The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19–31 (CSB)

This week, we are continuing in Luke 16, this time looking at the parable that follows last week’s text—the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Jesus is still speaking to His disciples and the Pharisees who are listening in.

As with other parables that Jesus told, we shouldn’t assume this story actually happened. I think these people are characters Jesus created to teach us a lesson.

With that in mind, let’s begin by reading it in its entirety. Luke 16:19–31 says:

19 There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. 

20 But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate.

21 He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores.

22 One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 

23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 

24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’

25 ‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. 

26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

27 ‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 

28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’

29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

30 ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’

Do you see why I needed to clarify that this is not necessarily a true story? For many of us, this parable’s description of the afterlife may seem very different from what we imagine. Most Christians use words like heaven, hell, eternity, or paradise to describe the afterlife, not Hades. That word might even sound mythological to you.

As theologian Alexander MacLaren rightly noted, we need to remember that the people Jesus was telling this parable to, though, were very familiar with that term. He says, “It is to be especially noticed that [in telling this parable, Jesus] adopts the familiar Rabbinical teaching as to Hades…The truths which He wished to force home lie in the highly imaginative conversation between the rich man and Abraham, which also has its likeness in many a Rabbinical legend.”

In other words, this scenario seems to perfectly illustrate what the Jewish leaders at that time believed happened after death. Granted, it’s very different from the typical Sunday School lessons you have probably been taught.

Now, while it’s unlikely the rich man or the Lazarus in this story were real people, I don’t think we should dismiss the larger description of this afterlife. That’s why before we look at the moral lesson, I want us to look closer at how this ancient idea of Hades lines up with Scripture.

Right now, you might be wondering, “If this description is accurate, does that mean believers go to Hades when they die?” No, because Jesus spoke this parable before He died on the cross and rose again. It seems possible, though, that before Jesus rose from the dead, everyone who died went to Hades (or Sheol, as it’s sometimes called) and was either in torment or in paradise.

However, after Jesus died on the cross and rose from death, He changed everything for those who believe. Hebrews 10:19–20 tells us, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh).”

Remember, before Jesus’ death and resurrection, believers would take part in the sacrificial system for the forgiveness of sins. The blood sacrifice covered their sin, but it could not remove their sin—only Jesus’ blood could do that. That’s why, when believers died, they waited in the “Paradise” side of Hades—at rest, but not yet in the unveiled presence of God.

The Bible shows more evidence of this in Psalm 16:10, when David says, “For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.” Peter later quotes this in Acts 2:27 when explaining that David was speaking about the Messiah. This shows us that this was not just the Pharisee’s worldview, but it was Scriptural as well. The righteous were at rest, but not yet in the unveiled presence of God.

But after the resurrection, that’s when it changed— at least as best as we can understand from Scripture’s hints about the unseen realm. For example, I think this is what Ephesians 4:8–10 is explaining when it says, “For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people. But what does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.”

That’s why we see Jesus making this promise to us in John 14:2–3. He says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” But it wasn’t until His death and resurrection that this promise was fulfilled.

So, all that to say, Jesus’ parable describes what was true before He died and rose again. Now, after Jesus’ resurrection, the faithful no longer descend into that half of Hades and wait there. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be “absent from the body” is to “be present with the Lord.” For those who have faith in Christ, when we die, we go immediately into His presence in Heaven.

But unbelievers still wait in torment in Hades until Judgement Day. Revelation 20:14–15 says that Hades will not be destroyed until after Judgement Day. It says, “Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” That lake of fire is what we generally refer to as Hell, or what the Bible refers to as Gehenna.

If this is new information for you, I can see where it might bring up more questions than answers, but what is important for us to know, is that now because of Jesus’ sacrifice, when we die, if we have faith in Him, we will be ushered into His presence in Heaven where He has prepared a room for us.

Now that we’ve briefly covered that, let’s go back to the parable and see why Jesus was telling this in the first place. Let’s read it again, but this time, section by section.

Verse 19 says, “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day.”

This is no ordinary upper-middle class man. This is a very wealthy man. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that, “The description generally might well apply to Herod Antipas.”

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible also points out some important things. It says, “This [purple] color was expensive as well as splendid, and was chiefly worn by princes, nobles, and those who were very wealthy.” Also, the fine linen “was chiefly produced of the flax that grew on the banks of the Nile, in Egypt. It was especially soft and white, and was, therefore, so expensive that it could be worn only by princes, by priests, or by those who were very rich.” And finally, it notes that the rich man feasted lavishly, not occasionally, but every day, and “this was a mark of great wealth, and, in the view of the world, evidence of great happiness.”

In contrast, then Jesus says in verses 20-21, “But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores.”

For as rich as the rich man was, Lazarus was equally poor. He was not struggling to get by—he was as destitute as a person can be. And from the text, it seems like Lazarus was lying at the rich man’s gate. That means he was right outside his property, so this rich man would have seen Lazarus every time he left or returned to his home.

But I really like what MacLaren points out about this. He says, “[The rich man was not in torment] because he had a purple robe and fine linen undergarments, nor because he had lived in abundance, and every meal had been a festival, but because, while so living, he utterly ignored Lazarus, and used his wealth only for his own gratification. Nothing more needs to be said about his character; the facts sufficiently show it…The rich man was not bound to go and hunt for poor people, but here was one pushed under his nose, as it were.”

I think MacLaren is saying that what Jesus doesn’t say about the rich man is just as telling as what He does say. Jesus doesn’t say that this man acquired his wealth unjustly, or that he was a tyrant. He just says he was very rich and ignored the suffering that was literally right outside his door.  

