1. Reaction
How do you react to this text? What is it saying to you?
2. A Dramatic Parable
Jesus tells a story – with two very contrasting characters, one extremely wealthy, and the other destitute. We should note as a matter of background, that this parable’s original hearers would have seen wealth as God’s undoubted blessing, and poverty and illness as God’s punishment on sin. The reversal of fortune in this parable would therefore have come as a bit of a shock.
Firstly there was a “rich man” who had everything he could possibly want in a material sense; and he flaunted it in public every day. He had more food than he could possibly need or eat, yet did not share it.
Then, outside the gate of his property was another man – a poor man named “Lazarus”. It is not clear whether Jesus was suggesting any connection with the Lazarus mentioned in John’s Gospel who Jesus raised from the dead, yet the last verse of our reading may indicate some connection. The more important factors about this name though are: (a) that this character was given a name when the “rich man” remained nameless; and (b) what that name “Lazarus” means. This naming of “Lazarus” is truly significant, for it is the only time a character is named in one of Jesus’ parables. We’ll come back to these matters.
“Lazarus” was in a pitiful state – covered with painful sores (probably ulcers), malnourished and starving hungry; and given that he “lay” at the “gate” suggests he was either physically disabled or extremely weak. Lazarus was hoping for gifts of food to come from the palatial home within the grounds, and probably was also begging from passers-by.
So we are given a graphic and dramatic picture of one man arrogantly feasting, while another just outside his front gate starved to death. There must have been food scraps at the very least, but these were not offered to people like Lazarus. The “rich man” could so easily help, but he does not! Here was something of a ‘test case’ – how would one so well off respond to a very presenting need right on his doorstep? Could such a “rich man” be far-sighted enough to make a difference in at least one other person’s life?
But, this “rich man” shows no concern or sensitivity or consideration towards poor Lazarus at all! And, he should of course have known better. He only had to recall Deuteronomy 15:7-8: If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of the towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbour. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. There are so many other texts like this – God’s priority on this could not possibly be missed (or could it)!
Jesus is not only addressing very personal one-on-one ethical issues (between one particular rich man and another certain poor man at his gate), but also making prophetic observations on the state of society ... straight to those who could do something about it but chose not to. We should pause to think about the implications of ‘richer’ nations holding out on ‘poorer’ nations. This would also bear relevance to how any nation addresses the real everyday needs of its most vulnerable citizens.
The name “Lazarus” means ‘God helps’. And, just as well ‘God helps’ in the case of Lazarus, because clearly the human community hasn’t done much! God looks upon this scene with compassion and draws Lazarus into His care. The one who society has failed is taken up by the angels and brought to Abraham (the father of the Jewish nation) in heaven. The listeners to this story customarily believed that gaining a place of intimacy at Abraham’s bosom was the greatest honour imaginable (hence the song “Rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham”). At this point of the story, the shock starts to set-in for the listeners, as a poor and sick man finds intimacy with Abraham!
God well knows who society has failed, and who it was that was the cause of this! It was a decree of creation that we looked after the earth, each other and all its inhabitants. Who was it that said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (sic) do nothing”? That saying is attributed to Edmund Burke.
Do we consciously consider and understand that our sins of omission can be just as bad as our actual committed sins. These are those things that we haven’t done that we know we should do ... or should know that we should do. For we have the clear witness of Scripture. I fear that many who say they believe in the words of the Bible, actually believe in what they would prefer the words of the Bible to be.
It is not surprising that, given his condition, the “poor man Lazarus” died. And, as we have seen, far from rejecting Him, God receives Lazarus into His company. God often sees things and people differently to common thought.
But what of the nameless “rich man”! One day he died and his body was buried and his spirit was being tormented. The situations had been reversed. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last! The rich man’s name was deemed irrelevant – forgotten forever. His wealth had evaporated with his last earthly breath.
