THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS – Part 2

. In His telling of the story about the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus paraphrases the doctrines they were teaching and then carries the implications of these teachings to their logical conclusions. With this background, let us now look at the story verse by verse.

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.” Luke 16:19-31 (NIV):

There can be little doubt that Jesus was representing the Pharisees by means of this rich man. They were the wealthy, ruling aristocrats of Israel. Luxurious living describes their life style, especially in comparison to most of the rest of the Jews at that time. The rich man is dressed in purple, the color of kings. They had assumed the authority of a king. This rich man was dressed in fine linen, priestly garments. The Pharisees controlled the priesthood and had taken over many, if not most, of the duties of the priests.

“At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.”

The beggar represented the poor in Israel. His name was Lazarus, which literally means "God a help." This is what the Pharisees told the poor who begged for some relief -- "God will help you." We are reminded of words written later in James 2:15-17: "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled;’ not withstanding you do not give those things which are needful to the body: what does it profit? Even so faith, if it has not works is dead, being alone."

Lazarus lay at the rich man's gate. The gate was the symbol of authority and judgment. He was full of sores, depicting the general miserable condition of the poor. These sores were open wounds. His desire was only to eat the scraps and leftovers, whatever fell off the rich man's table. The poor in Israel would be easily satisfied. They just wanted things made a little easier. They never revolted, accepting their position and the theological justification of it.

Although the rich man did nothing to help Lazarus, dogs came and licked his wounds. The Jews considered (and called) non-Jews dogs." We know that even some of the Roman soldiers gave to the poor and tried to help them. A notable example is Cornelius.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.”

This is exactly what the Pharisees taught would happen. The first century Jewish historian Josephus, records that they taught that those who had accepted their punishments in a proper manner when alive would, when they died, be escorted by angels to a place in Hades called "Abraham's bosom." (KJ translates this properly.) So far, there is nothing to contradict or upset the Pharisees. What, however, happens to the rich man when he dies?

“In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire."

POW! Jesus introduces a new twist, but one which is the logical conclusion of the Pharisees' teachings. The great reversal is drawn to its full implication. If being poor now means receiving a positive reward after death, then being rich now must mean being in for real torment after death. The ridiculous nature of this teaching becomes obvious as the rich man pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus with just a drop of water to relieve his agony —- as if a drop of water would help his situation at all. One wonders how the poor who might be listening to Jesus as he tells this story to the Pharisees reacted at this point. Did they laugh out loud in glee?

“But Abraham replied, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."

Father Abraham (remember how the Pharisees claimed him as their father) himself, answers the rich man’s request with the only logical response possible. The great reversal of rich and poor has taken place. If the poor are to be comforted, the rich are to be in misery. The gap between rich and poor cannot be bridged. The Pharisees had created and defended that distance between rich and poor. If there was no way open for the poor now, there would be no way for the rich later. This was the consequence of their own actions and teachings

“He (the rich man) answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’"

How ironic their request. Send a poor man to the Pharisees. Imagine a Pharisee asking for any favor whatsoever from a poor beggar like Lazarus. They ignored the poor as much as possible and condemned Jesus for associating with them. Nevertheless, the rich man asks that Abraham send Lazarus to warn his brethren of the situation.

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’"

Abraham explains that they should know what their situation is because they have the Old Testament with the Law and the Prophets. How to treat the poor, the widows, and the strangers in Israel is spelled out in clear detail as part of the law covenant. The Pharisees prided themselves on being the defenders and interpreters of God's laws. They constantly attacked Jesus for not following all the oral traditions of interpretation of the law. Jesus puts in the mouth of Abraham the statement that all they have to do is follow the old covenant teachings.

“No, father Abraham,” he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”

What staggering implications are in this single statement made by the rich man! He denies that having the Law and the Prophets is enough for the Pharisees. He acknowledges their need for repentance. He requests a special sign just for the Pharisees. Recall Matthew 16:1: "The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven." Jesus had just fed four thousand from seven loaves of bread and a few small fish! But that wasn't good enough for them.

“He (father Abraham) said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’"

The Law and the Prophets were given to all the Jews. The Old Testament pointed to Christ. They who claimed to be the guardians of the scriptures did not really believe. If they had believed, their behavior toward the poor would have been different. If they had believed, their response to Jesus and His kingdom messages would have been different. The rich man says that the written word of God is not enough and requests that one return from the dead to convince his fellow Pharisees. Jesus responds, through the voice of Abraham, that they still would not believe.

Not too long after this, Jesus does exactly what the rich man in his story had requested. Jesus brought back someone from the dead. His name? Lazarus! Jesus was right. They still did not believe. How did they react? They viewed Jesus as a threat to their position. They decided they had to eliminate the problem. They sought to kill both Jesus (John 11:53) and Lazarus (John 12:10-11). Soon they were successful in having Jesus crucified. He too, however, was raised from the dead -- and still they did not believe.

Like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, we should not ask for special miracles in order to believe. We already have been given the greatest miracle of all. God so loved us that He sent His son to die for us that we might have life. Jesus was resurrected by the power of God as the first fruits of all who die. (1 Cor. 15:20-22) His resurrection is the promise of the future. We need no special miracles. We need only believe the ones we have already been given.

We must also be careful to teach what scripture teaches. We must not instead teach our own elaborate system of beliefs. We must attempt to do honest and objective Bible study. It is dangerous to bring our preconceived ideas and concepts to the Bible and then attempt to make all scripture fit them. We need to let scripture teach us, learning what is actually there and see it unfold itself to us.

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a good example of scripture which is often misunderstood. Jesus was not teaching the doctrine of eternal torment. On the contrary, He was satirizing the teachings of the Pharisees, who were using non-Biblical teachings to justify their own behavior and hold onto their position in Jewish society. Only by knowing what the Pharisees had been teaching can we understand the intent of Jesus’ story. He was challenging their teachings, their behavior, their refusal to accept Him, and their rejection of His miracles. The subsequent resurrection of Lazarus only hardened the Pharisees’ determination to stop Jesus’ message of the kingdom. Praise God that nothing could do that, not even the crucifixion of Jesus!

L. Urbaniak