Parables are short, mostly fictional stories that convey deeper truths. Their meaning takes time and reflection to grasp, which makes them effective for Jesus’ purposes. The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is one of more than 35 distinct parables Jesus told during his ministry.
The items and circumstances in the story point to the actual situations the narrator is describing. By contrasting the parable with its supposed meaning, the hearer can discover aspects that were previously hidden to them. It takes the hearer out of familiarity and makes them rethink their assumptions.
For Jesus, the parables are used to tell what he is doing to bring about the kingdom of God, what the kingdom of God looks like, how the people and the leaders of Israel are reacting to him, and the consequences of their different reactions.
Jesus explains in Luke 8:9–10 why he tells parables instead of communicating his messages directly. He quotes Isaiah 6:9, ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand,’ and tells his disciples that the knowledge of the kingdom of God has been given to them but not to the people. Likewise, in Isaiah, this was a judgment on the people for their rejection of God’s law until Jesus established his kingdom (the new covenant). Yet, he also proclaims, ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear.’
If Jesus told parables to conceal his message, then the parable of the rich man and Lazarus communicates something beyond the story itself. Some may ask whether he could have used a true story to illustrate his point, but this seems unlikely since all other parables in the Gospels are fictional.
But why the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man? Why a story about the afterlife? To whom are the parables directed, and how does this parable fit Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ ministry?
First, we are going to look at folktales that were common in the first century that could have inspired or influenced the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Second, we will examine the context and setting of the parable in Luke’s gospel. Third, we will consider the meaning of the parable in light of the stories that inspired it and its context in Luke. Finally, we will explore the implications and subtexts in the parable.
For a detailed exploration of the afterlife in the bible – What does the Bible say about Hell
Reversal-of-fortune folktales
The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is among the widespread reversal-of-fortune folktales in the first-century Ancient Mediterranean World. They circulated among the common people (the poor). These folktales were intended to communicate moral teachings. They warn how money and power corrupt good intentions, and also reassure the poor that they will be compensated in the next life.
Egypt
In Egypt, there is a folktale written around the second half of the first century AD. The story tells of a man in Amente (the land of the dead) who was allowed to return to life. He was reincarnated as a son of Setme and his wife in order to defeat an Ethiopian magician who was overpowering all the Egyptian magicians. The child was called Si-Osiris, and he defeated the Ethiopian magician at the age of 12.
Before the encounter with the Ethiopian, there was an occasion when Si-Osiris and his father Setme came across two funerals, one for a rich man and one for a poor man. Observing the honor given to the rich man at his funeral, Setme wished to receive the same honor at his own funeral. Seeing his father’s misguided desires, Si-Osiris took him to Amente to show him the fate of the rich man in the afterlife.
The judgment was based on weighing the good and evil deeds of a person during their life. Consequently The rich man was being tormented while the poor man sat close to Osiris (one of the gods of Egypt), elevated in rank.
Palestine
In the Palestinian Talmud, a similar tale recounts a rich tax collector named Bar Ma’yan and a poor Torah scholar in Ashkelon. They both died on the same day, but the tax collector was buried with honor and mourned, while the poor man was unmourned.
A friend of the poor man was troubled by this contrast. In a dream, he saw the poor man in paradise and the rich man in hell. He also learned that the poor man had committed only one sin in his lifetime and paid for it with his unmourned funeral, while the rich man had performed only one good deed in his lifetime and was rewarded with honor at his funeral.
The story illustrates that the righteous pay for their sins in this life in order to experience only bliss in the next, while the wicked are rewarded with good funerals only to experience torment in the next.
Greek
In a story by the Greek author Lucian, three men die and are taken to Hades. The rich tyrant Megapenthes, the poor shoemaker Mycilus, and a Cynic philosopher stand before the judgment seat. The philosopher and Mycilus are found spotless and sent to the Blessed Isles(paradise), while Megapenthes is punished for his immorality.
Lucian uses this tale to show that wealth corrupts. Megapenthes’s immorality is tied to his wealth, while Mycilus, burdened by poverty, has no opportunity to become corrupt.
Context for the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
One of the common themes in the Gospels, and especially in Luke, are the Pharisees’ love of money and their contempt toward sinners.
Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus faces resistance from the Pharisees when He heals or spends time with the poor and outcasts. And he consistently shows them that the barrier for entry into God’s kingdom is not wealth and status.
When he heals the crippled woman in Luke 13, the Pharisees complain that it is the Sabbath. But he tells them that she is Abraham’s child too. While reclining at the table with the Pharisees in Luke 14:1–14, he asks them if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. Then he heals a man with abnormal swelling in his body. When they don’t answer him, he asks them again, saying, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?’ In doing so, he exposes their hypocrisy and their neglect of the poor.
In Luke 15, the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he tells them the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son to show that he welcomes anyone who is willing, even sinners, the unclean, or the poor
But as Jesus gets closer to Jerusalem, the parables begin to include warnings of the coming judgment on the religious leaders. In Luke 16:1–14, the parable of the shrewd manager tells of a manager who, while about to be fired, is commended by his owner for his shrewdness in finding a way to sustain himself after he is dismissed.
This parable serves as a warning to the Pharisees to use their dishonest gain to make friends, so that when their wealth is gone, they will be welcomed by those friends. War is brewing, and conflict is on all sides. The axe is laid at the root of the trees to cut down every tree that does not bear good fruit.
The meaning of the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man draws on familiar reversal-of-fortune stories circulating among the common people. Jesus adapts and transforms it to convey the reversal of fortune He is bringing about.
This parable connects various themes in Luke: the Pharisees’ love of money, their contempt for the poor, Jesus’ acceptance of the outcast, the impending destruction of Jerusalem (of which they are unaware), and the coming of the kingdom as Jesus envisions it (see Luke 17:20–21).
Up to now, the Pharisees, entrusted by God to guide His people, have neglected their duty. Instead, these leaders have exploited and despised them. They weighed down His people, who are already downtrodden. They have disregarded the covenant with God and used the law to enrich themselves.
The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man points to what is happening in Jesus’ ministry right then and what’s soon to come. The kingdom is in their midst. The life of the coming age is being prefigured in the present. He is gathering the poor and the sinners into His bosom “as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” The religious authorities who were living in luxury and comfort are about to be discarded from their power and authority as Jerusalem is about to be destroyed. But the powerless who trust in the Lord will be vindicated.
Subtexts in the parable
The saying by Abraham in the story, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them,” is a polemic against the popular belief in reversal-of-fortune stories. Such stories depict the dead communicating with the living through visions, appearing as ghosts, or being summoned by necromancy to impart wisdom and revelation. Jesus is asserting that if they seek revelation or wisdom, they should turn to the Scriptures given to their forefathers. These Scriptures, in turn, point to me, for I am the Word and the Wisdom of God.
The last saying of the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, “They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead,” anticipates the rejection of Jesus and his apostles after his return from Hades.
Finally, the parable forces its hearers to think about the kingdom of God in a new light. It invites them to consider what it would mean to live out the life and power of the coming age in the present. Compassion and generosity toward those considered unworthy seem to be the way of the kingdom that was in their midst. The Pharisees preoccupied with their skewed conception of the law, couldn’t see it.
