits he will impart to us
[If we hoped for nothing more than to avoid the miseries of hell, methinks we could never sufficiently reverence that adorable Saviour who came to deliver us from them. But this is a small part only of the blessings which he will bestow upon us. He will introduce us to the presence of his heavenly Father, and give us the most delightful fellowship with him: He will rescue us from the dominion of sin and Satan, and transform us into the image of our God in righteousness and true holiness: He will even exalt us to thrones of glory, and make us partakers of the honour and felicity which he himself enjoys at the right hand of God. And when God was sending us his own Son to impart all these benefits, had he not good reason to say, They will reverence my Son? If a doubt had been suggested whether such a Benefactor would be welcomed upon earth, should we not have been ready to inveigh against the person who suggested it, as a calumniator of the human race?]
But events have happened widely different from this prediction. God, if we may so speak, has been disappointed in his expectations; and that too in an incredible degree. This will appear by considering,
II.
The extent of his disappointment
How the Lord Jesus was treated among the Jews, it is scarcely needful to mention. Those who are the least instructed amongst us know, that instead of being reverenced, he was loaded with all manner of indignities, and at last put to death, even the cruel and ignominious death of the cross. Amongst us, it may be thought, he meets with a more favourable reception: but in truth, God is as much disappointed in our conduct towards him, as in that of the Jews themselves: for,
1.
His person is slighted
[We do indeed externally revere the name of Jesus, and profess to call him our Lord and Saviour: but do we really reverence him in our hearts? Is he truly precious in our eyes? Is he fairer than ten thousand, and altogether lovely? Alas! how many days and months have we passed without so much as one affectionate thought of him! How many years might we spend in different families without hearing any heart-felt commendations of him, or being once exhorted to love and serve him! The excellencies of others are painted in glowing colours; the praises of statesmen and warriors are sounded forth in every place: but in Jesus we see no beauty, no comeliness, for which he is to be desired: nor have we any delight in celebrating the wonders of his love.]
2.
His authority is disregarded
[If we warn any person against such or such a line of conduct from the consideration of its being injurious to his health, his honour, or his interests, every word we utter will be duly weighed, and produce an effect suited to its importance. But if we say to any one, Our blessed Lord requires this, or forbids that, we only excite a smile of contempt; and the person goes on his way without the smallest concern. Nor is this peculiar to some hardened rebels: it is found equally in persons of every age and every rank. If we call upon the rich to obey his voice, they are too much occupied about the world to attend to our exhortations: they bid us go to the poor, who alone need be subject to such restraints. When we exhort the poor to serve him, they tell us that they are not scholars; that they have no time to attend to such things; and that the rich alone, who have learning and leisure, can properly be expected to devote themselves to his service. When we address ourselves to the young, they reply that it will be time enough for them to think of religion some years hence. And when we speak to the old, and endeavour to bring them into subjection to Christ, they reply with anger, that they have not to learn their religion at this time of day; they do not like such novel notions; they have done to others as they would be done unto; and that they will go to heaven their own way.
We appeal to the observation and experience of all, whether this be not the way in which men almost universally treat the authority of Christ.]
3.
His offices are superseded
[Christ has undertaken, as a Prophet, to teach us; as a Priest, to make atonement for us: and, as a King, to rule over us. But do we seek to be taught by him in all things, conforming our sentiments gladly to his written word, and imploring earnestly the enlightening influences of his Spirit? Do we not rather lean to our own understanding, and adopt the sentiments of an ungodly world? Do we trust simply in his obedience unto death, renouncing unfeignedly every other ground of hope, and looking for acceptance solely through his blood and righteousness? Do we not rather substitute some works of our own in the room of his, or at least place some reliance on them instead of relying on him alone? How we set aside his kingly authority, has been already noticed. What shall we say then? Can God be pleased with this? Must it not be extremely painful to him to see all the offices which his dear Son undertook to execute for us, thus entirely superseded?
