Charles Ellicott Commentary Mark 12:2

"And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard." — Mark 12:2 (ASV)

A servant: The variations in the reports are, as has been said, few and slight, but it is worth noting that St. Mark speaks of “one servant” having been sent, and then another, and another, and then many others, while St. Matthew divides them simply into two great groups. St. Mark, characteristically, seizes on the most vivid presentation of the facts.