The Truth about Lazarus and the Rich Man

No words the Messiah spoke are used more often to show that we go either to heaven or to hellfire at death than Luke 16, the story of Lazarus and the rich man.

Attempts are made to show that this story is a real situation because the name of Lazarus, a Bible person, is used. Remember, though, that the Messiah's teachings were commonly carried in allegory. What he said at times represented principles with a deeper meaning than the way they were presented. Too often his words were misinterpreted or misapplied.

The account of Lazarus and the rich man was not to teach anything about the state of the dead. The true understanding of his message has been overlooked and the real meaning forgotten. This parable, for the most part, has been twisted. The common interpretation that it means the good go to heaven and the wicked to hellfire runs counter to the rest of the Scriptures on the subject of death. No interpretation can be accurate if it is opposed by other Scriptures.

A Message to a Group of Jews

In chapter 16 the account begins with Jesus the Messiah speaking to his disciples about the unjust steward. He concludes the parable in verse 13 by saying, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one. and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.'' Verse 14 relates that the Pharisees, an elite group of Jews and lovers of money, heard these things and then derided him.

Beginning in verse 15 Jesus speaks this parable directly to the Pharisees. It is important that we understand that his comments are an affront to the Pharisees because the parable is to teach a distasteful truth about them.

Let's look at the parable of Lazarus and the rich man verse by verse.

''There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.” Luke 16:19. The parable's opening verse is often said to convey that a rich man lived in splendor and gave no thought to the Heavenly Father. This may be true, but the point is that he was not among the poor, for he wore purple and ''fine linen,” indicative of wealth and royalty. His food was the best, and it was more than ample. He feasted on the good things of life.

This rich man represents the Jewish nation at that time. Notice first that the Jewish nation still had the Levitical priesthood in the Messiah's day. The 10 tribes by now had been taken captive and were scattered abroad. The tribe of Judah was favored and it was from the nation of Judah and its royal line that kings were to come, as Genesis 49:8-12 foretold.

Second, according to Romans 3:1-2, Judah was given special consideration by The Lord: what advantage then has the Jew or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of The Lord.'' It was to the Jews that the Heavenly Father had entrusted the safe keeping of the Old Testament.

They had kept the oracles or pronouncements of the LORD for the world.

Immediately before giving the parables, Jesus had said to the Pharisees, ''You are they which justify yourselves before men'' (16: 15). In other words, the Pharisees were looking for ways to flaunt their positions before other people. They wanted to be highly esteemed among men. Instead of humbly being servants of all, the Pharisees wanted much praise, adulation, and recognition from the people. They wore purple and fine linen with a flair.

Judah, with the Advantages, Shunned the Messiah

Jesus continued in the 16th verse, "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the Kingdom of God is preached. and every man treats it with contempt.'' Jesus is telling the Jews that he was there with the message of the coming Kingdom of God. He was proclaiming himself as the representative of that Kingdom. The Jews, however, ignored what he said and tried to set aside all his teachings so that they might have preeminence.

He implicated the nation of Judah in verse 18, "Whosoever puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whosoever marries her that is put away from her husband commits adultery." The reason the Messiah interjected adultery was that the Jews should have recognized that he was the Messiah. He represented the bridegroom for the coming Kingdom.

The Jews did not acknowledge Him as the Messiah. They rejected Him and committed spiritual adultery by setting up their own ideas and their own traditions and customs instead of looking to the Bible to make sure that they were in harmony with the meaning and the sense of God’s Word.

The Pharisees represented the tribe of Judah. They had the advantage of knowing the law as well as having the priesthood in their midst. They lived richly. Their food was the best and more than ample.

They feasted on the good things of life and held the key to knowledge of life to come.

Now Jesus enters the heart of the allegory.

"And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores," verses 20.21. The two men are at opposite ends of the social and financial ladder. One enjoys the world's wealth and ease while the other is in dire poverty and disease. The rich man had everything in life.

The beggar was dependent upon the crumbs falling from the rich man's table. The beggar was never invited to join the banquet. But he lay at the gate of the rich man awaiting anything discarded from the rich man's house of plenty. Paul in Romans 11:9-10 uses the same symbol of the table to show that the Pharisees believed their prosperity was a sign of God’s blessing. By their attitude, they turned their prosperity into a curse.

The Identity of Lazarus

The note in the Companion Bible shows that the name Lazarus is a Talmudic contraction of the Hebrew El’azar (Eleazar), meaning ''God has helped.'' Lazarus was not blessed in being a part of the household of the rich man. He was not given the food or the blessings that were given to the rich man.

In Genesis 15:2-3 is an indication of who this beggar Lazarus is. The LORD comes to Abraham in a vision, promising him that the Eternal is his great reward. Abraham asks, ''LORD God, what will you give me seeing I go childless and the steward of my house is this Eleazar of Damascus?'' Abraham says Eleazar will be his heir, verse 3. However, the promise is made to Abraham that he will indeed have a child, who will be the one to whom the inheritance will go.

