19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity 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 fire.’ 25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
In this story, we have a great juxtaposition. We first have a rich man. How do we know he is rich? Well, not only does scripture call him out as one, but we see some of the trappings of his wealth: fine linens, lives in luxury, wears purple (the color of royalty). Then there’s Lazarus: full of sores, begging, longing to eat the scraps from the rich man’s table. The scraps are important to note, for in this time period bread was essentially used as napkins. The scraps would be used to wipe the excess oils from people’s hands and thrown out. So Lazarus is longing, in essence, to eat the discarded bread from the table. Lazarus is truly in sorry shape, but let’s look at where he is. He’s at the gate of the rich man! This is remarkable, because we can assume the rich man sees Lazarus every day. It speaks to the rich man’s attitude. The rich man has a note of ambivalence to him, a note of uncaring. His life of excess does not translate to helping this man, who is so destitute that dogs are licking his sores. This first part of the story is lived in the temporal setting of human life.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
Well, both of these guys die. The rich man is buried, but as Lazarus is most likely thrown in a heap outside the city gates. This is notable because the rich man, with all the trappings of success, is also buried in respect, most likely in a family tomb. He has an auspicious end. We have to avoid looking at this story as “rich man bad and poor man good.” What we see, from the rich man, is an obvious attitude of disregard for his fellow man and a selfish ambition for his life. Lazarus (the name meaning ‘God has helped’), is implied to have a dependency on God. So it isn’t simply rich and poor. In fact, many times in scripture, the juxtaposition of rich and poor is often used to illustrate the conditions of the human heart.
24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity 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 fire.’ 25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
But that isn’t the end of the story. Both men have an eternity to face. Lazarus is whisked away to Abraham’s side, whereas the rich man is hurled into Hades. In Hades, we don’t see a change in the rich man’s attitude. He asks Abraham to send Lazarus to do his bidding. The first is to satiate his own suffering. “Send Lazarus” implies two things: One, the rich man sees Lazarus as someone below him, a servant. But it also shows that even though in Hades, the rich man’s attitude hasn’t altered. He’s still the same guy. Abraham reminds him of a very important fact: he received his good things. The rich man set his foundation on the things of the world, and he was allowed such a luxury. Perhaps this is also God’s mercy: if you are not willing to follow for eternity, God will give you an easier life. He also tells the rich man that he cannot cross to the other side, to paradise. Based on his behavior in his life, it determined which side of the chasm he landed on.
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
Again, the rich man tries to send Lazarus to do his work, further showing us that he has not changed. He wants Lazarus to warn those in his life of this reality. But the sad fact is that the rich man didn’t do this in his lifetime. He didn’t show his family any signs of this and now they are in trouble. In other words, he showed them a way to walk in the world without preparing them for eternity. Abraham’s response verifies this: They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. They have the teachings that the rich man had, that Lazarus had, that we all have. The information is there…it’s a matter if they are willing to absorb it into their lives.
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The rich man does not accept this answer. Instead, he proposes another idea: send a ghost. Someone who is risen from the dead will surely make them believe. But this last ploy is also knocked down by Abraham. Why? Because if they don’t believe what the word of God says, then why would they believe in a resurrected person? A person who refuses to believe will never be convinced. This part of the story, the eternal part, is much longer, and mimics the truth that our eternity will be longer than our short time on the earth. The Rich Man, who had a lifetime of selfish behavior, can’t understand why he isn’t getting his way in this reality. His motivations, which were incorrect in his human life, are such a part of him he can’t be any other way. His eternity is affected by his human motivations. Taking stock in our lives, especially our motivations, is a healthy practice. Even those of us who are doing God’s Will need to check the “why” of what we do. Even though the rich man’s motivations were for himself, we too can fall into this trap, and if we aren’t watching ourselves, we can set ourselves up for an eternity, that may look very successful in this world, but ultimately puts us on the wrong side of the chasm.