Isn’t it amazing that the entire plan of God, through the inspired Scriptures, can literally fit into our laps? The Bible is filled with deeper and richer meaning than any other document, but its many records, teachings, lessons, and prophecies are given to us in a remarkably concise way. The parables of Jesus Christ form a great example of this—vital truths of God are given in small, compact lessons that, while hard for most to understand, contain profound meaning for those whose eyes God has opened.
The tale of Lazarus and the rich man is perhaps the most often misunderstood of Christ’s parables, and it has been used to “prove” some false teachings based on faulty conclusions and assumptions. Many assume that it is a story about one man, a suffering beggar, who died and went to Heaven while another man, who lived his life selfishly, was sentenced to eternal torment in hell. Here’s the story, as it appears in Luke 16:19–31:
There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Then he cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”
Then he said, “I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”
Without the understanding that we in the Church have, it is all too easy to picture Lazarus in Heaven and the rich man either in or on his way to eternal torment in hellfire. How can we move past the common misunderstandings of this parable to gain a greater understanding of the lessons it has for us?
Parsing Out the Parables
A few ground rules can help us as we strive to understand the depths of the parables. Mr. John Ogwyn, in his article “Lessons from the Parables of the Kingdom” (most recently published in the September-October 2013 Living Church News) reminds us of what we should keep in mind while learning how to understand Christ’s parables:
What exactly is a parable? The Hebrew word that is translated as “parable” in Ezekiel 17:2 is translated as “proverb” in the book of Proverbs. It refers to a comparison used to teach a lesson. In the New Testament, the Greek word parabole refers to a symbolism, or a comparison, and is the origin of our English word “parable.” In Hebrews 9:9, Paul uses the word parabole—translated as “symbolic”—after earlier in the chapter describing the layout and furnishings of the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) which symbolized God’s plan of salvation.
As parables are primarily symbolic, one rule for understanding them is that each person, thing, or group in a parable represents a different facet of understanding. We’ll see that as we dive into the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.
Another rule is that the audience matters: Who is Christ addressing with a given parable? Is it tax collectors? Is it His disciples? Is it the Pharisees? Or is it the general public? Knowing the intended audience of the parable adds important understanding.
Third, what prompted the parable? What was going on in the background as Christ told it? What made a discussion rise to a level at which Christ knew it was the ideal time to deliver a parable?
Finally, what is the central theme? Parables are often linked together. The gospel of Luke, wherein we find the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, has the most parables of any of the four gospel accounts, and these parables are grouped according to their central themes. Those themes may not immediately be obvious, but looking for the common thread between parables can help us understand their meaning. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is found in Luke 16, which contains multiple parables linked together by a central theme that may initially be difficult to discern.
Audience: The Pharisees
Now that we’ve laid some ground rules, let’s consider Christ’s audience for the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The discourse actually begins a chapter earlier, in Luke 15, where Christ gives three other parables: of the lost sheep, of the lost coin, and of the lost son. Christ’s audience as He gives these parables is made very clear: “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them’” (Luke 15:1).
So, we immediately see that Christ’s audience is tax collectors and sinners, as well as the overhearing Pharisees. Tax collectors and sinners generally represent people who understand that they aren’t doing very well—they are people whom Christ can expect to be willing to hear Him and to learn from His teachings. The Pharisees, on the other hand, are not.
After finishing these three parables, Jesus immediately begins a fourth as we enter Luke 16: “He also said to His disciples, ‘There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods’” (v. 1). At this point, the audience is tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees and the scribes, and Christ’s disciples.
As this fourth parable wraps up, we read that “the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him” (Luke 16:14). Halfway through Luke 16, Christ directly engages the Pharisees, and Luke calls them what they are: lovers of money. That love of money was one of their core problems. The Pharisees are the primary audience of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.
The Prompt: The Fault of Being Lovers of Money
So, what prompted the parable? As we just read, the Pharisees “were lovers of money,” and He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves to men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). These are key themes of the whole chapter: The Pharisees, being lovers of money, were not serving the right Master.
