Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 21:37

"But afterward he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son." — Matthew 21:37 (ASV)

Last of all — The variations in the other Gospels are more vivid and dramatic. Mark says, He had yet one son, his beloved (Mark 12:6). Luke records the deliberation: He said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son, it may be they will reverence him (Luke 20:13).

While this language of deliberation and doubt is evidently inapplicable to divine acts, except as a bold anthropomorphism, it sets forth two truths:

1. The gradually ascending scale of those who were sent, culminating in a difference not of degree only, but of kind—like the contrast between the prophets and the Son in Hebrews 1:1–2.
2. The employment by God, in His long-suffering pity, of all possible means to lead His people to repentance.