In Genesis 24:2-4 Abraham asks his eldest servant, Eleazar, not to select a daughter of the Canaanites for his son Isaac, but to go back to Abraham's country and select a wife for Isaac. This he obediently does. True to prophecy, in Genesis 25:5, Abraham gives all that he has to Isaac. He also gives his sons of the concubines many gifts and sends them away to the east country. Eleazar, his faithful servant, is not given any inheritance.

Back to the parable.

Luke 16:21 tells us the dogs licked the sores of Lazarus. We learn the meaning of dogs in Matthew 15:22-26, when a Gentile woman of Canaan sought Jesus to heal her daughter. He ignored her, saying, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And she worshiped Him saying, 'Rabbi, help me.' He answered, 'It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs.' " He implies here that she is a Gentile and Gentiles were considered by some as dogs. This fact is explained in the Companion Bible note on Matthew 7:6. The meaning of Luke 16:21 is that Lazarus is no better off than other Gentile "dogs.''

Where the Beggar Went

''And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom," verse 22. Many preachers tell us this means the beggar was carried off to heaven. Speaking of death, however, the Pharisees would say in their idiom that he sits in a favored position known as Abraham's bosom. according to Lightfoot's Commentary.

If Abraham himself is in heaven or in paradise, as many teach, then it should be fairly easy to prove from Scripture exactly that. We read his obituary of sorts in Genesis 25:7-9: “And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, 175 years. Then Abraham gave up the spirit, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre.” Therefore we see Abraham was buried and was ''gathered to his people."

If Lazarus were in Abraham's bosom then he too would be buried in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron. He is not now up in heaven or to Eden somewhere.

This obituary agrees with the prophecy of Abraham's death in Genesis 15:15. "And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age." In death Abraham was gathered to his people, his forefathers who died before him.

Now, many assume Abraham would be in heaven.

But Joshua reveals that Abraham's forefathers worshiped idols. "And Joshua said unto all the people, thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelled on the other side of the Euphrates in old times, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods,'' Joshua 24:2. Surely idol worshipers would not be in heaven! Yet Scripture tells us that Abraham was with his forefathers.

Were they in an ever-burning hell, where it is popularly believed all wicked go? If so, Abraham was with them, along with Lazarus! But wait—the explanation is so simple.

They Both Simply Died

The Biblical, idiomatic meaning of being gathered to his people or his fathers simply means that he joined the ranks of the dead. Abraham (and Lazarus) was dead and buried as were his fathers before him.

He is not up in heaven or in hell, but is buried in the earth awaiting the resurrection from the grave.

No man has ascended up to heaven, the Messiah said plainly in John 3:13, not even King David, Acts 2:34.

Luke 16:22 continues, ''The rich man also died and was buried,'' meaning both the beggar and rich man died and were put in graves. Both await the resurrection. So there is no difference between the rich and the poor—death comes to us all, even to animals, Psalm 49:14.

Scripture says simply, Abraham is dead. In John 8:52 the Jews remarked to Jesus, ''Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham is dead and the prophets, and you say, 'If a man keep my sayings he shall never taste of death.' Are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead? And the prophets are dead? Who do you make yourself?'' Jesus ignored their question.

Surely if Abraham were in heaven here was a perfect chance to straighten them out and say that Abraham is not really buried but that he is up in heaven somewhere or that his soul is in heaven.

However, He said nothing of the sort. He simply went on to say that Abraham could foresee Jesus's day and rejoice in it.

Was the Rich Man in Hell?

In Luke 16:23 we have the resurrection of the rich man (which is at the Second Coming of Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). ''In the grave [which is the real meaning of the Greek word hades, commonly translated hell] the rich man lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham.'' The Savior said in verse 22 that Lazarus was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. This is the same expression Jesus used in Matthew 24:31, when he said he would send his angels to gather the elect in the first resurrection just before the Kingdom of God is established on the earth. Lazarus had been accounted worthy of that first resurrection mentioned in Revelation 20:6.

The Kingdom of God will be established according to the prophecy of Jesus the Messiah in Luke 13:28. Note his words, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom and you yourselves thrust out." Obviously, the rich man was not accounted worthy to be in the first resurrection and be in the Kingdom of God.

Being in Abraham's bosom has the sense of being in a close relationship with someone in a preferred place. In Galatians 3:7 Paul tells us, "Know therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the Scripture. foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Good News unto Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all nations be blessed.' So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.'' Paul here clarifies the meaning of the promise given to Abraham and those who live by the same faith that Abraham exhibited.

The beggar was one of the faithful who was in the first resurrection. A thousand years later, when the rich man is brought back to life in the second resurrection, he sees Lazarus now in a favored position—in the Kingdom with Abraham.