“The law and the prophets were until John,” Jesus said next. “Since that time the Kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery” (vv. 16–18). When John the Baptist came onto the scene, the message of the Kingdom of God began to be preached. Yet many who desired to be in the Kingdom resisted what was required of those who will be in it. Christ constantly referred to the generation of His day as an evil and adulterous one.
The Central Theme: Serve the Right Master
What is the central theme of the chapter where we find the parable of Lazarus and the rich man? Every section of Luke’s gospel has a theme. Chapter 15, where this discussion began, had the theme of finding lost things. Chapter 16 shifts to a theme of how we handle our resources—such as time and our physical possessions—with a specific focus on money management. How do we manage the worldly wealth that we have?
Before mentioning Lazarus or his rich neighbor, Christ first gives the parable of the unjust steward. What do we know about that parable? Caught engaging in criminal activity, the unjust steward is nonetheless commended because he understands that he needs to make a future for himself, for which money is a tool. A theme of Luke 16 is that you can’t serve God and mammon—that we should be using the bulk of our resources to secure an eternal future.
Picking up the story, we read, “I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home” (Luke 16:9). This is a theme repeated throughout the Bible—that we need to be thinking about what the future holds and making provisions for it. Notice that what Christ says next is still embedded in this central theme:
He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much [we’re being watched on how we manage what’s under our control]; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (vv. 10–13).
The greater lesson here is that we all have a choice of whom we’re going to serve. Will we be slaves to Christ, or will we be slaves to sin? We will serve one or the other. We can use our resources to secure a future for ourselves by sending our tithes in, helping people in our congregations, doing the Work—making Christ our Master. There’s no condemnation here of having wealth; the focus is on where our priorities are in using that wealth.
We ought to use our resources—here, our money—to secure our eternal future. We should not prioritize wealth--building, as the Pharisees did. Their attempts to build wealth were often in direct opposition to what God wants to be done, as they frequently used their religious positions to manipulate people. They even used the temple as a profit-making center.
Finally, as we come around to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, Christ is telling the Pharisees that they justify themselves rather than take correction—but God knows their hearts.
The Rich Man’s Sin
The Kingdom of God is such a vast subject that no one comparison can do it justice. The examples that Jesus used help us understand different aspects of the Kingdom, and each of His parables uses an illustration to teach a specific lesson.
What are the key symbols we should pay attention to as we go through this parable? The rich man represents those who loved money and therefore did not secure an eternal future for themselves. Lazarus represents those who made sacrifices in this life so that they could secure for themselves that eternal future.
In his epistle to the Roman brethren, the Apostle Paul describes Abraham as having “the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also” (Romans 4:11).
Abraham was and will be the father of the faithful. And if we’re focused in the right direction—if we’ve accepted our calling, if we’ve been baptized and received the laying on of hands and have God’s Holy Spirit—we’re accounted in the category of those “of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). Jesus said that those who are Abraham’s children “do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39).
With these scriptures in mind, we can understand the timing of the story. When would Lazarus be taken by the angels to meet Abraham? After his resurrection—at the first resurrection. The significance of Lazarus being carried to Abraham’s bosom is that it indicates a closeness similar to when John leaned back and laid his head on Christ’s bosom during His final supper with His disciples.
We might note the overall state of Lazarus and his rich neighbor. We see that the rich man’s attitude was so uncaring and so dismissive that even dogs had more compassion for Lazarus than the rich man ever had—they at least came over and provided some level of comfort by licking his open sores. This very wealthy man could easily have helped Lazarus—but he never cared to. Lazarus actually received more compassion and care from dogs on the street than from his fellow man.
The Fiery Judgment
As we come back to the story, the rich man is described as suffering torment “in Hades.” We need to remember that being “in Hades” simply means being in the grave. Even Jesus Christ, during the three days and nights between His death and resurrection, was “in Hades” (Acts 2:27, 31). Here, it’s helpful to remind ourselves of some basic biblical concepts. We know that “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). We also know, from Jesus Himself, that “he who believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Further, we know that death is likened to sleep, because “the dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5), and “there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (v. 10).
