¶ The Rich Man and Lazarus
The Rich Man and Lazarus is the story Jesus told of
a man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day,
and of a poor man laid at his gate,
covered with sores,
who longed to be fed with what fell from the table.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and in Hades,
being in torment,
he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed.
They have Moses and the Prophets;
let them hear them.
If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets,
neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.
Luke has just heard, You cannot serve God and money, and that what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Then this scene.
The rich man is given no name. The beggar is named—Lazarus, God helps. Dogs lick his sores. Crumbs are a hope. Death reverses the gate. Angels carry the poor man. Burial is all the narrative grants the other. Hades is conscious. Memory works. The tongue still wants a fingertip of water. Father Abraham, have mercy. The answer is two facts: a life already received, and a chasm no man can cross. Send Lazarus to my father’s house; I have five brothers. Abraham will not. Moses and the Prophets are enough. A man rising from the dead will not persuade those who will not hear the Book.
Jesus is walking toward His own rising. The story is not a map of every chamber of the dead. It is a warning with names and fire and a shut door. Comfort now can be torment later. Misery now can be carried. The gate you would not cross in life becomes a chasm you cannot cross after.
- The poor man has a name. The rich man has clothes and a table.
- Laid at the gate means the need was not hidden.
- Angels and burial are already a verdict before a word is spoken in Hades.
- The chasm is fixed. Bargains after death do not move it.
- Moses and the Prophets are the sufficient warning.
- Resurrection will not convince a heart that has already refused the Scriptures.
- Mercy asked too late is not the same as mercy refused at the gate.
¶ Key Aspects of the Rich Man and Lazarus
- Purple and Linen – Daily feast; a life received in full.
- The Gate – Lazarus laid where the rich man had to pass.
- Dogs and Sores – The only attention the poor man got.
- Abraham’s Side – Carried; comforted.
- Hades and Torment – Eyes lifted; thirst; memory.
- The Chasm – Fixed, uncrossable.
- Moses and the Prophets – Hear them, or even a rising will not help.
- Luke 16:19-21 – “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.”
- Luke 16:22-26 – “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side… But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’”
- Luke 16:27-31 – “‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
- Luke 16:13-15 – You cannot serve God and money… What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
- Luke 12:16-21 – The rich fool; this night your soul is required; not rich toward God.
- John 5:45-47 – There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me.
- John 11:43-53 – Another Lazarus raised; some believed, and some plotted to kill Jesus.
- Matthew 19:21-24 – Sell what you possess and give to the poor; how difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom.
- James 2:5-7, 15-16 – Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith? If a brother is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food…
- James 5:1-5 – Come now, you rich; the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields cry out.
- Isaiah 58:6-7 – Share your bread with the hungry; bring the homeless poor into your house.
- Psalm 49:16-20 – When he dies he will carry nothing away; a man who has pomp but lacks understanding is like the beasts that perish.
- Amos 6:4-6 – Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and eat lambs… but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.
- Revelation 20:13-15 – Death and Hades gave up the dead; if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Luke 6:20-25 – Blessed are you who are poor… Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
- Hebrews 9:27 – It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.
A poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores. The rich man feasted every day.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man died and was buried.
In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes. A great chasm has been fixed.
They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.
If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.
You cannot serve God and money. You have received your good things.
Do not step over a Lazarus to get to the table. Hear the Book now. A man has risen. The chasm will not wait for a better warning.
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