Luke 16:2

2 And he called him, and said to him, What hear I this thing of thee? yield reckoning of thy bailiffship, for thou might not now be bailiff [+yield reason of thy farm, for now thou shalt no more hold the farm].

Luke 16:2 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 16:2

And he called him
By the prophets, sent one after another; by John the Baptist, by Christ himself, and by his apostles:

and said unto him, how is it that I hear this of thee?
of thy corrupting the word; of thy covetousness, rapine, and theft; of thy adultery and idolatry, and sad violation of the law; see ( Romans 2:21-23 )

give an account of thy stewardship:
what improvement is made of thy gifts; what care has been taken of my vineyard, the Jewish church; and where are the fruits that might be expected to have been received at your hands:

for thou mayest be no longer steward.
This was foretold by the prophets, that God would write a "Loammi" upon the people of the Jews; that he would cut off three shepherds in one month, and particularly lay aside the idol shepherd, by whom the Pharisees may be meant, ( Zechariah 11:8 Zechariah 11:17 ) and by John the Baptist, who declared the axe was laid to the root of the tree, and it was just ready to be cut down, ( Matthew 3:10 Matthew 3:12 ) and by Christ, that the kingdom of God should be taken from them, ( Matthew 21:43 ) and by the apostles, who turned from them to the Gentiles, ( Acts 13:46 ) .

Luke 16:2 In-Context

1 He said also to his disciples, There was a rich man, that had a bailiff [There was some rich man, that had a farmer, or bailee]; and this was denounced to him, as he had wasted his goods.

2 And he called him, and said to him, What hear I this thing of thee? yield reckoning of thy bailiffship, for thou might not now be bailiff [+yield reason of thy farm, for now thou shalt no more hold the farm].

3 And the bailiff said within himself, What shall I do, for my lord taketh away from me the bailiffship? delve may I not, I shame to beg. [Forsooth the farmer said within himself, What shall I do, for my lord taketh away from me the farm? I may not delve, I am ashamed to beg.]

4 I know what I shall do, that when I am removed from the bailiffship [that when I shall be removed from the farm], they receive me into their houses.

5 Therefore when all the debtors of his lord were called together [And so all the debtors of his lord called together], he said to the first, How much owest thou to my lord?