What should we learn from the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16?

Then, in the third case, our Lord draws the veil, and, says, as it were, "Now look into the everlasting habitations." The poor man Lazarus died, and was carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. The rich man used all for himself in this world, and the result is here disclosed - he is in torment, with not a drop of water to cool his parched tongue. The lesson then is: Do not use the world for present enjoyment; but use it in view of another world. "Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." (v. 25.) Besides, if we do not use this world's things in grace, we cannot, after all, keep them; and therefore the Lord shows that we have the privilege of turning them into friends available for the future. We see also how the other world belies the whole of the present. God's blessing on a Jew was marked by the possession of such things, but the Lord unveils the other world to tell him how all these things are now changed. J. N. D.

Then, in the third case, our Lord draws the veil, and, says, as it were, "Now look into the everlasting habitations." The poor man Lazarus died, and was carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. The rich man used all for himself in this world, and the result is here disclosed — he is in torment, with not a drop of water to cool his parched tongue. The lesson then is: Do not use the world for present enjoyment; but use it in view of another world. "Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." (v. 25.) Besides, if we do not use this world's things in grace, we cannot, after all, keep them; and therefore the Lord shows that we have the privilege of turning them into friends available for the future. We see also how the other world belies the whole of the present. God's blessing on a Jew was marked by the possession of such things, but the Lord unveils the other world to tell him how all these things are now changed. J. N. D.

352 Then, in the third case, our Lord draws the veil, and says, "Now look into the everlasting habitations." The poor man Lazarus died, and was carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. Here is a rich man using all for himself now, and you see the result; then do not use the world for your present enjoyment, but use it in view of another world. "Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, but thou art tormented." If we do not use this world's things in grace, after all we cannot keep them; and therefore, He says, you have the privilege of turning them into friends available for the future. It shews how the other world belies the whole of the present. God's blessing on a Jew was marked by the possession of such things, but the Lord shews the other world to tell him how all these things are changed.

Next, He gives us the rich man and Lazarus; which brings all out to view, the bright and dark side, in appearance and in reality, of the future as well as of the present. See one sumptuously faring every day, attired in fine linen and purple, a man living for self; near whose door lies another, suffering, loathsome, so abjectly in want and so friendless that the dogs do the service which man had no heart for. The scene changes suddenly. The beggar dies, and angels carry him into Abraham's bosom. The rich man died, and was buried (we hear not that Lazarus was); his funeral was as grand as his life; but in hell he lifted up his eyes, being tormented. There and then he sees the blessedness of him he had despised in presence of his own grandeur. It is the solemn light of eternity let into the world; it is God's estimate underneath outward appearances. The truth is for souls now. It is given not to think of in hades, but here; and yet we have, as most fitly winding up the tale, the earnest pleadings of the man who never before thought in his life seriously of eternal things. Hear now his anxiety for his brothers. There was no real love for souls, but a certain anxious desire for his brothers. At least one learns how real a thing his anguish was. But the Lord's comment is decisive. They had Moses and the prophets; if they heard not them, neither would they hear if one rose from the dead. What a truth, and how thoroughly about to be verified in His own rising from the dead, not to speak of another Lazarus raised in witness of His glory as the Son of God! Those who believed not Moses rejected Christ's resurrection, as they consulted to put Lazarus also to death, and sunk themselves under their own base lie (Matt 28:11-15) even to this day.

This is followed up by the rich man and Lazarus — I was going to say by the parable, but the Lord does not so say, though it has this character, as it seems to me. It puts in a most vivid manner the condition of the soul viewed in the light of the future, not yet of Gehenna, but of torment in Hades. The light, therefore, of the future even before the judgment is let fall upon present things to judge them. "There was a rich man and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer in splendour every day." According to a Jew's notion a good fortune, as men say, was happiness. The Jews regarded such prosperity as a mark of God's favour. His name was not to the Lord's mind worth recording, the beggar's was. The rich man had all that heart, or, rather, really flesh, could desire; and he gratified it. But it was all selfish enjoyment: God was not in it, nor was there even care for man. All centred in self. This was put to the proof and made evident by "a poor man named Lazarus,416 [who] lay at his gateway full of sores, and desiring to be filled with the crumbs which fell from the table of the rich man."416a For him it was little more than desire. The rich man cared not for him, but for himself; the dogs were more considerate, and rendered him better favour than their master. They came and licked his sores. "With the crumbs which fell": so ℵcorr APXΓΔ, etc., nearly all cursives (1, 33, 69), Syrr. Amiat., Memph. Goth. Aeth. Edd. follow ℵpm BL, Sah.: "with what fell."

