the Parable of the rich man and lazarus
The parable of the rich man and lazarus is found in Luke 16:19-31. It is hotly debated about whether or not it is a parable or if it was a story that actually happened. However, when studying the Bible on this topic, it becomes abundantly clear that it is a parable.
There are several points to consider of why this is a parable, and we’ll go through each of them. First, let’s state the obvious: this is a parable, and Jesus used parables with familiar illustrations to convey lessons He wanted His people to learn. This was a common practice of Jesus, such as in the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the parable of the sower.
For example, the two compartment underworld concept was a common belief among the pharisees of that time period. They believed that the righteous went to Abraham’s bosom, and the wicked went to a fiery holding tank of sorts.
Notice below what Josephus said:
“They [the Pharisees] say that all souls are incorruptible but that the souls of good men only are removed into other bodies—but that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment. But the Sadducees . . . take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades.” Flavius Josephus, Wars of the Jews, II.14
Here I will quote from the study from Secrets Unsealed called, Misinterpreted Texts on the State of the Dead, brings out an important point. (Download that study HERE.)
“Flavius Josephus, the Pharisee, wrote a work called ‘Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades’. Some scholars these days attribute the work to the church father Hippolytus but the fact that Jesus told a very similar parable indicates that the story existed long before the church father.
“In his work, Josephus explained that Hades was a subterraneous region that has two compartments. One compartment or region contained a lake of unquenchable everlasting fire and the other the ‘Bosom of Abraham’.
“According to this view when the wicked and the righteous died, they were taken down a descent where there was a gate guarded by an archangel accompanied by a host of angels. At the gate, the angels took the wicked to the compartment on the left side where there was a lake of unquenchable fire. There they were to suffer everlasting punishment.
“On the other hand, the angels guided the righteous to the compartment on the right side where the Bosom of Abraham was located. There was a great gulf between the two regions that made it impossible for the righteous to pass to the region of the wicked or the wicked to the region of the righteous. Clearly, Jesus was referring to the beliefs of the Pharisees.”
So we can see that this was a common belief during the time of Jesus. He was trying to both reach them and warn them, and so used illustrations they were familiar with.
Notice also what the following verse says. The pharisees believed in the resurrection, angels, AND spirits. The Jews had largely forgotten the truth about this subject by the time Jesus arrived as Messiah, as evidenced by the fact that the disciples thought He was a ghost when they saw Him walking on water. And so again, Jesus met them on their own ground.
Acts 23:8 KJV — For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
Now, the study from Secrets Unsealed called, Misinterpreted Texts on the State of the Dead, brings out an important point. (Download that study HERE.) Jesus often began parables in the Gospel of Luke by saying, “There was a certain…” See Luke 15:11; 7:41; 19:2; 20:9. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is now different. Notice below:
Luke 16:19 KJV — “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:”
There are some how will say, though, that because Jesus used a proper name in this parable, that it cannot be a parable, and must be a factual story. However, show me the principle in the Bible that demands this be the case. When laying down a Biblical fact, there must be multiple Scriptures to support it. Not only that, but the theory must also agree with the Bible. As we shall soon see, claiming this parable is a factual story does not agree with what the Bible teaches on the subject of death and hell.
Notice what the Bible says:
Deuteronomy 17:6: KJV — "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death."
Deuteronomy 19:15: KJV — "One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established."
Matthew 18:16: KJV — "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."
2 Corinthians 13:1: KJV — "This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."
Isaiah 28:10, 13 KJV — “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:…But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”
Now, when looking at the context, it is evident that Jesus targeted this parable at the Pharisees. Notice below:
Luke 16:14 KJV — “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.”
Jesus knew this, and then proceeded to tell them a parable revealing to them their character, as a warning to repent. And the Bible later on tells us, that many did repent.
Let us now look at some straight forward Scriptures that explain what happens at death:
Genesis 2:7 KJV — “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became (not received) a living soul.” (Emphasis added.)
Genesis 3:19 KJV — “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10 KJV — “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun…Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
Psalms 115:17 KJV — “The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.”
