SECOND GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES
(Probably in Peræa)
Subdivision F
PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
LUKE 16:19-31
"The charge against the rich man was, not that he had injured Lazarus, but that he had not helped him. Man condemns us for doing wrong, God for failing to do right." -F.B. Meyer
Lazarus was translated to the realm of blessedness-the bosom of Abraham bespeaking nearness to him at the great feast-not because he had been so poor and miserable, but because, beggar though he was, he possessed the faith of heart and the purity of motive that characterized his great ancestor. -F.B. Meyer
"The poor man died and was carried by the angels Abraham's side." -Luke 16:22
What a lovely promise to think upon--angels escorting us to Heaven. The Pulpit Commentary suggests that it teaches also the continuance of the spirit without delay to Heaven or Hell.
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| The Rich Man and Lazarus, 1610, anonymous, Dutch low countries |
Is it a parable? How far should we press it for truth?
"A parable so striking and solemn that, as has been said, "they must be fast asleep who are not startled by it." It is in several respects unique. Figure is so blended with reality, so rapidly passes into reality, that we are doubtful where and how far to separate between the form of truth and the truth itself. Indeed, it has been questioned whether the discourse is to be regarded as a parable at all; whether it is not to be regarded as the record of facts and experiences. Alone, too, of all the pictorial sayings of Jesus, it carries thought into the region behind the veil; it gives us a glimpse into the hidden economy. He who has access to the invisible takes us whither the eye of man has never pierced. "
The rich man was surrounded by friends and distractions on earth, but finds himself lonely and pensive in the afterlife.
His intense longing seems to be for companionship. "Oh for a friend," he seems to say, "who could speak to me, comfort me, give me the smallest alleviation of the pain I suffer!" -The Pulpit Commentary
"What were the torments? men with hushed voices ask... it is rather the burning never to be satisfied, longing for something utterly beyond his reach, that the unhappy man describes as an inextinguishable flame. Were it desirable to dwell on these torments, we should remind men how lustful desires change rapidly into torture for the soul when the means for gratifying them exist not. In the case of Dives, his delight on earth seems to have been society, pleasant jovial company, the being surrounded by a crowd of admiring friends, the daily banquet, the gorgeous apparel, the stately house,—these details more than hint at the pleasure he found in the society of courtier-friends; but in the other world he seems to have been quite alone. Whereas among the blessed there appears to be a sweet companionship. -Pulpit Commentary
The torment was psychological:
Notice that memory plays a conspicuous part in the sorrow of Gehenna; that Christ gives no hope of changing the soul’s habitation; and that we have in the Scripture a more certain agent of spiritual renewal than would be provided by even the apparition of the dead. -F.B. Meyer
As to the torment of this Dives in Hades, Luther hit on the right explanation when, in one of his sermons, he exclaims, "It is not corporeal. All is transacted in the conscience as he perceives that he has acted against the gospel. Nothing was actually spoken by him, but only internally felt." It is in view of this that we apprehend the scope of’ the recorded conversation. That is the outward form in which the emotion, the terror, of the conscience is portrayed. For, the retribution, whose fire is not quenched, is pointed to in the saying, "Son, remember!" "It is not necessary to imagine anything beyond the stroke, stroke, stroke, ever repeating, of a scorpion-conscience," recalling, revivifying all the past, the real character of actions being made evident, as with the force of a fire from whose heat nothing can be hidden.-Fourfold
God's revelation through His word to us on earth is sufficient:
"In endeavoring to carry out his desire he proceeds on the theory that the testimony of the dead in reference to the realities of the future state are more trustworthy and influential than the revelations of God himself, given through his inspired spokesmen. This dishonoring of God and his law was to be expected from one who had made mammon his real master, even though professing (as the context suggests) to serve God. The singleness of his service is shown in that he, though practically discharged by one master--mammon, can not even now speak respectfully of God. Some commentators make much of the so-called repentance of the rich man, manifested in this concern for his brethren; but the Lord did not count kindness shown to kindred as evidence of goodness, [much less of repentance (Luke 6:32-35, pp. 248, 249). Besides the natural feeling for his brothers, he knew that their presence in torment would add to his own. His concern for his brethren is not told to indicate repentance. It is mentioned to bring out the point that the revealed will of God of itself and without more makes it inexcusable for a man to lead a selfish life. -Fourfold Gospel
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