If any be disposed to contradict this statement, let them only look within, and, as in the presence of God, inquire whether they be really living by faith on Christ, and making use of him from day to day as their wisdom, their righteousness, their sanctification, and redemption? A candid examination of their own hearts will soon convince them, that their faith in Christ is rather nominal, than real; and that, while they acknowledge him as a Saviour, they do not cordially cleave unto him, or unreservedly embrace him.]
4.
His cause and interests are opposed
[One would imagine that they who do not reverence Christ themselves, would at least permit others to honour and adore him. But the carnal mind is enmity against him; and nothing will more effectually call forth that enmity, than a zealous endeavour to glorify his name. Men can see people on every side neglecting and despising Christ, and never once endeavour to reclaim them from their evil ways: but let any person begin to reverence Christ in his heart, and to manifest his regard to him by a suitable conversation, and they will instantly feel a fear and jealousy lest he should love and serve the Saviour too much. However excellent his conduct be, he will become an object of contempt and ridicule, in proportion as his love to Christ is influential on his heart and life. We appeal to matter of fact: Are not they who were respected and beloved while they were utterly regardless of Christ, considered as weak and contemptible as soon as ever they submit to his authority, and devote themselves to his service? Or, if their weight of character bear down this reproach, are they not lowered at least in the estimation of the world? It is a fact, that they are looked upon as signs and wonders; and that it is thought a disgrace by many even to be acquainted with them.
How astonishing then must be the disappointment of God the Father, when his only, his beloved Son is not merely rejected by the world whom he came to save, but is made a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, insomuch that an unfeigned attachment to him shall be sufficient to call forth their most contemptuous revilings, and, in many instances, their most cruel resentment!]
Address
1.
Those who are disappointing the expectations of their God
[You doubtless have expectations respecting the manner in which you shall be treated in the day of judgment. You are saying, My God will surely have mercy upon me, and will save my soul. But, if you are continually disappointing the expectations of your God, shall not you also be disappointed? Shall his hopes be frustrated, and yours realized; more especially when his are founded on such a reasonable basis, and yours are altogether groundless? Ah! be assured of this, that God will have respect to none who do not reverence his dear Son; and that Jesus himself will say at last, Bring hither those that were mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, and slay them before me.]
2.
Those who are endeavouring to fulfil the will of God
[Thanks be to God! there are some who honour the Son even as they honour the Father; and whose delight it is to render him the fruits which he requires. Ye, beloved, shall be highly favoured of your God; for he has said, Him that honoureth me, I will honour. But shall ye receive honour from men? No, verily; for the servant neither is, nor can be, above his Lord: if they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, much more will they those of his household. Marvel not then if the world hate you; but remember, that they hated Christ before they hated you: and that, if ye be hated for righteousness sake, ye have reason to glorify God on this behalf. Only seek to express your reverence to Christ, not by needless singularities, but by solid and substantial piety; by bringing forth the fruits of righteousness to his praise and glory.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.
6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
Ver. 6. They will reverence my son ] They will surely be ashamed to look him in the face. This is the proper signification of the word . But sin had woaded a an impudence in their faces, that they could blush no more than a sackbut.
a To dye, colour, or stain with woad, sometimes (in dyeing) as a ground for another colour. D
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mark
GOD’S LAST ARROW
Mar 12:6
Reference to Isa 5:1 – Isa 5:30 There are differences in detail here which need not trouble us.
Isaiah’s parable is a review of the theocratic history of Israel, and clearly the messengers are the prophets; here Christ speaks of Himself and His own mission to Israel, and goes on to tell of His death as already accomplished.
I. The Son who follows and surpasses the servants.
The last words of the lawgiver certainly point to a person Deu 18:18: ‘A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you like unto me. Him shall ye hear.’ How ridiculous the cool superciliousness with which modern historical criticism ‘pooh-poohs’ that interpretation! But the contrast is quite as prominent as the resemblance. This saying is one which occurs in all the Synoptics, and is as full a declaration of Sonship as any in John’s Gospel. It reposes on the scene at the baptism Mat 3:17: ‘This is My beloved Son!’ Such a saying was well enough understood by the Jews to mean more than the ‘Messiah.’ It clearly involves kindred to the divine in a far other and higher sense than any prophet ever had it. It involves pre-existence. It asserts that He was the special object of the divine love, the ‘heir.’
