Luke 16:19–31
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.1 The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
1 Greek bosom; also verse 23
Section Overview
The chapter began with a parable and instructions about using money faithfully (Luke 16:1–15), followed by a brief interlude on how the kingdom relates to the OT Scriptures (16:16–18). We see from this parable of the rich man and Lazarus that the Scriptures themselves are sufficient testimony to the truth; the rich man and his family do not need a resurrection or any other evidence. We see from this parable, as we saw in verses 1–15, that the use of one’s wealth affects one’s eternal destiny, showing where one’s true affections lie. The rich man lived a lavish life and ignored poor Lazarus, who lay at his gate every day. At death the rich man is tormented in Hades, while the poor man enjoys fellowship with Abraham. The rich man cries out for relief, asking the poor man to cool his tongue with water. But Abraham tells the rich man that he is receiving what he deserved and that there is no access between the righteous and the wicked after death. The rich man then begs Abraham to send the poor man to his five brothers so that they will repent. Abraham dissents, saying that they do not need such a testimony since they have the OT Scriptures. The rich man protests that the Scriptures are not sufficient, that people will be convinced if someone comes to them from the dead. Abraham has the final word: if they do not believe the Scriptures, they will not believe if someone is raised from the dead.
Section Outline
IV. Galilee to Jerusalem: Discipleship (9:51–19:27) . . .
B. The Journey Continues (13:22–17:10) . . .
4. Trusting God Rather Than Money (16:1–31) . . .
c. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (16:19–31)
Response
The parable Jesus tells here is quite instructive. We see clearly, despite what some people say, that life on earth is not like hell. No matter how much pain we experience, we do not experience hell in this life. The wrath of God is eschatological and is the portion of no one now. We are also taught that hell is a place for not even the smallest of pleasures. The tiniest drop of water represents relief absent in hell. A smile from another person is something that no one in hell will ever receive. People who claim that life on earth is hell do not know what they say. At the same time, we find here a great word of comfort for believers. A loved one deceased in Christ is now comforted and joyful. We can rest with the peace that his or her pain and sorrow have ended.
We also learn that a great chasm exists between heaven and hell. People do not travel back and forth. What C. S. Lewis wrote of in The Great Divorce does not happen literally, though Lewis himself, rightly understood, was not intending to teach the possibility of travel between hell and heaven.
We also see that we have sufficient revelation to believe in the good news about Jesus Christ. God does not need to give us anything more. People might presume, “If an angel appeared to me, I would believe.” Or, “If I saw a clear sign from heaven, I would believe.” Or, “If I looked up in the sky and saw the words written, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ I would believe.” But Jesus teaches us a fundamental truth: people who say they would believe if they saw indisputable or spectacular proof are fooling themselves. All people need to believe is found in the Scriptures. They are sufficient. Those who do not believe in the Bible would not believe even if they saw someone raised from the dead. We should not live under the illusion that we can convince anyone to become a believer. No amount of evidence, no amount of rational argument, will persuade those who do not want to believe and put their faith in Christ. This does not mean, of course, that we should not give people reasons, arguments, and evidence to believe. Only the grace of God can open the eyes of the blind, but he often uses our feeble efforts in doing so. We praise God that he has opened our eyes to see the beauty of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was raised for our justification.
Greek bosom; also verse 23
16:19 Luke is full of famous parables, and the story of the rich man and Lazarus surely makes the list. “The rich man is clean, well off, and, according to the conventional wisdom of his set, favored by God. By contrast, Lazarus is unclean, penniless, and, one might assume, disfavored by God.” The story begins with the rich man, adorned with expensive and comfortable clothing, his everyday life filled with joy and comfort. The linen he wears is the “most delicate and most expensive fabric known to the ancient world.” It sounds like the ideal life, but we remember the rich fool who put his trust in his riches (cf. 12:19). In addition, the kingdom works in an upside-down fashion, and so woe is the destiny of the rich (6:24), since they receive their portion in this life (James 5:5; cf. Rev. 18:12).
16:20–21 The rich man lives luxuriously, but in his plain sight right at his gate, where he would see him every day, is a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man is like the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan, as he ignores the suffering right in front of him, passing by miserable Lazarus every day (Luke 10:31–32). It is unusual for a person to be named in a parable, which leads scholars to speculate whether Lazarus is a real person or that the name is symbolic, as it means “God is my help.” Since the naming of a person in a parable is unusual, and it is unlikely that the narrative is about an actual person, a symbolic reading is preferable. At the end of the day, God is the help of Lazarus, and the beatitude about the blessing of the poor is Lazarus’s experience in this story (6:20), though the blessing here is eschatological. During this life Lazarus, like Job (Job 2:7), is covered with sores, living in complete misery.
Lazarus does not ask to live in the rich man’s house or even to eat at his table. He desires merely to eat of the crumbs that fall from his table, but he is denied even these. He is treated worse than an animal, and dogs, unclean and considered to be as filthy as pigs (cf. 1 Kings 21:19; Ps. 59:6, 14; Prov. 26:11; Isa. 66:3; Matt. 7:6; 15:26–27; Phil. 3:2; 2 Pet. 2:22; Rev. 22:15), even lick the sores on his body. We are reminded of the Prodigal Son, who wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating (Luke 15:16).
16:22–23 The rich man lives a wonderful and sumptuous life on earth, but it does not last forever. He eventually dies, as does Lazarus. The angels transport Lazarus to Abraham’s side, so that he enjoys fellowship with the Patriarch (cf. T. Ab. 20:10–15; T. Ash. 6:4–5). The flourishing and blessing promised for the poor are now a reality (Luke 6:20). We see elsewhere in Jewish tradition the notion of receiving commendation from Abraham: “If we so die, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will welcome us, and all the fathers will praise us” (4 Macc. 13:17).