Acts 2:29, 34 KJV — “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day…For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand…”
Not to mention the over 60 Scriptures that refer to death as a sleep. Take a look at them below:
Deut. 31:16; 2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kings 1:21; 1 Kings 2:10; 1 Kings 11:21; 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 14:20; 1 Kings 14:31; 1 Kings 15:8; 1 Kings 15:24; 1 Kings 16:6; 1 Kings 16:28; 1 Kings 22:40; 1 Kings 22:50; 2 Kings 8:24; 2 Kings 10:35; 2 Kings 13:9; 2 Kings 13:13; 2 Kings 14:16, 22, 29; 15:7, 22, 38; 16:20; 20:21; 21:18; 24:6; 2 Chron. 9:31; 12:16; 14:1 16:13; 21:1; 26:2, 23; 27:9; 28:27; 32:33; 33:20; Job 3:13; Job 7:21; Job 14:12; Psalm 13:3; 76:6; Psalm 76:5; 90:5; Jer. 51:39, 57; Daniel 12:2; Matthew 9:24; Matt. 27:52; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; John 11:11, 14; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Cor. 11:30; 1 Cor. 15:6, 18, 20; 1 Thess. 4:13-15; 2 Peter 3:4
Jesus also did not contradict His own teaching in other places in the Gospel. Jesus Himself taught that the dead are still in the graves, and that, with limited exception, nobody has received their final reward yet. He also taught that while the punishment of death is eternal, the fire isn’t. Notice:
John 5:28-29 KJV — “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
Matthew 13:40-43 — “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Matthew 25:41-46 — “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels…And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Jesus Himself taught that nobody receives their final reward until the end of time. Many will point to Matthew 25:41, but when looking at the context, as shown above, Jesus Himself explains it is the punishment that is everlasting. And 2 Thessalonians 1 defines it as everlasting destruction, not torture.
Another very important point about this parable, is that one cannot logically or even physically receive relief from just a drop of water. Notice how this story goes:
Luke 16:24 — “And 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.”
Abraham responds by saying, no can do, one of the reasons being, that the chasm is impassable. Now at the risk of stating the obvious, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 says the dead know nothing. They are dead, and thus incapable of participating in activities that only the living are capable of.
The Bible also clearly states that the living are not to even attempt to communicate with the dead. Why? Because the dead know nothing. They no longer exist. So if the dead no longer exist, who would you be communicating with? Fallen angels, also known as demons. Notice the following:
Leviticus 20:27 KJV — “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.”
Isaiah 8:19-20 KJV — “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
As has already been seen in the above Scripture from Matthew 13, Jesus Himself says that people for their final reward until the end of time. 1 Thessalonians 4 shows that for the righteous, that is at the Second Coming. Revelation 20 shows that for the wicked, it is after the millennium. See also the following Scriptures:
Matthew 24:31 KJV — “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.”
John 14:1-3 KJV — “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV — “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
By the end of the parable, Jesus gets to one of the most important lessons of the parable: faith in God’s Word. Notice how it ends:
Luke 16:27-31 KJV — “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
See, the rich man was requesting the miracle of resurrection: he wanted Lazarus to be sent back to his 5 brothers, so that they could avoid receiving the same fiery fate as he did. However, Abraham says again, no can do. Let them read and study the Bible. The rich man says again, “please! With cherries on top!” Abraham simply repeats what he had already said.
The rich man here is representative of the Jewish nation, particularly of the Pharisees and leadership of Judah. They had the Scriptures. Jesus was among them. He was daily performing miracles, but did they accept Him? No, most did not. Notice below the related Scriptures:
Matthew 12:38-40 KJV — “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
John 5:39-40 KJV — “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
Notice also that when the real Lazarus was resurrected, did the pharisees believe in Jesus at that point? No, they did not. In fact, they plotted to murder not only Jesus, but also Lazarus.
John 12:10-11 KJV — “But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.”
The pharisees also claimed Abraham as their father, and would often disdain to mingle with who they considered to be less than, for fear of ceremonial contamination. In John 8, they were having yet another heated discussion with Jesus. They claimed not only Abraham as their father, but also God Himself. Jesus proceeds to tell them, that because of their actions, and the sins they were cherishing and premeditating in their hearts, they were the children of the devil.
Notice:
John 8:39-44 KJV — “They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Jesus also gave the same and similar lessons in other parables such as the parable of the wedding feast and the parable the vineyard. He plainly told them:
Matthew 21:43 KJV — “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
But what about Lazarus? What does he represent in this parable? Well, we see in the story of the Canaanite woman an explanation.
Notice:
Luke 16:21 KJV — “And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.”
Matthew 15:24-28 KJV — “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.”
You see, the pharisees were withholding from the gentiles the Gospel. During the previous generations of captivity, they were effectively cured of worshiping physical idols. But, instead of responding positively, they only locked themselves away, became extremely bigoted, and refused to share the Bread of Life with the surrounding nations.
While this parable teaches many lessons, it does not teach the false doctrine of the immortal soul, or eternal hell.
For more information, see the following videos:
The rich man and Lazarus
https://youtube.com/shorts/CkXjPGftvPE?feature=share
life and death: the rich man and lazarus
https://youtube.com/live/B2eevzAzviY?feature=share
The rich man and Lazarus is a parable - Luke 16:19-31
