Mark 12:2 (DBY)

Passage

And he sent a bondman to the husbandmen at the season, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:1 And he began to say to them in parables, A man planted a vineyard, and made a fence round [it] and dug a wine-vat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and left the country.

Mark 12:2 And he sent a bondman to the husbandmen at the season, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

Mark 12:3 But they took him, and beat [him], and sent [him] away empty.

Mark 12:4 And again he sent to them another bondman; and [at] him they [threw stones, and] struck [him] on the head, and sent [him] away with insult.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sent", "bondman", "husbandmen", "season", "might", "receive", and "fruit". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sent" and "bondman", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And he began to say to them..." into verse 3's "But they took him and beat him...", so "sent" and "bondman" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sent" and "bondman" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.