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Rich Man and Lazarus
Christ told a very important parable(Luke 16:19-31), that holds significance on many levels. Before we begin to unwrap its meaning, it would be necessary to emphasize some important facts.
{a.} Chapter 16 of Luke is about "stewardship", yet some seem locked in to the idea that this parable(v.19-31) holds literal clues to the state of the dead and/or heaven and hell.
If one keeps their focus on the "tone" of this entire chapter, it is hard to miss the message that is clearly given throughout. Also equally important is, to whom Christ was addressing when He spoke told this, the Jewish Pharisees(v.14). Knowing these two contextual facts is key to identifying the message that Christ was conveying.
{b.} This is a parable and parables are not "literal". Never in the Bible does it tell us to accept parables literally. This is precisely what makes them a parable. Websters Dictionary defines a parable as; "a story that illustrates a moral lesson". The moral of the story is all we are to take away from a parable. The fact is, there are over 250 parables in the Bible and less that 1 out of every 4 of those were actually labeled as a parable.
If one were to take every Biblical parable literally, we would find plenty of items that would be difficult to explain in literal terms. Such as in Jdg. 9:7-15, Jotham spoke in a parable that was completely imaginary, about talking trees and brambles. Also, in Eze. 23:1-4, he records the Parable of Two Sisters, in which proper names are used in parabolic symbolism. As you can see, it would not be sensible to give "literal equivalents" to "symbolic terms" used in a "fictitious parable". Instead one must seek out "the moral of the story" to find the message contained therein.
{c.} The phrase "a certain rich man", is only mentioned 3 times in the Bible, (Luke12:16, Luke 16:1, Luke 16:19). All 3 are found in Luke, and all 3 were spoken by Christ. The first two examples are agreed by most, to be parables about stewardship. Yet, the third usage is said not to be a parable, by those who wish to claim it as evidence that supports their view on death. Even though we have the same context, which is again, about stewardship, still many claim coincidence. Here we see more than mere coincidence, we see a pattern.
When reading the first use of this phrase("a certain rich man"), in Luke 12:16, we see it followed by parable after parable. Chapter after chapter filled with parables and very little else all the way through chp. 16. Below are but some examples of these parables recorded by Luke...
Good Samaritan -Luke 10:29-37
Persistent Friend -Luke 11:5-10
Lighted Candle -Luke 11:33-36
Expectant Steward -Luke 12:35-40
Fig Tree -Luke 13:6-9
Great Supper -Luke 14:16-24
Lost Coin -Luke 15:8-10
Lost Son -Luke 15:11-32
Unjust Servant -Luke 16:1-13
Rich Man and Lazarus -Luke 16:19-31
Please note; that these parables are not the only ones to be found in these chapters. As mentioned before, those chapters were almost completely filled with parables. What makes these parables so notable is that; not one of them was labeled as "a parable", and none of them were recorded by any of the other Bible authors besides Luke.
The Parable
The "rich man" is wearing distinctive clothing, these are identified as the clothes granted to the High Priest of the Israelite people.
Exo. 28:5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and PURPLE, and scarlet, AND FINE LINEN.
Here we see the beggar down with the dogs, waiting for crumbs to fall from the rich mans table. These same symbolic terms have been employed before, which helps reveal the identity of the "beggar", the "crumbs" and also confirms the identity of the "rich man".
Matt. 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to DOGS. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the DOGS eat of the CRUMBS which fall from their MASTERS TABLE.
Here we see that the Gentile lady is being symbolized as "dogs", the "crumbs of bread" as the gospel message, and the "masters" as the Jews. Remember, the bread is the word, and Christ is the "bread", (John 6:35). Christ came to minister to the Israelites, (Mat. 15:24, 1Cor. 9:20), yet this Gentile woman was asking Christ to share himself. Like the beggar, she was desiring "crumbs" from the "masters" table.
The Jews, whom Christ was addressing in this parable, believed the Gospel was theirs by birthright, but...
"...UNTO WHOMSOEVER MUCH IS GIVEN, OF HIM SHALL BE MUCH REQUIRED...", (Luke 12:48).
They were spiritually rich, (Luke 6:24-25, Rom. 11:12), for they had the one true message of God, and they had been commissioned to take the Word to the Gentiles, (Isa. 49:6).