The Rich Man and Lazarus. — But the Pharisees, who were covetous [or rather, lovers of money], derided Him, nor were they backward in openly showing it. For them the Lord had a word, and a lesson by which to enforce His teaching: "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). In another light then are human actions and motives viewed; and by another than a human standard will they finally be weighed. The judgment of our fellows is one thing; the judgment of God is another. So a work was going on, and is still proceeding; for God will have reality. And some, responding to that, were manifesting their earnestness then, as others do now. For the kingdom of God was being preached, and men were pressing (or, entering violently) into it. The Pharisees had no thought of that. Self, gratification of self, temporal advantage, these objects swayed them. And to one proof of it the Lord referred, and distinctly condemned their practice, viz, that of getting divorces for frivolous reasons, to gratify a whim, or the pleasure of the moment. Many around them were seeking salvation whilst they were indulging their fleshly desires.

Now follows the lesson for the enforcement of the Lord's gracious warnings (16:19-31). It comes to us not called a parable, though presented in the form in which so many had been uttered. There may have been two such men on earth as are here described, and whose history in the other world answers to that set forth in language suited to the day. A rich man is depicted, clothed in fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day. At his gate was laid a poor man, a beggar, 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 (vers. 20-21). A pitiable case. Who put him at the rich man's gate is not told us. Some one must have done it for he was laid at the rich man's gate, desiring that which fell from his table. Did he get it? That question is left unsolved. The beggar was called Lazarus, the same word as Eleazar, i.e., God helps. The rich man, whose name in life must have been in many mouths, is nameless. How fitting, all will own, was this. Who cares to know the name of the one who lived to himself? Better bury it in oblivion as regards any record on earth.

So far we have their earthly history, ending with death. Now we learn about them in the other world, where their positions were reversed. Lazarus, the suppliant for the rich man's crumbs whilst on earth, is the very one whose service the rich man craves to cool his parched tongue with one drop of water; for he was in anguish in the flame. Lazarus was at rest. He was in torment. His good things he had possessed on earth, but there they ended. Lazarus, whose lot had been a suffering one in life, was comforted, and was in Abraham's bosom. What a difference — anguish without alleviation the portion of the former, perfect rest the lot of the latter! The veil is here lifted by Him who was competent to do it, and the condition of the lost in the unclothed state laid bare for us. Isaiah had contrasted the lot of the righteous dead with that of the ungodly dead. The former, he wrote, shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness (Isa. 57:2). For the latter, the wicked, there is no peace, he has twice over declared (Isa. 48:22; 57:21). In Luke 16 the rich man in the unclothed state speaks, and in the most awful way confirms the prophetic announcement. How gladly would he have welcomed the ministry of Lazarus, to whom he had shown no mercy when he had it in his power. But in vain. Between him and Lazarus there was an impassable gulf. Temporal death, it is plain, is not the end of human existence, nor the termination of the creature's consciousness. The rich man was in torments, and painfully conscious of his unmitigable sufferings. And now thought and concern were awakened in his bosom for his brethren still on earth. He who had been here the incarnation of selfishness desired a message from the other world to reach his brethren, lest they should enter that place of torment. His petition for himself had been denied. His petition for his brethren was rejected. "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." The written word, comprised under the designation of the law and the prophets, was sufficient. The revelation of the day is all that is needed, and no more will be vouchsafed.

Again the rich man speaks: "Nay, father Abraham but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent." His request was a second time refused. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though [or, if] one rose from the dead" (16:31). Is that possible? That might once have been asked, but can be asked no longer. One did rise from the dead. They heard of Him from accredited messengers who had seen Him, yet they did not repent. Of what use then is earthly wealth, so dearly prized by the covetous, if it be just expended in gratifying the selfish desires of its possessor? There is a future. Use earthly things in view of that. Such is the teaching the Lord would enforce.

"Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer splendidly day by day. And a certain pauper by name Lazarus was laid at his gate-way, full of sores and desiring to be filled with the things that fell from the table of the rich man; nay, even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the pauper died and was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades lifting up his eyes being in torments, he seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And calling he 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 in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Child, remember that thou in thy lifetime didst fully receive thy good things, and Lazarus likewise evil things; but now here he is comforted and thou art in anguish. And besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, so that those desiring to pass hence unto you cannot, nor those from that side may cross unto us. And he said, I beseech thee then, father, that thou wouldest send him unto the house of my father (for I have five brothers), that he may thoroughly testify to them, lest they too come into this place of torment. But Abraham saith [to him], They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one from the dead go unto them, they will repent. And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, not even if one rise out of the dead will they be persuaded" (vers. 19-31).

