The Meaning of Luke 20:14 Explained

Luke 20:14

KJV: But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

YLT: and having seen him, the husbandmen reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, we may kill him, that the inheritance may become ours;

Darby: But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may become ours.

ASV: But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  when the husbandmen  saw  him,  they reasoned  among  themselves,  saying,  This  is  the heir:  come,  let us kill  him,  that  the inheritance  may be  ours. 

What does Luke 20:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 20:9-18 - "the Stone Which The Builders Rejected"
The vineyard represents the privileges and blessings of the Hebrew race. The servants are evidently the prophets and others sent from God. Whatever our position in life, God expects a revenue from it. We are not owners, but tenants; not proprietors, but stewards. Are you sure that you are giving God the dues which He may justly claim?
Notice how our Lord severs Himself from all human messengers, as the Son. When He said my beloved Son, He anticipated John 3:16. The warm kiss of the father's love was on His cheek. He realized that He was the heir, Hebrews 1:2; Romans 8:17.
It is said that in the building of Solomon's Temple, a valuable carved stone was cast aside and neglected, till a part of the structure absolutely called for it. You may build society as you like, but there will come a time when Christ will be needed to give the finishing touch. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 20

1  Jesus confirms his authority by a question of John's baptism
9  The parable of the vineyard
19  Of giving tribute to Caesar
27  He instructs the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection
41  How Jesus is the Son of David
45  He warns his disciples to beware of the scribes

Greek Commentary for Luke 20:14

That the inheritance may be ours [ινα ημων γενηται η κληρονομια]
That the inheritance may become Here Matthew 21:39 has σχωμεν — schōmen “let us get, ingressive aorist active subjunctive.” Cf. εχωμεν — echōmen present subjunctive of the same verb εχω — echō in Romans 5:1; Mark 12:7 has “and it will be ours” (εσται — estai). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 20:14

Mark 12:7 Among themselves [προς εαυτους]
This phrase alone in Mark. Luke 20:14 has “with one another” (προς αλληλους — pros allēlous), reciprocal instead of reflexive, pronoun. [source]
Luke 20:5 They reasoned with themselves [συνελογισαντο]
First aorist middle of συλλογιζομαι — sullogizomai to bring together accounts, an old word, only here in the N.T. Mark and Matthew have διελογιζοντο — dielogizonto (imperfect middle of διαλογιζομαι — dialogizomai a kindred verb, to reckon between one another, confer). This form (διελογιζοντο — dielogizonto) in Luke 20:14 below. [source]
John 1:11 Unto his own [εις τα ιδια]
Neuter plural, “unto his own things,” the very idiom used in John 19:27 when the Beloved Disciple took the mother of Jesus “to his own home.” The world was “the own home” of the Logos who had made it. See also John 16:32; Acts 21:6. They that were his own In the narrower sense, “his intimates,” “his own family,” “his own friends” as in John 13:1. Jesus later said that a prophet is not without honour save in his own country (Mark 6:4; John 4:44), and the town of Nazareth where he lived rejected him (Luke 4:28.; Matthew 13:58). Probably here οι ιδιοι — hoi idioi means the Jewish people, the chosen people to whom Christ was sent first (Matthew 15:24), but in a wider sense the whole world is included in οι ιδιοι — hoi idioi Conder‘s The Hebrew Tragedy emphasizes the pathos of the situation that the house of Israel refused to welcome the Messiah when he did come, like a larger and sadder Enoch Arden experience. Received him not Second aorist active indicative of παραλαμβανω — paralambanō old verb to take to one‘s side, common verb to welcome, the very verb used by Jesus in John 14:3 of the welcome to his Father‘s house. Cf. κατελαβεν — katelaben in John 1:5. Israel slew the Heir (Hebrews 1:2) when he came, like the wicked husbandmen (Luke 20:14). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 20:14 mean?

Having seen now him the farmers began reasoning among themselves saying This is the heir let us kill him so that ours might become the inheritance
Ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ γεωργοὶ διελογίζοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες Οὗτός ἐστιν κληρονόμος ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν ἵνα ἡμῶν γένηται κληρονομία

Ἰδόντες  Having  seen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
γεωργοὶ  farmers 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: γεωργός  
Sense: a husbandman, tiller of the soil, a vine dresser.
διελογίζοντο  began  reasoning 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: διαλογίζομαι  
Sense: to bring together different reasons, to reckon up the reasons, to reason, revolve in one’s mind, deliberate.
ἀλλήλους  themselves 
Parse: Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀλλήλων  
Sense: one another, reciprocally, mutually.
λέγοντες  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Οὗτός  This 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
κληρονόμος  heir 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κληρονόμος  
Sense: one who receives by lot, an heir.
ἀποκτείνωμεν  let  us  kill 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: ἀποκτείνω 
Sense: to kill in any way whatever.
ἵνα  so  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἵνα  
Sense: that, in order that, so that.
ἡμῶν  ours 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
γένηται  might  become 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
κληρονομία  inheritance 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: κληρονομία  
Sense: an inheritance, property received (or to be received) by inheritance.