Mental Anguish Leaves His Mouth Dry

Verse 23 says the rich man was in "torment.'' The word is from the Greek basanos. It has the meaning of test, inquisition. and trial. Figuratively it means mental torment. Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 where the judgment is likened to fire in which works are tested to see whether they survive the trial.

Realizing that he has not attained the first resurrection with the promises given to the faithful, the rich man is anxious and tense. The roof of his mouth and tongue go dry. He asks in verse 24 that Lazarus might be sent to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue because he is in anguish over this testing.

Certainly if this were the destroying flame of the Gehenna fire, the rich man would have asked for more than a drop of water on his tongue. He would have screamed for barrels of water to save him from the all-consuming flame.

He realizes that he now has been excluded from the first resurrection of the saints.

Abraham reminds the rich man in verse 25, "Son, remember that you In your lifetime received the good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted and you are tormented [tried, distressed—Greek odunaomai] And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, which would come from thence.'' The great gulf that is fixed is a type of the Jordan Valley, over which those that crossed were in the Promised Land.

Abraham and the resurrected saints are shown in a favored position, having inherited the Kingdom.

The rich man is excluded. He does not have on the wedding garment of Matthew 22 and is being taken away as shown in verse 13. There the Savior said, "Bind him hand and foot, and take him away and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." He further said in Revelation 3: 18, "I counsel you to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed.''

Rich man, Judah, Pleads for His Israelite Brothers

In verse 27 the rich man pleads that Abraham would send Lazarus to his father's house to testify to his five brothers, lest they end up in his situation. A strong case for showing that the rich man represents Judah is in Genesis 29, where we read of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Genesis 35:23 lists the five brothers of Judah born to their mother Leah. They all represent people who have Bible truth. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is actually about Judah and his five brothers who have also neglected proper worship of the LORD and fall into the same condemnation.

Notice Abraham's response: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." Abraham tells the rich man that we today have in Scripture the writing of Moses and the prophets and can study it ourselves and repent.

The rich man objects, ''No, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent."

Judah is certain that his brothers will listen only if one rose from the dead and went to them with the message of salvation. Notice the response of Abraham, verse 31: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead."

Abraham clearly shows in the parable that even though Jesus would rise from the dead as a proof and witness, that those who have the Bible will not come to a saving knowledge of the Messiah because they are too steeped and blinded by their traditions.

They are all wrapped up in their man-made purple and fine linen.

This is a condemnation of those who have all the advantages of today. Those of us who have Bible translations, dictionaries, lexicons, concordances, commentaries—all the study helps—have neglected to come to an understanding of The LORD's righteousness.

It is a matter of "ever studying and never coming to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:7.

The rich man realizes that he had not done what he knew was right to do. He enjoyed the good life and did not sincerely seek the LORD's narrow pathway. He went the broad way, like too many today, of dining on the word without applying any of it to himself.

Neither did he proclaim the Word to others who might benefit from the knowledge and understanding of the coming Kingdom.

Lazarus the Gentile

Lazarus, on the other hand, represents Gentiles who snatch up every crumb of truth and live by it.

Lazarus and the rich man is a condemnation of our affluence and our unwillingness to follow the truth of the Scripture as we should. Generally, the civilized nations in the northern hemisphere and in Europe have all the advantages of the LORD's truth. But we ignore the lessons and go on to do what will satisfy our fleshly desires. We commit spiritual adultery by taking up with the world.

The 10 northern tribes of Israel have been carried away captive, but Judah, along with part of the tribe of Benjamin and the priests of Levi, was left in Jerusalem. It was Judah that was given the scepter and stood in regal acclaim according to the promises of the LORD. It was the Jews who had the Old Testament Scriptures and had the promises given to them. They were to share these with others and not to keep all the blessings to themselves. So they are depicted as dressed in regal apparel and dining sumptuously every day.

What the Parable Says and Does Not Say

Is Abraham in Heaven? Is this parable another way of telling us that Lazarus did, after all, go to heaven?

When you die your thinking and your total awareness stop, Psalm 6:5. ''The dead know not anything," we find in Ecclesiastes 9:5. ''For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom. in the grave whither you go," verse 10.

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man shows that we cannot be smug and rejoice in our own conceits. We are to be a channel of God's Word to others, reaching out to share the glorious Good News of the coming Kingdom and the part man can have in it.

This might better be called the Parable of the Six Brothers—six being man's number with his carnal viewpoint. The lesson is, look beyond this life. Look to Jesus the Messiah. Pursue spiritual goals that bring eternal life. "If you will enter into life, keep the commandments,'' Matthew 19:17.

—Author Unknown

Addendum by MCM:

It is significant that in the parable, Jesus said, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Jesus had told the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of me.” John 5:39 NKJ

Shortly after the telling of this parable, one DID rise from the dead—a man by the name of Lazarus! (John 11) Yet Jesus’ words were true; the Pharisees were NOT persuaded, but it is at that precise time that they began to plot Christ’s death! (John 11:45-53)