You cannot relieve the New Testament Christ of the responsibility of having made such assertions. There they are! He did deliberately declare that He was, in a unique sense, ‘the Son’ on whom the love and complacency of the Father rested continually.
II. The aggravation of men’s sins as tending to the enhancement of the divine efforts.
The mission of Christ is the ultimate appeal of God to men.
In the primary sense of the parable Jesus does close the history of the divine strivings with Israel. After Christ, the last of the prophets, the divine voice ceases; after the blaze of that light all is dark. There is nothing more remarkable in the whole history of the world than that cessation in an instant, as it were, of the long, august series of divine efforts for Israel. Henceforward there is an awful silence. ‘Forsaken Israel wanders lone.’
And the principle involved for us is the same.
‘Christ crucified’ is more than Christ miracle-working. That ‘more’ we have, as the Jews had. But if that avails not, then nothing else will.
He is ‘last’ because highest, strongest, and all-sufficient.
He is ‘last’ inasmuch as all since are but echoes of His voice and proclaimers of His grace.
He is ‘last’ as the eternal and the permanent, the ‘same for ever’ Heb 13:8. There are to be no new powers for the world; no new forces to draw men to God. God’s quiver is empty, His last bolt shot, His most tender appeal made.
III. The unwearied divine charity.
Its highest aspect is not here, for it was not needed for the parable. ‘With wicked hands ye have crucified,’ etc., is true, as well as ‘I lay it down of Myself.’
Let us lay to heart the solemn love which warns by prophesying, tells what men are going to do in order that they may not do it and what He will do in order that He may not have to do it. And let us yield ourselves to the power of Christ’s death as God’s magnet for drawing us all back to Him; and as certain to bring about at last the satisfaction of the Father’s long-frustrated hope: ‘They will reverence my Son,’ and the fulfilment of the Son’s long-unaccomplished prediction: ‘I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
therefore. Omitted by [L] T Tr. A WH R with Syriac.
his = his own.
wellbeloved = beloved. App-135.
last. A Divine supplement, here.
reverence = have respect to.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mar 12:6. , as yet) Construe with having.- , one-His well-beloved) These two words do not altogether signify the same thing.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
son
Jesus Himself. Cf. Heb 1:1-3
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
one: Psa 2:7, Mat 1:23, Mat 11:27, Mat 26:63, Joh 1:14, Joh 1:18, Joh 1:34, Joh 1:49, Joh 3:16-18, 1Jo 4:9, 1Jo 5:11, 1Jo 5:12
his: Mar 1:11, Mar 9:7, Gen 22:2, Gen 22:12, Gen 37:3, Gen 37:11-13, Gen 44:20, Isa 42:1, Mat 3:17, Mat 17:5, Luk 3:22, Luk 9:35, Joh 3:35, Heb 1:1, Heb 1:2
They: Psa 2:12, Joh 5:23, Heb 1:6, Rev 5:9-13
Reciprocal: Mat 21:37 – last Luk 20:15 – What
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
Jesus was a Jew who was sent to that nation as the rightful heir of all his Father’s possessions, and he should have been received with great respect.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The sending of the owner’s son constituted the supreme test for the tenant farmers. The tenant farmers in the parable may have believed that the owner of the vineyard had died and that he had only one son who was his heir. They reasoned that if they killed the son there would be no one else to inherit the vineyard and they could retain control of it. The tenants evidently threw the son out of the vineyard and then killed him (Mat 21:39; Luk 20:15). Mark’s order of events (Mar 12:8) shows that his murder was also an act of rejection. [Note: Lenski, p. 512.]
The religious leaders certainly behaved as though God was dead. He really had only one uniquely beloved Son (cf. Mar 1:11; Mar 9:7).