Prayer
Father God, As we consider Your Word, open our eyes to what is seen and unseen. Teach us to look beyond the superficial, to recognise eternal truths, and to respond with compassion and faith.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
I’m going to look at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and the differences that it shows us between those who are seen and those who are not seen in our societies.
This parable is unusual among all of Jesus’ parables in that one of the characters is named. This has led some commentators to believe that this is a true story. It is not. Jesus has made it up to make some important points in his teaching. He has taken an Egyptian morality folk tale and given it a new twist – a different and more useful ending.
Let’s see where it goes.
The Seen man
The rich man is seen. He is dressed in purple – that would tell Jesus’ hearer's that he was indeed rich. Purple was an expensive colour to make, only the very rich could afford it.
My irreverent brain can’t help reminding me that bishops wear purple. I’ll just leave that there.
The rich man’s life was luxurious, good food every day and plenty of it. I therefore picture him as over weight, and perhaps that explains his untimely death, but that would be putting a 20th century spin on it. In Jesus’ time, being a little portly was considered a sign of God’s blessing – just as was the ability to afford purple robes. They will get him noticed wherever he goes.
The Unseen man (vv. 19–21)
Lazarus is the unseen man. He’s not invisible; he’s repugnant. Everyone notices the sores, and the dogs paying him rather too much attention. He’s probably dressed in rags and as thin as a rake. No-one would want to look at that, never mind don’t go near. Imagine the smell, a cross between rotting flesh and someone who has never washed.
All Lazarus can do is hope that some of the bread that fell from the table would fall his way. We don’t know how far it was from the table to the gate.
After a great feast, where there is a lot of greasy meat, bread would be used to clean your fingers. By this time you are full, so the bread is discarded, on the floor, under the table, wherever it lands.
Lazarus
The name Lazarus means “God Helps”. It seems the only help available to Lazarus comes from God.
The Unseen reversal (vv.22–23)
Both of our characters dies.
Death, t
Expositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke
Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris
hey say, is the great leveller. But, that is not the case here. When the beggar dies, he is taken to Abraham’s side. Now, he’s with the man who made the first covenant with God, a place of the greatest honour. The rich man also died, for him though there is the grave and Hades – where there is torment.
Hades
Hades is the Greek culture’s place of the dead. It is ruled over by the Greek god Hades – the god of death and riches. The origin of the name Hades is believed to mean “the unseen one”. Hence, the place of the dead is also known as the unseen kingdom.
Many commentators have used this passage to answer the question “What happens when you die?” We should be careful taking those sorts of lessons from this passage, rooted as it is in Greek and Egyptian myth. The story, as I have said, is told by Jesus to make a very specific point about the living, not the dead – as we will see.
Death does not level.
Expositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke
Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris
Death has not levelled the field at all, instead it has reversed the situation. The rich man is in the unseen realm, in torment, and Lazarus is in a place where he is receiving the highest honour.
Against Wealth?
If the parable stopped here, we could see this as simply saying wealth is bad. There are other places in the Bible that talk about wealth. For example, when Jesus is talking to the rich young man and tells him to give up his wealth. The man walks away:
Then Jesus said to his
disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to
enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:23)
and
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eaExpositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke
Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris
ger for
money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs.
In all of these instances, the Bible is warning about the dangers of wealth, not condemning wealth itself.
Justice
What about justice, has justice finally been done? In Hades, the rich man can see Lazarus, enjoying the benefits that he once had. Perhaps if we stopped here, we would say that justice had been done, but there is still more to Jesus’ parable.
The Unseen Chasm (vv. 24–26)
The rich man can see Lazarus with Abraham, and that gives him an idea. He calls to Abraham and asks that Lazarus be sent to him to bring him some relief from his suffering.
Abraham reminds him of the life of privilege and comfort he once led. He also reminds him of the agony that Lazarus had suffered. Then tells him that a great chasm has been set, to prevent either side visiting the other.
Moral Chasm
The chasm is not physical, it's an unseen chasm, a moral chasm. The rich man has, all his life, considered the life of people like Lazarus beneath him. They should be at his beck and call, to provide anything he wants, right when he wants it. He doesn’t see Lazarus as a person, just as a servant.
That’s how he behaved in life, and that’s how he’s behaving still. He has not changed, and there is no indication he is going to. His self-centred arrogance over many years is what built the chasm.
In life, his wealth allowed him to get away with it and probably insulated him from the need to change. That’s why it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
The choices we make in life echo through eternity for us as much as for those we live with.
The Unseen Witness (vv. 27–31)
The rich man does, though, see his family as people. He is concerned about them, their lives are clearly going in the same direction as his, and he doesn’t want them to suffer the same long term torment he is going through.
So, he asks that Lazarus be sent to them. Not that he could go himself, he has probably already recognised that that is not an option. So, send the servant Lazarus – see his thinking isn’t changing even now.
v29 “Abraham
replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to
them.’
Moses and the prophets are the unseen (or perhaps unheard) witnesses that the rich man should have been familiar with. And, he probably was, but had not really heard, not really listened to their message.
God’s word is enough. Our conscience is enough. The evidence of our eyes, if we choose to see, is enough.
But all these witnesses were unseen by the rich man and his brothers. Perhaps, he thinks, if someone from the dead goes to warn them, they will repent and change their ways.
‘If they do not listen to
Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone
rises from the dead.’
Jesus uses this final line of his parable so that the disciples will know, after the resurrection, that some people won’t believe in Him or his message. Even His witness will not be enough to make people see.
Today - the same rejection
We see plenty of people today who reject Jesus, and reject the message of this parable. There are even some who claim to follow Jesus, but reject the message of this parable.
Living with Eyes Open
If we are going to be those who see the unseen, we will have to:
- See the Lazarus at our gate: Who is suffering within reach?
- See the chasm forming: What habits of indifference are hardening our heart?
- See the witness already given: Are we waiting for a sign, or responding to the Word?
[Repeat questions]
Closing Prayer
Lord, open our eyes to the unseen. Let us not be like the rich man—blind to suffering, deaf to Your Word, and hardened by comfort. Teach us to cross the gate, to close the chasm, and to live with eternity in view.
Amen.
References
https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.16.19-31.NIV
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/hades/
https://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/Pentecost-C/c_proper21-26/homily.htm
https://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/c_pool/who_is_lazarus_for_us.htm
Expositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke
Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris
Copilot was used to assist with the prayers, the outline and the picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment