John Gill 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)

And again he sent unto them another servant

Another set of good men, to instruct, advise, and counsel them, and exhort them to their duty; such as were Isaiah, Zechariah, and others:

and at him they cast stones, and wounded [him] in the head

For of these were stoned, as well as sawn asunder, and slain with the sword; though it seems, that this servant, or this set of men, were not stoned to death, because he was afterwards said to be sent away: nor could the stoning be what was done by the order of the sanhedrim, which was done by letting an heavy stone fall upon the heart ^F11 ; but this was done by all the people, by the outrageous zealots, in the manner Stephen was stoned.

Dr. Lightfoot thinks, the usual sense of the Greek word may be retained; which signifies "to reduce", or "gather into a certain sum": and so as this servant was sent to reckon with these husbandmen, and take an account from them of the fruit of the vineyard, one cast a stone at him, saying, there is fruit for you; and a second cast another stone, saying the same thing; and so they went on one after another, till at last they said, in a deriding way, now the sum is made up with you:

and sent [him] away shamefully handled

With great ignominy and reproach.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F11: Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 4.