Lazarus and the rich man - a story of unbelief

277 lazarus and the rich man a story of nonsense

Have you ever heard that those who die as infidels can no longer be reached by God? It is a cruel and destructive doctrine, the proof of which is a single verse in the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. Like all biblical passages, this parable also stands in a specific context and can only be understood correctly in this context. It is always bad to base a doctrine on a single verse - even more so if it is in a story whose core message is completely different. Jesus related the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus for two reasons: first, to denounce the refusal of the faith leaders of Israel to believe in him, and, secondly, to refute the widespread assumption that wealth is a sign of God's goodwill, while poverty is proof of his disgrace.

The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus is the last in a series of five others that Jesus told to a group of Pharisees and scribes who, greedy and complacent as they were, were offended by Jesus taking care of sinners and shared a meal with them (Luke 15,1 and 16,14). Before that he had already told the parable of the lost sheep, that of the lost penny and that of the prodigal son. With this, Jesus wanted to make it clear to tax collectors and sinners, as well as the angry Pharisees and scribes who said they had no reason to repent, that with God in heaven there is more joy over a sinner who begins a new life than over ninety-nine others who do not need it (Luke 15,7 Good news bible). But that is not all.

Money versus god

With the parable of the dishonest steward, Jesus comes to the fourth story (Luke 16,1-14). Their main message is: If you love money like the Pharisees, you will not love God. Turning specifically to the Pharisees, Jesus said: It is you who justify yourselves to men; but God knows your hearts; for what is high with men is an abomination before God (v. 15).

The law and the prophets testify - so the words of Jesus - that the kingdom of God has arrived and everyone is forcing himself into it (vv. 16-17). His related message is: Since you value so much what is highly valued by people and not what pleases God, you reject his evocative call - and with it the chance - to find admission into his kingdom through Jesus. In verse 18 it is expressed - in a figurative sense - that the Jewish leaders of the faith renounced the law and the prophets who referred to Jesus and thus turned away from God (cf.Jeremiah 3,6). In verse 19, integrated into the previous four parables, the story of the rich man and poor Lazarus begins, as Jesus told them.

A story of unbelief

There are three main characters in the story: the rich man (who stands for the greedy Pharisees), the poor beggar Lazarus (reflecting that social class that was despised by the Pharisees) and finally Abraham (whose bosom in the Jewish world means consolation and Symbolized peace in the hereafter).

The story tells of the beggar's death. But Jesus surprises his audience with the words: ... he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom (v. 22). That was exactly the opposite of what the Pharisees would have assumed in a man like Lazarus, namely that such people as this were poor and sick precisely because they had been condemned by God and consequently nothing other than the torments after their death hell to expect. But Jesus teaches them better. Your point of view is just exactly wrong. They knew nothing of his father's kingdom and were wrong not only with regard to God's assessment of the beggar, but also with regard to his judgment of them.

Then Jesus brings the surprise: When the rich man died and was buried, he - and not the beggar - would have been exposed to the torments of hell. So he looked up and saw Abraham sitting in the distance with Lazarus himself at his side. And he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in the water and cool my tongue; because I suffer torment in these flames (vv. 23 - 24).

In essence, however, Abraham made the following statement to the rich man: all your life you have loved riches and have left no time for people like Lazarus. But I have time for people like him, and now he's with me and you have nothing. - Then follows the verse that is so often taken out of context: And besides, there is a great gap between us and you that no one who wants to cross over to you from here can come there, and no one can come over to us from there (Luke 16,26).

Here and there

Ever wondered why anyone would want to switch from here to here? Obviously, why would someone want to move from there to us, but to take the opposite path, does not make sense - or does it? Abraham turned to the rich man, addressing him with his son; then he said that not even those who wanted to come to him could do so because of the great gap. The revelation underlying this story is that there is indeed one who has overcome this gap for the sake of the sinner.

The bridge over the gap

God gave up his Son for all sinners, not just for those like Lazarus, but also for those like the rich man (John 3,16-17). But the kingdom mentioned in the parable, who symbolized the Pharisees and scribes who condemned Jesus, rejected the Son of God. He sought what had always been the goal of his striving: personal well-being at the expense of others.

Jesus closed this story by asking the rich man that someone should warn his brothers so that the same thing does not happen to them. But Abraham answered him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them (v. 29). Jesus, too, had previously pointed out (cf. vv. 16-17) that the law and the prophets testified to him - a testimony that he and his brothers, however, did not accept (cf.John 5,45-47 and Luke 24,44-47).

No, Father Abraham, replied the rich man, if one of the dead went to them, they would repent6,30). To which Abraham replied: If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded either if someone were to rise from the dead (v. 31).

And they were not convinced: The Pharisees, scribes and high priests, who had conspired to have Jesus crucified, also came to Pilate after his death and asked him what the lie of the resurrection was all about (Matthew 27,62-66), and they stalked, persecuted, and killed those who professed to believe.

Jesus did not tell this parable to show us heaven and hell as clearly as possible. Rather, he turned against the religious leaders of that time who closed themselves to faith and against hard-hearted and selfish rich people at all times. To make this clear, he used the usual Jewish language images to represent the hereafter (with recourse to hell reserved for the wicked and the being of the righteous in Abraham's bosom). With this parable, he did not take a position on the expressiveness or accuracy of Jewish symbolism regarding the hereafter, but simply used that visual language to illustrate his history.

His main focus was certainly not on satisfying our ardent curiosity about what it would be like in heaven and in hell. Rather, it is his concern that God's mystery be revealed to us (Romans 16,25; Ephesians 1,9 etc.), the mystery of earlier times (Ephesians 3,4-5): that God in him, Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of the Almighty Father, from the beginning reconciled the world to himself (2. Corinthians 5,19).
 
Therefore, if we are preoccupied with the possible details of the hereafter, this can only lead us further away from that very knowledge which was closed to the rich man in that story: We should and may believe in the one who returned from the dead.

by J. Michael Feazell


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