We see, then, that while the parable describes the rich man suffering torment in Hades, this does not mean that Hades is inherently a place of torment—it is simply the state of being dead. But once he has awakened, he’s in torment. He sees the Kingdom of God afar off, where Lazarus is with Abraham. Though the rich man doesn’t know it, he’s been awakened to the third resurrection. When he was in the grave, there was no sense of time—he has no idea how long he’s been there.
And why is he in torment? The Greek word here for “torment” is basanos, metaphorically meaning an “instrument of torture by which one is forced to divulge the truth” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). In this sense, the rich man is torturing himself, because he’s enduring this crucible of judgment. He must have some sense that he has not been found worthy. He’s outside the Kingdom of God. He is in torment because he sees judgment approaching, so he pleads, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue—for I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). He recognizes Lazarus, even if only as the man he stepped over to get out of his house, somebody he mostly ignored. He can see the flame, but he’s not in the flames yet, though that’s next. As Mr. Ogwyn would bring out, if you were covered in flames, you wouldn’t want a dip of water in your mouth—you’d want a firehose.
What’s being described here is just pure fear—the kind of fear that is so overwhelming that one’s mouth goes dry like cotton. The rich man is terrified, and he seems to understand clearly that something dreadful has happened—but that there’s nothing that can be undone. He’s in unavoidable danger of this judgment. Then Abraham replies, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us’” (vv. 25–26).
The rich man’s condition is not going to change. He already made his decision in life, and now it’s time for judgment. At this point in the story, all have had a fair opportunity. Some made the right decision. Those who made the wrong decision wake up in the third resurrection, seeing the Kingdom afar off, with a great gulf fixed, and they can’t get there—they see the eternal judgment of fire approaching. So, the rich man says to Abraham, “I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him [referring to Lazarus] to my house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment” (vv. 27–28). Again, this rich man doesn’t understand that time has passed and that he’s in the third resurrection.
Then Abraham replies, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (v. 31). What’s being described here are individuals who are incorrigible. An incorrigible individual cannot be corrected, improved, or reformed. This parable reminds us that there will be people who ultimately refuse to accept God’s way of life. That may seem unfathomable, but there is a mindset that just won’t let go of the way it wants to do things. It doesn’t matter how God tries to reach these people—they will not accept His way of life. They will continue to resist. And, if they never repent, they will end up in the third resurrection, facing this judgment.
How Do We Use Our Resources?
This parable is aimed particularly at the Pharisees, whom Christ mentions right before He starts giving it—pointing out that they’re lovers of money and that they justify themselves. And it’s interesting how this is worded—“though one were sent from the dead”—because the Pharisees of Christ’s time knew about two people resurrected from the dead: a man named Lazarus and, of course, Jesus Christ.
The Pharisees of Christ’s time were aware of these resurrections. But how did they respond? Cover it up. Pretend like it never happened. Bribe the soldiers. Bribe whoever you need to. Kill the resurrected Lazarus. They still wouldn’t accept Christ’s teaching—though He Himself returned from the dead. The story never says that the rich man is a Pharisee, but one does wonder!
In Matthew 21, Christ gives another parable with a similar theme:
There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.” So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons” (vv. 33–41).
What did the Pharisees say when they decided they had to kill the Christ? That it was better that a man die than that they lose their positions. Hebrews 10 gives us a sobering warning: “If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries…. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (vv. 26–31).
The parable of Lazarus and the rich man—though often misunderstood—has a simple but deep lesson, which we can understand because God has revealed it to us through His Spirit: We need to use our current physical time and wealth in a way that shows that the Work of God is important to us. The Pharisees represented those who only used short-term thinking, much like Esau, who sold his whole birthright for a small morsel of food. They used their resources to gain more wealth, power, and prestige for themselves, with no thought to the reality of the coming Kingdom of God.
The rich man represents those who are rich toward human beings, while Lazarus was rich toward God—where it matters the most. Choose wisely.