But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
Parallel translations
- WEB But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
- KJV But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
- BSB Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
- NKJV Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
- NLT “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Finally the owner sends his own son, expecting respect. This points unmistakably to God sending His Son, Jesus.
Overview
The sending of the beloved son is the climax of the parable and a clear self-reference by Jesus to His unique relationship to the Father. The owner's words 'They will respect my son' express the rightful honor due the Son. This verse moves the parable from Israel's past into the present crisis of how the leaders will treat Jesus Himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
- John 3:35–36The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
- Zeph 3:7I said, “Just fear me. Receive correction, so that her dwelling won’t be cut off, according to all that I have appointed concerning her.” But they rose early and corrupted all their doings.
- Isa 5:4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes?
- Heb 1:1–2God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
- Mark 12:6Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
- Matt 3:17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- John 1:34I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
- Luke 20:13The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’
- John 1:18No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
- Jer 36:3It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do to them; that they may each return from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 21:37 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.