Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

Study of Luke 16:19-31

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 

In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 

And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house⁠— for I have five brothers⁠—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

— Luke 16:19-31

To further denounce the false assumption that the rich are righteous and therefore favored by God while the poor are sinners and cursed to justify their love for money, Jesus told His most disturbing parable. It's a story that depicts the reality of the finality and horror of hell. The story is about two characters that are polar opposites in their situation on earth, rich and poor, agony and comfort, which are reversed after their deaths.

A rich man was living in luxury being habitually dressed in purple, a very expensive dye because of its rarity and difficulty of extracting from marine snails, and fine linen which are signature clothes for royalty. His life is described as extremely extravagant and enjoying lavish meals daily. The other character was a poor man named Lazarus, Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Eleazar, which means 'God the helper'. Lazarus is probably paralyzed because he was laid by somebody at the rich man's gate and he got sores which he most likely got for lying too long in a certain position. He can't even help himself from getting the leftover crumbs under the rich man's table that he craves. Nor can he drive away the dogs that are licking his open sores which will cause infection as dogs during their time are mostly dirty scavengers eating garbage.

Both of them died, as all people do. Death is the great leveler, it shows no partiality no matter your status in life. We all return to the ground from which we are made from dust and to dust we shall return (Gen. 3:18). We are all sinners and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Burials are very important in their culture and requires even the poorest to be given a simple burial. But there is no mention of Lazarus' burial, perhaps nobody cared enough to bury him and not being buried is another sign of God's curse. The rich man, on the other hand, was given a proper burial. Given his status, his burial would have been lavish with all its paid mourners, costly spices, beautiful tomb, and many sympathizers. 

Jaws must have dropped when they heard Jesus said Lazarus was carried by angels, 'ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation' (Hebrews 1:14), to Abraham's bosom, an idiom for the place of the blessed dead. It was Lazarus' spirit that is taken by the angels as he is said to be dead and 'the body without the spirit is dead' (James 2:26). 

Abraham was very highly esteemed by the Jews. Abraham was very wealthy and prosperous here on earth and thought to be in paradise when he died. Understandably the Pharisees wanted to be like Abraham, blessed both on earth and afterlife. So for Lazarus, a crippled, sick, poor man, thought to be cursed by God, to be not only in paradise but in an honored position right next to Abraham, comforted and protected in his bosom, would be scandalous.

The rich man however, was in a place of torment called Hades. Hades is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Sheol, which means the realm of the dead. But all of the uses of Hades in the New Testament are in negative sense. So it had the technical meaning of the temporary place where the disembodied souls of the unsaved are tormented before being thrown into the final form of Hell, the Lake of Fire, after the resurrection of the dead and Great White Throne Judgment.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

— Revelation 20:13-15

When the rich man saw Lazarus at Abraham's bosom he didn't question why he is in a place of torment. He knew he is in the right place. There is no 'not guilty' plea in God's court 'but all unrighteousness shuts its mouth' (Psalm 107:42; Job 5:16). Everyone is guilty before God "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."— Hebrews 4:13

as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;

— Romans 3:10

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

— Romans 3:19-20

All the rich man can do is ask for a little mercy, appealing to 'father' Abraham by his blood relation to him as a descendant. He knew his eternal destiny is sealed and he can no longer ask to be removed from it. All he is asking is a little relief from his agony. He is asking that Lazarus, whose suffering he ignored on earth and didn't even lift a finger to help, be sent to him to cool his tongue with his finger dipped in water. But Abraham replied that justice has been served and that even if they want to help there is no way to travel from where they are to where the rich man is.

There is no provision for even a little relief from pain in Hades nor in the future lake of fire "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night,” (Revelation 14:11a). So he remembered his five brothers and feared they would end up in the same place of torment as he is. He now became interested in evangelism and again wanted Abraham to send Lazarus on a mission, this time to warn his brothers. Abraham replied that they have the Old Testament, 'the sacred writings which are able to give the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus' (2 Timothy 3:15).

But the rich man argued that the Bible is not enough. His brothers need a spectacular miracle, if somebody they know, like Lazarus, comes back from the dead they would surely believe, or so he thought. Abraham replied ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’

Perhaps as Jesus tells this parable, He is prefiguring the resurrection of a real life Lazarus that He will perform just a short time from now. And even with the resurrection of Lazarus the Jewish leaders still did not believe but made them even more hardened as their murderous intent intensified planning to kill both Jesus and Lazarus of Bethany.

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

— John 11:43-44

Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

— John 11:47-48

So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

— John 11:53

The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

— John 12:9-11

For Lazarus and all believers, death is the end of suffering and the beginning of eternal joy. For the rich man and all unbelievers, death is the end of all pleasures and the beginning of eternal torment. In death, all the things they amassed here on earth will be useless for naked we came from our mother’s womb, And naked we shall return there (Job 1:21).

We must note here that being poor does not automatically qualify for heaven, one must believe the Scripture and have faith in the Savior to be saved. Being rich does not also automatically disqualify for salvation, but ignoring the plight of the poor and needy around us while we have the power to help is evidence of an unregenerate spiritual condition. 

The rich man loved only himself and his brothers (but cares not for his neighbor) and does not want them to suffer for eternity as he does. But it was too late. When he was alive he cared not for their spiritual good and now he can no longer do anything for their spiritual benefit. Upon death, our eternal destinies are sealed and irrevocable. 'And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,'— Hebrews 9:27

“The Lord kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
“The Lord makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
“He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
“He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.
— 1 Samuel 2:6-9

Death comes at a time we don't expect, so; “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts,” (Hebrews 3:15). Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”⁠ (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Let us be "eager to preach the gospel" to everyone we know and be "not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

— Romans 1:15-17