The Rich Man and Lazarus

["Click here for Luke's account"]

As the parable of the prodigal son showed us the grace of the Gospel, which certainly is encouraging to all, this parable shows us the wrath of the Gospel which is necessary to know also. It is designed to waken the heart of those who have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit but who have hardened their hearts to the truths of it. The Pharisees had heard the message of Christ and mocked and ridiculed Him, this parable was to get them to see the error of their ways and where their present path would take them.
This parable is not like Christ's other parables in which spiritual things are represented by worldly things. Here spiritual facts are represented by actual conditions and actual places. Every day men die, some go to be with the Lord, others to eternal punishment. The discourse between Abraham and the rich man is only Christ's way of making this parable more understandable like the discourse between God and Satan in the story of Job. Christ came to make us acquainted with another world and to show to us the way. The parable is a "word picture" describing actual conditions that will occur for the lost and the saved. It was told as a warning, a word to the wise should be sufficient.
Notice first, the worldly conditions of these two men. First, the rich man.

Notice we are not given his name as we are the poor man. He is sometime called Dives, which means in Latin, a rich men. It is believed that he was not named so as not to embarrass or aggravate any rich man that might have the name chosen at random.
Notice that he was dressed in purple and fine linen, the purple indicated royalty and the fine linen indicated the lack of labor in his life and the presence of pleasure.
Notice that he ate well every day. His table was furnished in abundance with all the good food that nature and good chiefs could supply.

Christ's purpose was to show that a man may have a great deal of wealth, pomp and pleasure in this world and die and be forever under God's wrath and curse. Plenty and pleasure are, to many, a fatal temptation and that the indulgence of the body and the ease and pleasure of it can lead to the ruin of the soul.
Now lets look at the poor man.

Notice that he was a beggar and his name was Lazarus. It is believed that a beggar was well know at that time by the name of Lazarus and that he was a devout Jew but never the less, in great distress.
Notice his body was full of sores. Like Job, he was afflicted, sick and weak of body, covered with painful sores that made him loathsome to those around him.
Notice he was forced to beg for whatever he got to eat. He was unable to walk and by some compassionate friend, he was placed at the rich man's gate each day. He had no place to go, no family, no church to meet his needs. He desired only to have the crumbs from the rich man's table.

Here we have a child of wrath, an heir to Hell, prosperous beyond his needs and a child of love, an heir to Heaven, lying at the gate, perishing from hunger. What was the relationship between these two men? We do not believe that the rich man abused the poor man nor did he forbid him from setting at his gate. But it is indicated that he took very little notice of him, an opportunity, presented to him at his very own gate to do good to his fellow man, yet he took very little notice of it.
The poor man was obviously of good character and conduct. A small act of charity would have been a great kindness to him.
Notice the dogs. The dogs came and licked his sores. It is possible that these animals performed a service to Lazarus, one that his fellow man would not give. Many will have a great deal to account for who feed their dogs and neglect the poor.
Notice we are not told how either one of them died, but it proclaims the fact that death is the common lot of the rich and the poor. "One died in his full strength, and the other in the bitterness of his soul, but, they shall lie down alike in the dust." (Job 21:26)
The beggar died first. It was a blessing, being put out of his miseries. In this world, he had no place to rest his head, but in death, he laid in rest. Then the rich man died. He probably died as he had lived, very lavishly. The beggar was carried by Angels into the bosom of Abraham. Notice, his soul existed in a state of separation from the body. It went to another world, a spiritual world, to the God who gave it. The Angels took care of it, they are the "ministering spirits" to the heirs of salvation. They presented him without spot for his sores were on his body, not on his soul.
Notice Jesus used one of the expressions that the Jews were familiar with to describe the place of the saved, the bosom of Abraham. Other terms were, the Garden of Eden and the Throne of Glory. This poor man who was not admitted within the rich man's gate, was carried into Heaven and placed in the "bosom" of a rich man, Abraham.
The rich man ended up in Hell where he was in torment. Part of his torment must have been seeing where Lazarus ended up. He lifted up his eyes and saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. Notice Lazarus does not see the rich man. Lazarus was a compassionate man and had he seen the rich man in Hell he may have worried and worry had no place in Heaven. We will have no cognizance of those who are not there. The conversation is between the rich man and Abraham.
Notice the request that the rich man made. "I am tormented in this flame, have mercy upon me and send Lazarus that he might dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue." Notice that it is his tongue that is particularly in torment. It was his tongue that caused his demise, saying wicked words, blaspheming God. All that he asks for is one drop of water. When we refuse God's offer of salvation it will be in vain in Hell to expect even a drop of mercy.
Notice Abraham's answer. He reminded him that in his lifetime he enjoyed many good things while Lazarus received only evil things, but now Lazarus was comforted and he was in torment. Besides, between them was a "great fixed gulf". No communication between the saved and the loss. No Saint, no matter how rightly motivated, can breach that gulf. No sinner, no matter how tormented, can cross that gulf.
Notice the rich man stops thinking about himself and starts thinking about those who are still living and in danger of Hell and he makes one last request, "Send Lazarus, I pray three, to my father's house, for I have 5 brothers, that he might witness to them less they come into this place of torment." He knew of his brother's evil ways and he knew where they would end up if they did not change their ways and he believed that if Lazarus returned from the dead, in all his glory, healed of all his sores, that they would listen to him.
Notice Abraham denies him this favor also. There are no requests granted in Hell. Abraham leaves his brothers to the testimony of Moses and the Prophets. "Let them hear them, and it will be sufficient to keep them from this place of torment." By this we see that there is sufficient information in the Old Testament to convince and to save those who would listen. But the rich man further presses his case. "No, father Abraham, it is true that they have Moses and the Prophets and if they would give regard to them, they would be sufficient, but, they do not, they will not, but, if one would return from the dead, they would repent."
But Abraham insists that if they will not hear Moses and the Prophets they would not listen to one even if he returned from the dead. It had been long determined how God would speak to His people prior to the coming of Christ. Israel made their choice at Mt. Sinai when they could not bear the terrors of a "Heavenly" presence. So God spoke thru Moses and His Prophets. A messenger from Heaven could speak no more than they. The same doubt and lack of faith would be demonstrated to a Heavenly messenger as was demonstrated toward the Law and the Prophets.
Many believe that Jesus was looking ahead when he named the poor man Lazarus, to the brother of Mary and Martha whom he would raise from the dead and whom no one listened to as Abraham said. Others believe that he was prophesying the reluctance on the part of many to accept the Gospel after His resurrection from the dead.

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