Who can explain Jesus' account in Luke 16:19 about the rich man & Lazarus with scripture?

Question

.............You might need to back up right to Luke 16:1 so this is for those who
like to study the bible, read it.

I have some insight into this, but there's a lot more.

And to know who Jesus is talking to here, you have to go back
to the beginning of chapter 15...then skip forward. Because
all of that is Jesus discussion with those groups there.

So that has to be considered also.

And what everything means because Jesus not only tells
the account, but it all can mean something.

Probably that is far too much to ask, so I apologize for that, so let's just say
you would focus on just Lazarus here if you want.

I don't want to ask too much here.

Also, note that Jesus is speaking 100% in front of his enemies,
those who would later set Him up, kill him. So this is important also.

Anyone who likes to study the bible is welcome to look
into this.

...

Answer 1

Although many believe that it is to be taken literally,

this is one of the symbolic parables that Christ gave.





The Jerusalem Bible, in a footnote, acknowledges that it is

a “parable in story form without reference to any historical personage.”





The book, "Reasoning on the Scriptures" notes:

( http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101989234?q=rich+man+lazarus&p=sen )



"If taken literally, it would mean that:

- those enjoying divine favor could all fit at the bosom of one man, Abraham;

- that the water on one’s fingertip would not be evaporated by the fire of Hades;

- that a mere drop of water would bring relief to one suffering there.



"The 'rich man' represents the Pharisees. (See Lu 16;14.)



"The beggar Lazarus represented the common Jewish people who were despised by the Pharisees, but who repented and became followers of Jesus. (See Luke 18:11; John 7:49; Mt 21:31, 32.)



"Their deaths were also symbolic, & represented a change of their circumstances.

Thus, the formerly despised ones came into a position of divine favor,

while the formerly *seemingly* favored ones were rejected by God,

& were tormented by the judgment messages delivered by the ones they had despised.

—Acts 5:33; 7:54."





If taken literally, it conflicts with other parts of the Bible. And, if the Bible were contradictory, a person who loves truth would not be able to use it as a basis for faith. However, the Bible does *not* contradict itself.

Answer 2

Interesting, Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus Christ. He was related to Mary and Martha and is used here in this lesson. Lazarus is also in John 12: "9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in Him." In other words, they wanted to kill Lazarus as well because Jesus had raised him from the dead!



Verses 19-31 are "fair warning" to us all. The poor man, Lazarus, was begging right outside the rich man's gate. But you get the idea that the rich man never helped the poor man out. So Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man went to Hades. Abraham made the point that if a person wouldn't listen to the best prophets advice, they won't listen to any additional advice. This is just like it is with certain atheists and unbelievers. If they ignore Jesus repeatedly, and ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit such as when you witness to them, do you really think their challenge to God to produce a miracle just for them so God can prove Himself to them is going to make a difference to that unbeliever? Very likely, no. So verse 31 says it all:



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.’”

Answer 3

I once came across a site that boldly said it was bs. the site was bs

but i also came across other sites, which held that these were real people. Lazarus we know, and the rich man clothed in linen and purple, would have been the high priest. A sadducee, at that. They did not believe in the resurrection. Read more here



"The rich man in Jesus' story is said to have five brothers (Luke 16.27-28)"

"It has been argued both here at this blog and at Richard Anderson’s blog that Luke wrote to Theophilus the high priest of 37-41 CE. This Theophilus had four brothers (Mattathias, Annanas, Johnathan, and Eliezer), one brother-in-law (Caiaphas), and a father (Annas) who each served as high priest in the first century. If Jesus was exposing the priesthood in his story, which is perhaps an ironic presentation of the raising of Lazarus (as told in John 11), then Caiaphas would have been the rich man in Luke 16. For he had five brothers[-in-law]."



I myself, I do not know. but I am willing to consider it, at least as a working hypothesis.

Answer 4

It goes hand to hand with Matthew 19:24.



The rich man in that account lived an easy life off his wealth. He didn't do anything to alleviate the pain of those in need. He just left Lazarus languish in his misery.



If you're wealthy, be fruitful, not wasteful. If you are better off than other people, be compassionate, not selfish.