Isa. 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, FOR A LIGHT OF THE GENTILES;
But, they didnt spread the message, they hoarded it instead. Remember, the focus of Luke 16 is stewardship! They failed to be goods stewards with the Word that God had entrusted to them. The Jews considered Gentiles to be lower than them. "Dogs" and "unclean" were common terms they used when speaking of them, (Act 10:28, Mark 7:27-28, Matt. 15:26,27).
"It came to pass"(v.22) shows the passing of time and that this scene has been taken to its future conclusion as the result of their poor stewardship. It is also apparent that this is a future event because of the angels that will carry the righteous dead to there glorious place, this occurs at Christ's second coming.
Mat.24:31 And he shall send HIS ANGELS with a great sound of a trumpet, and they SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mark 13:27 And then shall he send HIS ANGELS, and SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
There are 4 items found together in only two places in the Bible, one of these places we find them is in v.22 & 23.
1. Angels taking someone to a good place.
2. Abraham is also in the good place.
3. Someone being tormented in a bad place.
4. The person in the bad place is able to see Abraham.
Notice carefully below, that again it is Luke who records the same imagery!
Luke 13:28 There shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING of teeth, when ye shall SEE ABRAHAM, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall SIT DOWN IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
This comes from the Parable of the Strait Gate, (also see Mat. 7:13,14). And, as one can plainly tell in this parable as well it is referring to the elect be gathered by the angels from the four corners of the earth, (Mat.24:31, Mark 13:27), at the coming of Christ. This torment that will occur to the wicked, at the coming of Christ, it is said to have a weeping and gnashing of teeth according to this parable found in Luke 13. These 4 items found together in only these two places is one of the undeniable indications that this is not a literal story, but a parable with yet a future event, specifically the second coming.
Those being tormented "see Abraham"(Isa. 52:10), while they are thrust out! The twist is; we now see the beggar, (Gentiles) in the bosom of Abraham. The father of the Jews takes the Gentiles into his bosom and the rich man, (Jews), dies and is in torment.
Christ couldnt havent been much clearer, salvation didnt belong only to the Jews, and they had been poor stewards with the commission God had bestowed upon them.
Act 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Christ told a very important parable(Luke 16:19-31), that holds significance on many levels. Before we begin to unwrap its meaning, it would be necessary to emphasize some important facts.
{a.} Chapter 16 of Luke is about "stewardship", yet some seem locked in to the idea that this parable(v.19-31) holds literal clues to the state of the dead and/or heaven and hell.
If one keeps their focus on the "tone" of this entire chapter, it is hard to miss the message that is clearly given throughout. Also equally important is, to whom Christ was addressing when He spoke told this, the Jewish Pharisees(v.14). Knowing these two contextual facts is key to identifying the message that Christ was conveying.
{b.} This is a parable and parables are not "literal". Never in the Bible does it tell us to accept parables literally. This is precisely what makes them a parable. Websters Dictionary defines a parable as; "a story that illustrates a moral lesson". The moral of the story is all we are to take away from a parable. The fact is, there are over 250 parables in the Bible and less that 1 out of every 4 of those were actually labeled as a parable.
If one were to take every Biblical parable literally, we would find plenty of items that would be difficult to explain in literal terms. Such as in Jdg. 9:7-15, Jotham spoke in a parable that was completely imaginary, about talking trees and brambles. Also, in Eze. 23:1-4, he records the Parable of Two Sisters, in which proper names are used in parabolic symbolism. As you can see, it would not be sensible to give "literal equivalents" to "symbolic terms" used in a "fictitious parable". Instead one must seek out "the moral of the story" to find the message contained therein.
{c.} The phrase "a certain rich man", is only mentioned 3 times in the Bible, (Luke12:16, Luke 16:1, Luke 16:19). All 3 are found in Luke, and all 3 were spoken by Christ. The first two examples are agreed by most, to be parables about stewardship. Yet, the third usage is said not to be a parable, by those who wish to claim it as evidence that supports their view on death. Even though we have the same context, which is again, about stewardship, still many claim coincidence. Here we see more than mere coincidence, we see a pattern.
When reading the first use of this phrase("a certain rich man"), in Luke 12:16, we see it followed by parable after parable. Chapter after chapter filled with parables and very little else all the way through chp. 16. Below are but some examples of these parables recorded by Luke...
