The parables are ablaze with the genius of Jesus’ teaching. These stories are authoritative and provocative. We must acclimate to His message while at the same time adjusting to the motion and momentum of His kingdom as it is breaking in on us. We engage these stories as a community of believers, assessing the conclusions of others while reassessing our own. Jesus referred to this process as “binding and loosing.” The parable of the rich man and Lazarus challenges us to multiple layers of thought and at the same time confronts our stereotypes and our priorities.
When considering the parable as a whole (Luke 16:19-31), we are compelled to consider the story from multiple angles. Is it about heaven and hell, wealth and poverty, the revelation of the Old and/or the New Testament, kingdom come or kingdom present, the grave or the resurrection, Jews or Gentiles, eternal comfort or agony, actions of omission vs commission, as well as the revelation in the Scriptures as they compare to the sensational or miraculous? Each of these possibilities is worth pursuing and demands concentrated attention.
The poor man is introduced by name, Lazarus, meaning God helps. In our culture we would know the name of the rich and influential man and neglect the marginalized one. He has no way of helping himself. He is diseased, disabled, and totally dependent upon others. Here he is laid at the gate of the rich man’s dwelling with the hope that the rich man would recognize and help him. His only comfort came from the dogs licking his sores, his only provision being the crumbs discarded by those feasting at the rich man’s table. There is an indication that he was tossed aside without burial at his death…angels carried him to the side of Abraham for rest and peace.
The apparent focus of this story seems to be on the rich man. He is not named. His riches define him. He is engaged in conspicuous consumption. Every day is another opportunity to indulge in this ostentatious display of wealth. The scene shifts when he dies, and he experiences a consciousness or an awareness of mental anguish. He never asks to leave where he is. He only wants to be restored to his previous state of comfort. He appeals to Abraham for help. Abraham recognizes the rich man’s genealogical status but he can only offer an explanation of the present conditions and consequences. The rich man also sees Lazarus and assumes Lazarus to be his servant. He wants Lazarus to bring water and then to be sent to his five brothers with a message of warning to change their lives. Abraham responds to these requests. The chasm between is impassable and Lazarus cannot come. Concerning the brothers, “They have Moses and the Prophets. No miraculous display of someone returning from the dead will change their minds.”
Here are two overarching observations to this story. Initially, if we fail to recognize those in need, especially within our own periphery, our sight atrophies to blindness. When we have the resources, the opportunity and the commands of Scripture to help, and we do nothing, we are lost, and the distance between us and true righteousness increases until it becomes an impassable chasm. Tim Keller states, “Hell is the trajectory of a soul living a self-absorbed life, going on forever and ever. Hell is simply one’s freely chosen identity apart from God into infinity.” In the story, we also see the sufficiency of the Scriptures to overcome unbelief. No amount of miracles or sensationalism will convince the unbeliever.