Questions Concerning The Rich Man And Lazarus: Parable Or Factual?
Posted: Monday, November 17, 2008
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
There is a story in Luke chapter 16, verses 19 through 31 which is quoting Jesus as he spoke to his disciples. The quotation is included here so all will know the words that are used. (King James Version)
"There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead"
I contend that the reason He named both Abraham and Lazarus is because it was necessary to tell the story. The rich man would have had to yell, "O thou righteous Saint, please send the certain poor beggar here to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue..." And his reply might have been, "Which poor beggar do you mean, we have dozens." In my own view, this would explain the reason for the personal names. And again, they contend that there is no spiritual scenario to fit the described incident but that it is actually a literal scene. I wholeheartedly challenge that. It seems ludicrous to me that any soul who has gone to paradise and is resting in Abraham's bosom would be able to look across a wide gulf and see the lost souls burning in hell and hear them cry out for a drop of water. First of all, the souls are spiritual and will have no physical eyes with which to see. The rewards and punishment will be of a spiritual nature so once again Jesus is showing a scene that man can comprehend to compare the happiness of heaven and the sorrow of hell. There will be no tears in heaven. Could you watch some loved one of yours being tormented in hell and still be happy, shed no tears?
Again, I concede that it is possible that I am wrong concerning this matter and many others but I have to be shown the reasons. May God help us all as we study His word.
This Article has been viewed 1,155 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)This is a wonderful, informative and inspiring article, Sir. I appreciate the work you are doing. Stay BlessedThank you Ronyae, for your nice comment. I appreciate it and it is encouraging to me.
No problem; just giving credit, where credit is due. Continue to write great articles!
This is a tough one to decipher..But I think it means that when we live our comfortable earthly lives not caring for the sick or poor in spirit, that this is also a sin.I don't know though. I could be wrong.JenniferNo, you aren't wrong Jennifer. This parable has the same inference as Jesus words "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:35:41)
Joel, I'm working on this theme, too. It's powerful. I'm interested in your views. Thanks for this article.
This may be a parable or a true story; don't know, doesn't matter. The fact is, it teaches a truth; the fact that the rich man didn't follow the laws of Moses or give heed to the warnings of the prophets. v29:"But Abraham said,"Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote."On a second note, the parable/story is not talking about Heaven and Hell. It is talking about Hades or Gehenna (Place of the Dead). It was believed that this place consisted of a lake of fire in one part and Paradise in the other. This is what Jesus referred to on the cross when he told the thief, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." This is what I think Jesus meant when he says in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." Then in 1 Peter 3:19 it says, "So he went and preached to the spirits in prison."Heaven is a place that Jesus said in John 14:3, that he would prepare for us. He then said that when everything was ready he would come again and take us to be with him there.Anyway, enough of my rambling; just thought I would give my two cents worth.Thanks for writing this article.
Sir Joel! Whether it is real or a story...I dont care...but the application that comes out of it should be followed. Thats what I think... Thanks for sharing...
Joel, I've always believed this was a parable as well -- for many of the reasons that you do. I also think Abraham's name was used because he was talking to the Jews. Who would the Jews have more respect for, other than God?Thanks Terry, I agree. It fits too well symbolically to be anything else I think.
That is a very interesting take on why a literal name was attributed to the beggar.. To supplement the author's argument, a thought crossed my mind. If that story were really true, then salvation is contingent upon earthly circumstances rather than faith. Lazarus did not go to "Abraham's bosom" (or heaven as many interpret) becaue of any blood sacrifice or faith; rather, he went to that bosom because his life on earth, well.. sucked. And the rich man went to hell because his life on earth was good. Abraham even tells them that in the passage..
poor theology!!!!! This individual follows the order of Gnosticism, as evident in his comments about the nature of man's eternal soul.Note to author: When Jesus in his resurrected body ate a piece of fish it didn't fall to the floor. He said "touch my hands, put your fingers in the holes where the nails were previously". The absence of "body parts ... eye balls " in the afterlife is ludicrous Get real.... this is poor theology.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.