Mark 12 9

Mark 12:9 kjv

What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

Mark 12:9 nkjv

"Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.

Mark 12:9 niv

"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Mark 12:9 esv

What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Mark 12:9 nlt

"What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?" Jesus asked. "I'll tell you ? he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

Mark 12 verses

Mark 12 9 Meaning

Mark 12:9 unveils a core message about divine justice and the transfer of spiritual stewardship. In the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, this verse signifies the inevitable judgment upon those entrusted with God's vineyard (Israel, specifically its leaders) who rejected His messengers and ultimately His Son. It prophesies that God, the true owner, will decisively intervene, remove the unfaithful stewards through destruction, and bestow the stewardship of His work upon others who will bear fruit.

Mark 12 9 Context

The verse Mark 12:9 is embedded within the "Parable of the Wicked Tenants" (Mark 12:1-12), delivered by Jesus in the Temple courts during His final days in Jerusalem. This parable serves as a direct confrontation and severe indictment of the chief priests, scribes, and elders of Israel, who had just challenged Jesus' authority (Mark 11:27-33).

The parable draws heavily on the Old Testament imagery of Israel as God's vineyard (e.g., Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:8-16), indicating that God (the "owner") entrusted His covenant people (the "vineyard") to the care of their religious leaders (the "tenants"). These leaders, however, repeatedly rejected and persecuted God's prophets (the "servants"), and ultimately rejected and killed His "beloved son" (Jesus). Mark 12:9 encapsulates Jesus' rhetorical question, prompting the audience to acknowledge the inevitable, righteous judgment of God against those who repeatedly rebel against His authority and reject His messengers. It directly anticipates the consequences of their actions, pointing to the destruction of the existing leadership and the transfer of responsibility for God's vineyard to others.

Mark 12 9 Word analysis

• What therefore will the owner of the vineyard do?: This opening phrase is a rhetorical question, designed to provoke an answer and judgment from the audience themselves. The question is posed in a way that suggests only one logical and just outcome. The Greek word οὖν (oun), translated as "therefore," signifies a logical consequence or conclusion drawn from the preceding actions of the wicked tenants.
  • owner (κύριος, kyrios): This term, commonly translated "lord" or "master," signifies absolute authority and possession. In the parable, it clearly refers to God, establishing His ultimate sovereignty over His vineyard (Israel) and those to whom He entrusted it.
  • vineyard (ἀμπελών, ampelon): This Greek term literally means a field of grapevines. Biblically, and especially in Old Testament prophetic literature (Isa 5, Jer 2, Ps 80), it is a well-established metaphor for Israel as God's chosen people or realm of operation. The vineyard represents God's spiritual and covenantal domain.
  • do? (ποιήσει, poiēsei): This signifies action. The question probes what the owner's appropriate response will be to the severe rebellion and murderous intent shown by the tenants. It implies a righteous and decisive intervention.
• He will come: This phrase points to the divine intervention of God. "Come" (ἐλεύσεται, eleusetai) implies a visitation for judgment, a reckoning, often a punitive coming in prophetic contexts. It signifies the Lord's personal, decisive involvement.
• and destroy: (ἀπολέσει, apolessei) This powerful Greek verb means to cause to perish, to bring to ruin, to put out of existence, or to utterly destroy. It signifies severe and definitive judgment, the removal of the unfaithful stewards. Historically and prophetically, this was often understood by early Christians as alluding to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70.
• the tenants: (γεωργούς, geōrgous) The "tenants" or "husbandmen" are those entrusted with the care and cultivation of the vineyard. In the parable, they represent the religious leadership of Israel (chief priests, scribes, elders) who were meant to care for God's people but instead exploited them and rejected His messengers.
• and give the vineyard: (δώσει, dōsei) This denotes a transfer of ownership or, more accurately, stewardship. God, the true owner, retains ultimate possession but grants responsibility to new stewards. This is a deliberate act of sovereign decision.
• to others: (ἄλλοις, allois) This signifies a distinct shift. "Others" refers to a new group who will receive the stewardship of God's work and bear its fruit. In a broader New Testament context, this often points to the establishment of the Church, comprising believing Jews and Gentiles, who would faithfully respond to God's call and produce spiritual fruit that the previous leaders failed to deliver. It implies the expansion of God's covenantal favor beyond the unfaithful leadership of Old Covenant Israel.

Mark 12 9 Bonus section

• The immediate answer to Jesus' rhetorical question in Mark's account is implicitly understood by the audience, particularly the religious leaders, as recorded in Mark 12:12: "And they were seeking to arrest him, but feared the crowd, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them." This demonstrates their self-condemnation. In Matthew's parallel (Matt 21:41), the people actually voice the judgment, showing their own discernment of the parable's conclusion.
• The parable's setting in the Temple Mount during Jesus' final week amplifies its confrontational nature. It is a direct challenge to the authority and stewardship of those who were about to reject and crucify Him, placing His coming passion within God's sovereign plan of judgment and new creation.
• The transition from the old stewardship to "others" reflects a profound shift in salvation history—from a predominantly national and ethno-religious focus of the covenant to a more inclusive, faith-based covenant embodied in the Church, where access to God's vineyard is not through lineage or office but through genuine spiritual fruit-bearing.

Mark 12 9 Commentary

Mark 12:9 serves as the climax of Jesus' Parable of the Wicked Tenants, delivering a profound prophetic statement about God's imminent judgment and the radical restructuring of His kingdom. The rhetorical question posed by Jesus forces the religious leaders to confront the logical outcome of their own actions: rebellion against the Owner demands severe retribution. The answer is swift and certain: the Owner's "coming" represents God's active, judgmental intervention. The "destruction" of the tenants forecasts the catastrophic demise of the existing unfaithful Jewish religious system and leadership, potentially alluding to the future historical judgment, such as the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Crucially, the verse then describes the "giving" of the vineyard to "others." This is not a complete abandonment of God's covenant but a transfer of stewardship. The privilege of tending God's people and stewarding His message would pass from the unfaithful hierarchy to new, faithful recipients – the nascent Church, composed of those, both Jew and Gentile, who would embrace the Son and bear the fruit of the Kingdom. This verse underscores God's absolute sovereignty, His righteousness in judgment, and His enduring purpose to establish a people who will yield the spiritual harvest He desires. It’s a somber warning against spiritual neglect and rebellion, coupled with a promise of God’s faithfulness to His ultimate plan of redemption.