New Testament · Gospel

Luke 20:11

Authority Questioned

So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed. Luke 20:11 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Luke 20:11, in plain English

The owner sends another servant. They beat him too and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed. The pattern gets worse.

Why it's here

God doesn't give up after one rejection. He keeps sending, keeps reaching out. But the response keeps getting more hostile.

Who's speaking

Jesus describes the escalating abuse of God's messengers, showing patience met with increasing violence.

Where it sits in the story

Another messenger, worse treatment. God's patience is extraordinary — He keeps sending help even when it's thrown back in His face. But the tenants keep choosing violence.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

A second servant is sent, and the mistreatment escalates — he is beaten and treated shamefully (atimasantes) before being sent away empty. The escalating violence represents Israel's increasing rejection of prophetic voices.

Language and setting

The addition of 'shameful treatment' beyond mere beating intensifies the tenants' defiance. Each rejected servant narrows the owner's options and deepens the tenants' guilt.

Voice

Jesus continues the parable with a second rejected servant, showing escalating violence.

Significance

The owner tries again, sending another servant. The response is worse — not just beatings but humiliation. The tenants' rebellion deepens with each encounter.

In context

Luke 20:9–13

9Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

10At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

11So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

12Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

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

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.

Understand every verse, not just this one

This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.

Get BibleKey

In the App

What's in the app that isn't here.

Seven translations

NIV, NLT, NKJV, KJV and the Berean — plus the Catholic NLT-CE and Douay-Rheims, with the full deuterocanon in the reading order.

Every verse, as you read

Tap any of the 31,102 for what it means, and any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, without leaving the chapter.

Selah

Start recording at church and put your phone away. You get the transcript, the key moments, and every verse referenced.

Prayer Maker

Say what's sitting on your heart and hear it back as a real prayer, in a warm voice. Keep the ones that land.

Every Word

The whole Bible in a year — five chapters a day, five days a week, weekends off. Built to be finished.

Today's Light

A verse each morning with its meaning, how it lands today, something to sit with, and a prayer to close it.

Understand every verse.

Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.

Download on the App Store

Free on iPhone & iPad