The rich man, on the other hand, is tormented in Hades, but at the same time he sees Lazarus far from him in the presence of Abraham. Hades (akin to “Sheol” in OT) is the realm of the dead (e.g., Gen. 37:35; 42:38; Ps. 88:3; Acts 2:27, 31); in some contexts, as here, it is also clearly a place of punishment (cf. Deut. 32:22; Pss. 9:17; 49:14; Luke 10:15). Scholars raise questions about whether this parable actually describes life in the future, but clearly not every element of the story can be pressed for what future life will be like for the righteous and the wicked. Still, blessing and fellowship with Abraham for the righteous is taught elsewhere (Matt. 8:11), and we also see from other texts that those who are punished in the future will experience torment and anguish (Isa. 66:24; Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Mark 9:47–48; Luke 13:28; Rom. 2:9; Rev. 14:11). Thus the parable represents the world to come in referring to the future world as a place of rest and joy for the righteous and torment for the wicked. We see in Jewish tradition as well that the future life is one of torment for the wicked. For instance, we read in 4 Maccabees 13:15, “Great is the contest of the soul and the danger of eternal torment lying before those who transgress the commandment of God” (cf. 1 En. 103:5–8).
16:24 Not every element of the parable represents the future world. It seems unlikely that there will be conversations between the righteous and the wicked, as we see occurring here. The conversation between Abraham and the rich man is a powerful way of communicating the point Jesus seeks to make in this parable. The rich man calls out to Abraham, entreating him to have mercy on him. It has often been pointed out that he views Lazarus as his servant, as if Lazarus’s purpose in life was to serve him. Thus the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus so that the latter could put a drop of water on his tongue and alleviate his torment. Here the place of torment is portrayed as a place of fire. We should not take this description literally, since elsewhere future punishment is described as a place of darkness (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30)—and fire and darkness cannot coexist. Such an observation does not lessen the anguish of hell, however, since it is in any case a place of torment and anguish, and fire and darkness as metaphors describe future punishment.
16:25–26 Abraham rejects the rich man’s request, arguing that a reversal of fortunes has been effected. The rich man enjoyed the goodness of life during this age but suffers torment in the coming world. Conversely, Lazarus suffered during life on earth but is comforted in the age to come. This argument should not be read simplistically, as if all who suffer on earth will experience future bliss while all who prosper on earth will face torment. The rich man is condemned because of his heartlessness, his lack of generosity, his failure to care for the poor. Nor does poverty qualify one, by definition, for the kingdom; those who are poor and right with God put their trust in the Lord and give themselves to his lordship.
Another reason Lazarus cannot come to the aid of the rich man is provided: a “great chasm” stands between those in torment and those receiving eternal comfort. This feature of the parable likely describes the nature of the world to come accurately, in that there is no fellowship or interaction between those in heaven and those in hell (cf. 2 Esd. 7:36; 1 En. 22:9–13). Those enjoying fellowship with God cannot visit those suffering in Hades, and those in Hades have no access to the joy or bliss of the righteous.
16:27–28 The rich man realizes that his fate is sealed, that there is no longer any hope for him. He failed to repent of his behavior during this life, and no further opportunity avails for him. This feature of the parable fits with what we see elsewhere: there are no second chances for the wicked. As Hebrews 9:27 states, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” On the other hand, the notion that those suffering torment are concerned about the future of their loved ones while they are being punished should not be pressed. The rich man’s concern is part of the local color of the parable, which is added to emphasize the importance of repentance before death. Alternatively, Garland reads the concern for his brothers as representing the selfishness of the man, since he is concerned for his own family alone and not for others. In any case, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers so that he can warn them about the torment they will experience if they do not repent, underscoring the importance of turning to the Lord while there is still time.
16:29–31 Abraham rejects the notion that Lazarus needs to go warn the five brothers, for such a warning from him is completely unnecessary. The five brothers have all the warning they need in “Moses and the Prophets.” In other words, they have the OT Scriptures, which themselves calls upon people to repent and turn to the Lord. The brothers are enjoined by the OT itself to repent and turn to God. This is a link to Luke 16:16–17, which speaks of “the Law and the Prophets” and “the Law.” The OT continues to speak as the authoritative Word of God, summoning people to be related rightly to the Lord.
The rich man believes the Law and the Prophets to be insufficient; what would persuade the brothers, he believes, would be for someone from the dead, someone like Lazarus, to come and tell them about the urgency of repentance. The rich man’s view seems quite plausible, and most readers might presume that a warning from a person who has died but comes back from death to warn us would be more effective. But Abraham rejects this idea. If one does not heed Moses and the Prophets, he will not be convinced by someone risen from the dead.
The teaching of this parable is quite remarkable, confirming from verses 16–17 that Jesus has not canceled the Law or the Prophets. The OT Scriptures tell people what they need to know in order to be right with God: they repeatedly emphasize that people must repent and turn to God. A person who rises from the dead would say nothing different and would not convince a person more than the Scriptures themselves would. Certainly Luke wants readers to think of Jesus’ resurrection, which is a major theme in Luke-Acts. Jesus’ resurrection, however, as we see in the book of Acts, does not necessarily bring opponents to repentance. People believe not because of evidence but because of what they want to be true—on the inclination of their hearts. It is also clear here that Moses and the Prophets point to Jesus: they “bear witness” to him, as John says (John 5:39). Those who believe in Moses will also believe in Jesus (John 5:46).