II. PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS (16:19–31)

A. The two persons (16:19–21)

1. The rich man (16:19) : He wears the best of clothes and lives in total luxury.

2. The beggar (16:20–21)

a. His pain (16:20) : He is covered with sores.

b. His poverty (16:21) : He longs to eat what falls from the rich man’s table.

B. The two places (16:22–23)

1. Paradise (16:22a): The beggar dies and is carried by angels to be with Abraham.

2. Perdition (16:22b–23): The rich man dies, and his soul goes to hell.

C. The two prayers (16:24–31)

1. The rich man’s prayer concerning relief for his body (16:24–26)

a. The request (16:24) : He asks Abraham if Lazarus can come over and help ease his agony in the fires of hell.

b. The refusal (16:25) : This request is denied.

c. The reason (16:26) : A great chasm separates them.

2. The rich man’s prayer concerning redemption for his brothers (16:27–31)

a. The request (16:27–28): He begs Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his five evil brothers about this terrible place.

b. The reasons for the refusal (16:29–31)

(1) “Moses and the prophets have warned them” (16:29–30).

(2) “If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead” (16:31) .

Readers and hearers in late antiquity would immediately suspect that this rich man was headed for trouble: “Luxurious living results in ruin” (Sentences of Sextus 73). In most of the oldest manuscripts there is no name given to the rich man. However, in the very oldest manuscript (Papyrus 75) the phrase, “by the name of Neues,” is found. It may be intended as a shortened form of “Nineveh.” That a name would be assigned to the rich man is understandable, since a name is assigned to the poor man. But why “Neues” (or Nineveh) was assigned is anybody’s guess. The name “Dives” comes from the Vulgate (i.e., homo quidam erat dives), but there it is not intended to be a name; it is simply the adjective “rich.”

πορφύραν καὶ βύσσον

The clothing of the rich man is described in 16:19, “dressed in purple and fine linen,” in OT terms reminiscent of Prov. 31:22, suggesting that he lived like a king (Fitzmyer 1981–1985: 1130).

The name “Lazarus” (16:20), which corresponds to the Hebrew name “Eliezer” (“God helps”), has sometimes been taken to allude to Abraham’s trusted servant of the same name (Gen. 15:1–2), due to the presence of Abraham in the story (Derrett 1970: 86–87):

The reference to the dogs who came and licked Lazarus’s sores (16:21) echoes OT passages in which dogs consume the dead (cf. 1 Kings 14:11; 16:4; 21:24; Ps. 22:15–16; Jer. 15:3; see Hultgren 2000: 112).

The statement in 16:22 that Lazarus was “carried away by the angels to be with Abraham” has been interpreted as alluding to Enoch, who was taken to heaven by God (Gen. 5:24), and to Elijah, who was taken to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11)

Jewish lore often speaks of the righteous being carried away by angels; Jesus spares his hearers the traditional corresponding image of the wicked being carried away by demons. Every person, no matter how poor, was to receive a burial, and not to be buried was seen as terrible (e.g., 1 Kings 14:13).

A Jewish work dating from around the time of Yeshua says, “After this suffering of ours, Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya‛akov will receive us, and all our ancestors will praise us” (4 Maccabees 13:17). Thus being at “Avraham’s side” suggests both being in Gan-Eden (Paradise) and being present at the Messianic banquet (Mt 8:11, Rv 19:7–9).

This extra detail, not mentioned in relation to Lazarus, is appropriate for someone who is wealthy; the implication may be that Lazarus was so impoverished that he was not even buried properly.

καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ

“Sheol” is the most common word for the afterlife in the Bible, appearing 65 times in the Old Testament. Biblical passages are the only source of information regarding Sheol. References to Sheol in the Old Testament include:

• Genesis 37:35: Jacob wishes to join Joseph in death, saying: “I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.”

• 2 Samuel 12:23: David calls it the land of no return as he mourns his son.

Several OT passages refer to thirst as an image of divine judgment (cf. Isa. 5:13; 50:2; 65:13; Hos. 2:3 [2:5 MT]; 2 Esd. 8:59; 1 En. 22:9;

Luke will later point out that Moses and the Prophets all testify to Jesus as the true Messiah (Luke 24:27).

Abraham’s reply to the rich man who wants to have his brothers warned so that they may avoid his fate by repenting—probably from indulging in the same hard-hearted lifestyle—in 16:27, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them,” echoes numerous OT passages that teach how fellow human beings should be treated, especially the poor (cf. Deut. 14:28–29; 15:1–3, 7–12; 22:1–2; 23:19; 24:7–15, 19–21; 25:13–14; Isa. 3:14–15; 5:7–8; 10:1–3; 32:6–7; 58:3, 6–10; Jer. 5:26–28; 7:5–6; Ezek. 18:12–18; 33:15; Amos 2:6–8; 5:11–12; 8:4–6; Mic. 2:1–2; 3:1–3; 6:10–11; Zech. 7:9–10; Mal. 3:5; see Bock 1994–1996: 1375).

That is, the Old Testament Scriptures. See note on Luke 24:44