The Saviour depicts a man easy and luxurious in a world of misery, without faith in a world of sin, morally decent, outwardly religious, but living to self and practically infidel. Who did not know it in Israel? Who is not familiar with it in Christendom? Lazarus represents the contrast of the pious beggar laid hard by with none to pity his bodily sores but the dogs. The Conqueror of death lifts the veil. Then appears the truth for eternity: Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, the rich man that enjoyed himself, in torments! What mattered the funeral pomp? or if the poor man had not even a grave? The angels carried the godly soul to the bosom of God's friend; the rich man left the vain and transient show of this world, and opened his eyes in the flame of Hades, aggravated by the sight of the blessed afar off — yea, of him there who on earth awakened only his disgust. Now he implores of his father Abraham that Lazarus might allay his burning tongue with the merciful touch of water at the tip of the finger!

The Feast prepared for all men, and the Father's welcome to the worst of sinners, precede in this Gospel the story of the rich man and Lazarus, and this I believe is divinely ordered. First a full and eternal salvation offered to all, then the solemn warning to those who are disposed to despise that salvation. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" The rich man's doom is the answer to that question. There is no escape. The warning was given to the proud Pharisees, who hated the Lord because of His care for sinners, and who considered themselves quite good enough for God without forgiveness and grace, and who supposed that such wealth as the rich man wasted on himself was evidence of God's favour. The Sadducees also mingled with the crowds that thronged to listen to the Saviour's words; they had persuaded themselves that there was no life beyond this, and would consequently congratulate the rich man not only on his wealth but on his wisdom in using it for his own pleasure. Their pernicious doctrines and influence were spreading among the people and had to be exposed. The progeny of these two sects is numerous to-day, more numerous perhaps than ever before, hence these warning words are needed now as they were when the Lord spoke them. Truth does not become outworn by time, it is eternal.

It was the Lord's own hand that drew aside the curtain that we might look into eternity; and by His own mouth this most solemn of all parables, if indeed it is a parable, was uttered. Who could tell us the truth as to the future but He? And love was behind the telling of it, for it is the way of true love to warn when its wooings fail. It is not the final doom of the wicked that the Lord here describes, but the sufferings of the intermediate state; that which lies between the death of the body and its resurrection at the judgment of the great white throne. Revelation 20. The souls that share the rich man's place and state in hades are remanded there until that last dread assize.

The rich man clothed himself in purple and fine linen and made good cheer in splendour every day. He lived for the present and forgot the future — he forgot eternity, and his sins and God. This alas, is the folly of thousands. He lived as did the rich fool of chapter 12 and as those did who despised the great Supper in chapter 14. He was a self-centred man, who gratified his fleshly pride and lust to his full bent; he left God out of his life and reckoning, and cared nothing for the stricken beggar at his gate, but left him to suffer and starve and die. Such a life could only move God's displeasure and wrath. But wealth and self-will cannot arrest the march of time, nor resist the power of death. Death is no respecter of persons, it claimed both the beggar and the rich man and neither could refuse its claim. The beggar's name was known in heaven, it was entered in the book of life there, and when he died angels carried him into Abraham's bosom — a Talmudic designation for the place of blessing. The rich man died also and was buried and forgotten by the successors to his wealth.

However, what a reversal at death! "The rich man died and was buried." The poor man, Lazarus, died also. The rich man's name is not told us: it was not worth remembering. Whether Lazarus had a burial or not is of no importance, for, as to his spirit and soul, he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. This tells us that his faith had been in the living God, for he is "blessed with faithful Abraham" (Gal.3:9). Jews considered this their natural title, but the rich man found he had no such title at all, as many Jews will find to their regret. The rich man may have had a beautiful, imposing funeral, but it made no difference to his condition of torment after death.

The rich man's body was in a grave, but he lifted up his eyes in "hades," which speaks of the condition of his soul and spirit as separated from his body. Hades is an unseen state, and does not refer to a place, just as death refers to a state, not a place (as is popularly believed). But there was a great distance between him and Abraham. Each was in a place, but the place of the rich man was a place of torment, and that of Lazarus a place of blessing. The rich man pled for mercy, but too late! He asked only that Lazarus might be sent to merely dip his finger in water and cool his tongue, for the heat of the judgment he must bear was tormenting. Did he remember that he had shown no mercy to Lazarus in his lifetime?

The RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. Nothing is said of the moral character of either of these men. It had been taught in the O.T. that outward prosperity should mark the upright man. Ps. 112:2-3. In the kingdom in its new phase, consequent upon Christ's rejection, the possession of riches is no sign of divine favour. This was a needful lesson for the Jew. It was very difficult for a rich man to be saved, but the poor had the gospel preached unto them. The poor man was carried into Abraham's bosom, and the rich man fell into perdition. Another world reverses the conditions of the present one. The teaching in the parable of the Unjust Steward is continued here: the rich man was not sacrificing the present for the future. It also gives a vivid picture of the unalterable condition of the lost.