Why did Abraham say if they don't believe in the prophets neither they will be convinced

JohnB445 said:

And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Click to expand...

TuxAme said:

As with any other story or parable, this one corresponds to Jesus' ministry.

The rich man is in suffering, and he asks Abraham to have Lazarus resurrected in order to warn his own brothers to live righteously lest they come to the same place as himself. Abraham tells him that the teachings of Moses and the promises of the Prophets should be sufficient to keep one from coming there. The rich man insists, saying that the resurrection of Lazarus could bring about repentance, but Abraham himself insists that someone's resurrection isn't going to bring his brothers to repentance if the Law and Prophets won't.

Abraham could have simply said, "No" and avoided the rest of the conversation, but he instead tells this rich man that, even if his wish is granted, it won't achieve his desired result. One thing that I think we can take away from this is that miracles don't bring about repentance. Consider Jesus' own ministry. He admonished the crowd in the Capernaum synagogue because they they only sought the earthly benefits of His miracles, not seeking to consider the supernatural. As great as His miracles were, they weren't "enough" to win the hearts and minds of His audience; while miracles helped Him to catch the attention of those He otherwise might not have, He knew that they couldn't stand on their own. He appealed to the Law and Prophets in order to prove His role as Messiah, and this is ultimately what's necessary to win someone's heart.

Click to expand...

JohnB445 said:

And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Click to expand...