Now, with all that background, let’s go back to the text and read again what happens. Verse 22 says, “One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.”

Both of their lives come to an end. Only the rich man is said to be buried, but Lazarus is “carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.” Other translations say that Lazarus was carried to Abraham’s bosom. About this, Barnes’ Notes says, “To say that Lazarus was in his bosom was, therefore, the same as to say that he was admitted to heaven and made happy there. The Jews, moreover, boasted very much of being the friends of Abraham and of being his descendants. To be his friend was, in their view, the highest honor and happiness.”

Lazarus was given far better treatment, for then we find out the rich man is not in paradise. Verse 23 says, “And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side.”

Can you imagine how he would have felt, seeing Lazarus being comforted and himself in torment?

Now, what happens next is probably poetic license. While Scripture supports the existence of Hades, there’s no clear evidence that people there could see or talk to one another. But at the same time, who’s to say they couldn’t?

Either way, to make His point, Jesus continues the story in verses 24–31:

‘Father Abraham!’ [the rich man] called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’

‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house—because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’

But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

So, something strikes me as very significant, especially given that the Pharisees are listening in to the teaching. I think it’s important to note that the rich man calls Abraham “Father Abraham.” He says this multiple times. This rich man is not a Gentile. He’s Jewish. He’s part of the Israelites. Yet, he is in torment in Hades. More proof that the rich man is Jewish is Abraham’s response to his request for help for his brothers. He says, “[Your brothers] have Moses and prophets.” So, that means the rich man and his brothers are familiar with Scripture. They already had knowledge of God.

Yet that knowledge and pedigree were not enough to save him, and he realizes they’re not enough to save his brothers.

The other thing to note is spoken right at the end. The rich man begs to have Lazarus, who would be “someone from the dead”, appear to his brothers. But Abraham says, “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

Have you ever found yourself wanting Jesus to “do more” to convince people to believe in Him? To be sure, He does appear to people in visions and dreams, and quite often those people come to faith in Jesus and follow Him. But still, I sometimes find myself wondering why He doesn’t do more. But I think it’s because of the same reason that He gave to the “rich man.” If people won’t listen to all the testimony that already exists, they won’t listen even if He did “more.”  

With hindsight, we know that in this parable, Jesus is foretelling His own death and resurrection. He’s speaking directly to these Pharisees and telling them what is going to happen. And as we know, Jesus will die and rise again, and yet even that miraculous event won’t be enough to convince them.

The “more” is still not enough.

We see further proof of this when a real-life Lazarus was raised from the dead. John 11 tells us what happened. Lazarus died, then Jesus called to him, and Lazarus walked out of his tomb. When the Pharisees heard about this, they still did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. Instead, they plotted to kill Him. Jesus, of course, foresaw this would happen, and I think His parable is foreshadowing all of that.

But we should not think this parable does not apply to us today. Even though it was a foreshadow, and even though so much of the afterlife is different now, much more is the same. And that’s what leads me to note one more thing the rich man said to Abraham.

Did you notice that he said: “But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” I think this is significant because he didn’t say, “But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will believe.” He says, “Repent.”

I think the rich man finally realized what he should have done. What hadn’t he done while he was alive? He did not repent. He did not change his ways. He knew that Lazarus was at his gate, suffering and desperate, and yet he never helped him. He never helped the man who was suffering right outside his house. He never followed God’s basic command to love his neighbor as himself.

The rich man didn’t end up in torment because he was rich—he ended up in torment because he did not repent of his selfish ways. He didn’t repent because he never came to faith in the only One who could not only cover his sins but also take them away.  

If we want to be carried to Jesus’ presence when we die, we must do what this text says. We must have faith in Jesus and repent of our sins.

It is not enough to repeat a sinner’s prayer and claim to believe. Our faith must be alive and active. It must bear fruit in our lives. The New Testament talks so much about the fruit that will grow in the hearts of those who have true faith.

Jesus addressed this in Matthew 3:7–9, which says: When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones.”

The rich man wanted to claim entry into Abraham’s presence on the basis of his family status and knowledge of God, but it was not enough. He lacked genuine faith. He had no fruit.

Let me ask you: do you have faith in Jesus, or do you have faith in your church membership or doctrines? Do you have faith that Jesus died on the cross for your sins? Have you repented and asked Jesus to cleanse you of your sins and make you a new creation?

Then, are you using what God has given you to help others? It doesn’t matter if you are wealthy like that rich man or not. All of us have someone at our “gate.” So, let me ask you: Who is your neighbor? Are you helping the person whom God brings across your path?

As MacLaren summarized the moral of this parable: “Doing nothing when Lazarus lies at our gate is doing great wickedness.”

All of this reminds me of one other thing Jesus said. Matthew 25:31-46 tells us about the sheep and the goats. Jesus says, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory… the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you…When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat….’ Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Isn’t this the same message as our parable for today? In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus is saying that how we treat our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is how we treat Him. And in the Rich Man and Lazarus, Lazarus ends up in Abraham’s bosom—he is a believer. That means the rich man did not care for “least of these brothers” who was right outside his gate, and he found himself in torment after he died. There was no fruit in his life that showed evidence of any faith.

Let us not hear these words of Jesus today and walk away unchanged. The message of this parable is still so important: if we have genuine faith, then we will prove it by the fruit of repentance and compassion for others.

Like the rich man, we are surrounded by people in great need. May we not harden our hearts, but repent of our sins, and live out a faith that bears fruit, extending our help to all whom God puts across our path, and especially to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we want to follow You in all things. We want to be people who reach out and help the people You bring to our attention. Please help us, by Your Holy Spirit, to produce good fruit that testifies of our faith in You. We want to love people the way You do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.