As we’ve said, most hearers would have expected a better outcome for this so-called “rich man” simply because of his wealth, power and position, but not so. In reality, the heaping up of wealth to the detriment of the poor has turned out to be a terrible miscalculation, even as a cause for eternal torment (Hays). As Michael Hardin puts it, “Judgement comes to those who live large without considering the needs of those around them”. Wealth, rather than being a blessing, often is a curse because of what it does to a person and where it leaves their soul. The pursuit of wealth fosters a God ignoring self-indulgence.
It turns out that God’s Kingdom is ‘too small’ for the rich and callous, but when it comes to the poor and humble ... there’s plenty of room. Most hearers would not have expected such a good outcome for Lazarus, for surely he must have deserved his earthly suffering – but again ... not so!
Now of course this is a parable and as such can’t be taken literally in every aspect, and we can’t build any sort of afterlife theology on this; especially as we see this strange communication happening between the two places. It’s purely a story of contrast, a literary device, to make a very clear point; and the point is this: we have to make the right decisions on earth here and now – in terms of our ethical conduct, for they will have eternal consequences!
This is not just a matter of believing in Jesus and receiving salvation, but also about how we apply that salvation in our daily lives. We can never think that we can ever accept Jesus and then go on living unchanged ... it doesn’t work that way. Making the decision to accept and follow Jesus involves being sincerely and seriously committed to God’s ways. In these terms, we ask ourselves about what our life will amount to; for we have seen in this text ... a spectacular example of failure.
We have here (from verse 23) an ‘after-life’ scene, where the now deceased “rich man” looks with envy from “Hades” toward Lazarus who is obviously in a much better and cooler place in the company of “Father Abraham”. As an aside, it’s interesting that the now deceased “rich man” is referred to as “child” (verse 25), which suggests that God still has a level of compassionate connection with this man. Yet the man’s arrogant and unsympathetic attitude on earth has become a huge barrier ... too big a barrier in fact!
And nothing much has changed as this man still expects Lazarus to come and serve him (with that little drop of water), even though he never lifted a finger to help Lazarus when he had ample opportunity and resources to do so. He expects mercy when he had offered none himself! “I am in agony” ... wasn’t Lazarus in agony!! He still doesn’t get it!
If only this “rich man” had extended this level of compassionate hospitality to the poor man at his gate. This “rich man” calls upon his religious heritage by calling Abraham “Father Abraham”, but due to his earthly inaction, this claim is a sham. Verse 26 reinforces that it is our decisions on earth that determine our destiny. The distance that the “rich man” had kept away from the needs of others on earth has become a distance that he now cannot cross.
This deceased “rich man” now turns his concern toward his family back in life on earth. Part of the rich man’s culpability, was that he had chosen to put boundaries around whom he cared for, to the exclusion of anyone outside his immediate family. Now he wants Lazarus sent back to them (like a slave) to warn them about where he himself has finished up. But again it’s too late! They have had ample opportunity in growing up in the religion of Israel to accept the teachings of the prophets but have failed to do so. No miraculous sign, not even a resurrection of a person from the dead would properly convince them if they have become so hard-hearted. The rich man’s family shouldn’t have needed a sign; they simply needed to follow what God had already revealed to them (Jon Lindsay).
3. Response
It is time for all of us to make the right decisions! God has provided a free gift of grace ... which we only have to say “yes” to! There is a gift of mercy to accept, unwrap and begin to experience. No doubt then, when we see the face of “Lazarus” in need at our gate we will be prepared to help.
4. Postscript
This whole parable was of course originally spoken straight at the Pharisees who had decided to absolutely reject and destroy Jesus, despite all the evidence that he was indeed the Son of God. The sad fact is – Jesus’ own resurrection would not even help to convince them. Sometimes people are looking for a ‘sign’ or a remarkable turn of events to convince them to have faith, but we have already been given ample reason to embrace faith. And also, we have been given clear teaching concerning what to do with that faith.
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