Luke 16:19-31
Jesus is teaching. He is in the middle of a message. Suddenly, He begins a story that many of us are familiar with.
He starts this story with the words: “Now there was a rich man…” [v.19 NASB]. We are not given his name. He apparently lived in opulence: “...he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day” [v.19 NASB].
Jesus continues: “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table…even the dogs were coming and licking his sores” [v.20-21 NASB].
It’s very important to notice that the poor man is named! His name is Lazarus.
Why is this important?
Because when Jesus speaks parables, He generally makes it known that He is telling a story. I don’t believe the characters in Jesus’ parables ever have names. Remember how this part of his teaching began: “Now there was a rich man…” [v.19 NASB].
I think it is worth considering that this is NOT a parable! More than likely, Jesus is talking about a real life situation – something that happened in real time.
Jesus goes into facts that only He could know:
Ø The poor man [named Lazarus] died and was carried away by the angels
to Abraham’s bosom. [v.22]
Ø Then, later, the rich man also died and ended up in
Hades.
Definition of terms: [both terms have complex, lengthy
explanations, but I have summarized them simply for our purposes!]
Abraham's bosom is a figurative expression for the place of comfort for the righteous dead in the Old Testament.
Hades is the state in which ALL the dead exist. [Jesus will describe it as we proceed.]
Therefore, ‘Abraham’s bosom’ may be part of Hades.
Jesus explains that the rich man was suffering intensely in the part of Hades that he was in! [v.23] He could apparently see Lazarus in ‘Abraham’s bosom’ “far away” [v.23 TM].
The rich man cried out to Father Abraham asking that Lazarus be allowed to “dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame” [v.24 TM].
However, Abraham explained that “there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us” [v.26 TM].
Hearing this explanation, the rich man appeals to Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers who are still living to warn them “so that they will not also come to this place of torment” [v.28 TM].
Abraham simply reminds him that they – like the rich man – “have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them” [v.29 TM].
But the rich man still pleads that Lazarus be sent to them. Abraham responds one final time:
“‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not
going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead’” [v.31 TM].
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What do we learn here?
1.
This does not appear to be a parable,
but a real story that could only be told by Jesus!
2.
The place of our eternal destiny has
two divisions: one of comfort and one of torment.
3. It
is implied that our eternal destiny is – at least partly to do with – the measure
of our compassion while we are living here on earth! “Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in
your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like
that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented” [v.25 TM].
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This teaching is given
BEFORE the death and resurrection of Jesus!
Peter teaches us that “…Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison [Hades], who once were disobedient [I Peter 318-19 NASB].
This means that the rich man was given a second chance! However, no one living after the resurrection will have a second chance! We must live responsibly and honor Christ daily with the hope that His grace will be sufficient to see us through to the glories of Heaven!
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