Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 12:4

"And again he sent unto them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and handled shamefully." — Mark 12:4 (ASV)

When harvest time came, the absentee landlord sent one of his servants to collect what was due him from the tenants. The payment was to be made in produce of the land according to a previously arranged percentage. The landlord sent three servants in succession to collect the payment, but the tenants repudiated the agreement. Instead they beat up the first two servants and killed the third. By referring to “many others,” Jesus was forcing his listeners to think beyond the parable to the history of Israel and the rejection of the prophets, God’s sent servants (cf. Jeremiah 7:25–26; 25:4; Amos 3:7; Zechariah 1:6).