Good Samaritan -Luke 10:29-37
Persistent Friend -Luke 11:5-10
Lighted Candle -Luke 11:33-36
Expectant Steward -Luke 12:35-40
Fig Tree -Luke 13:6-9
Great Supper -Luke 14:16-24
Lost Coin -Luke 15:8-10
Lost Son -Luke 15:11-32
Unjust Servant -Luke 16:1-13
Rich Man and Lazarus -Luke 16:19-31
Please note; that these parables are not the only ones to be found in these chapters. As mentioned before, those chapters were almost completely filled with parables. What makes these parables so notable is that; not one of them was labeled as "a parable", and none of them were recorded by any of the other Bible authors besides Luke.
The Parable
- Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer in splendour every day.
The "rich man" is wearing distinctive clothing, these are identified as the clothes granted to the High Priest of the Israelite people.
Exo. 28:5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and PURPLE, and scarlet, AND FINE LINEN.
- Luke 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
- Luke 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Here we see the beggar down with the dogs, waiting for crumbs to fall from the rich mans table. These same symbolic terms have been employed before, which helps reveal the identity of the "beggar", the "crumbs" and also confirms the identity of the "rich man".
Matt. 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to DOGS. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the DOGS eat of the CRUMBS which fall from their MASTERS TABLE.
Here we see that the Gentile lady is being symbolized as "dogs", the "crumbs of bread" as the gospel message, and the "masters" as the Jews. Remember, the bread is the word, and Christ is the "bread", (John 6:35). Christ came to minister to the Israelites, (Mat. 15:24, 1Cor. 9:20), yet this Gentile woman was asking Christ to share himself. Like the beggar, she was desiring "crumbs" from the "masters" table.
The Jews, whom Christ was addressing in this parable, believed the Gospel was theirs by birthright, but...
"...UNTO WHOMSOEVER MUCH IS GIVEN, OF HIM SHALL BE MUCH REQUIRED...", (Luke 12:48).
They were spiritually rich, (Luke 6:24-25, Rom. 11:12), for they had the one true message of God, and they had been commissioned to take the Word to the Gentiles, (Isa. 49:6).
Isa. 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, FOR A LIGHT OF THE GENTILES;
But, they didnt spread the message, they hoarded it instead. Remember, the focus of Luke 16 is stewardship! They failed to be goods stewards with the Word that God had entrusted to them. The Jews considered Gentiles to be lower than them. "Dogs" and "unclean" were common terms they used when speaking of them, (Act 10:28, Mark 7:27-28, Matt. 15:26,27).
- Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
"It came to pass"(v.22) shows the passing of time and that this scene has been taken to its future conclusion as the result of their poor stewardship. It is also apparent that this is a future event because of the angels that will carry the righteous dead to there glorious place, this occurs at Christ's second coming.
Mat.24:31 And he shall send HIS ANGELS with a great sound of a trumpet, and they SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mark 13:27 And then shall he send HIS ANGELS, and SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
- Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
There are 4 items found together in only two places in the Bible, one of these places we find them is in v.22 & 23.
1. Angels taking someone to a good place.
2. Abraham is also in the good place.
3. Someone being tormented in a bad place.
4. The person in the bad place is able to see Abraham.
Notice carefully below, that again it is Luke who records the same imagery!
Luke 13:28 There shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING of teeth, when ye shall SEE ABRAHAM, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall SIT DOWN IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
This comes from the Parable of the Strait Gate, (also see Mat. 7:13,14). And, as one can plainly tell in this parable as well it is referring to the elect be gathered by the angels from the four corners of the earth, (Mat.24:31, Mark 13:27), at the coming of Christ. This torment that will occur to the wicked, at the coming of Christ, it is said to have a weeping and gnashing of teeth according to this parable found in Luke 13. These 4 items found together in only these two places is one of the undeniable indications that this is not a literal story, but a parable with yet a future event, specifically the second coming.
Those being tormented "see Abraham"(Isa. 52:10), while they are thrust out! The twist is; we now see the beggar, (Gentiles) in the bosom of Abraham. The father of the Jews takes the Gentiles into his bosom and the rich man, (Jews), dies and is in torment.
Christ couldnt havent been much clearer, salvation didnt belong only to the Jews, and they had been poor stewards with the commission God had bestowed upon them.
Act 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.