Christ is there in everyone who suffers in this world. What you do to them, you do to Christ.



Also, see Luke 12:42-48.

Answer 5

If this is a parable, then it is unique, because two of the two main characters are named. But the Lazarus in Luke 16 is NOT the Lazarus Jesus raised from the dead.



In Chapter 15, Jesus is speaking to tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered and complained among themselves about the company Jesus kept. The three parables (the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son) contrast the love of God with the exclusiveness of the Pharisees. Chapter 16 opens with the parable of the shrewd manager which Jesus told to his disciples, although the Pharisees heard it and sneered at Jesus (because they were lovers of money).



The Talmud mentions both paradise and Abraham's bosom as the home of the righteous. It is separated from Hades by an impassable chasm. Jesus was showing how if a person's mind is closed and Scripture is rejected, no evidence - not even a resurrection from the dead - will change them. Some people think Jesus was speaking also of his own resurrection (Luke 9:22).



Jesus teaches here that heaven and hell are both real, literal places. Christ spoke about hell a great deal, as did Paul, Peter, John, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews. The Bible is clear that every person who has ever lived will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Like the rich man in the story, multitudes today are complacent in their conviction that all is well with their soul, and many will hear our Savior tell them otherwise when they die (Matthew 7:23).



This story also illustrates that once we cross the eternal horizon, that’s it. There are no more chances. The transition to our eternal state takes place the moment we die (2 Corinthians 5:8; Luke 23:43; Philippians 1:23). When believers die, they are immediately in the conscious fellowship and joys of heaven. When unbelievers die, they are just as immediately in the conscious pain, suffering, and torment of hell. Notice the rich man didn’t ask for his brothers to pray for his release from some purgatorial middle ground, thereby expediting his journey to heaven. He knew he was in hell, and he knew why. That’s why his requests were merely to be comforted and to have a warning sent to his brothers. He knew there was no escape. He was eternally separated from God, and Abraham made it clear to him that there was no hope of ever mitigating his pain, suffering, or sorrow. Those in hell will perfectly recollect missed opportunities and their rejection of the gospel.



Like many these days who buy into the “prosperity gospel,” the rich man wrongly saw his material riches as evidence of God’s love and blessing. Likewise, he believed the poor and destitute, like Lazarus, were cursed by God. Not only do riches not get one into heaven, but they have the power to separate a person from God in a way that few other things can. Riches are deceitful (Mark 4:19). It is certainly not impossible for the very rich to enter heaven (many heroes of the Bible were wealthy), but Scripture is clear that it is very hard (Matthew 19:23-24; Mark 10:23-25; Luke 18:24-25).



True followers of Christ will not be indifferent to the plight of the poor like the rich man in this story was. God loves the poor and is offended when His children neglect them (Proverbs 17:5; 22:9, 22-23; 29:7; 31:8-9). In fact, those who show mercy to the poor are in effect ministering to Christ personally (Matthew 25:35-40). Christians are known by the fruit they bear. The Holy Spirit’s residence in our hearts will most certainly impact how we live and what we do.



Abraham’s words in verses 29 and 31 referring to “Moses and the Prophets” (Scripture) confirms that understanding the revealed Word of God has the power to turn unbelief into faith (Hebrew 4:12; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). Furthermore, knowing Scripture helps us to understand that God’s children, like Lazarus, can suffer while on this earth—suffering is one of the many tragic consequences of living in a sinful and fallen world.



The Bible says our earthly lives are a “mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Our earthly sojourn is exceedingly brief. Perhaps the greatest lesson to learn from this story, then, is that when death comes knocking on our door there is only one thing that matters: our relationship with Jesus Christ. “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36). Eternal life is only found in Christ. “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12). The truth is, if we wish to live apart from God during our time on earth, He will grant us our wish for eternity as well. As one pastor aptly said, “If you board the train of unbelief, you will have to take it all the way to its destination.” LM

Answer 6

I have notes written down somewhere about it but will not attempt an answer from memory. I believe the rich man represents the religious leaders. Since a drop of water can't do anything to bring relief from fire, it can't be literal.

Answer 7

JESUS is relating an illustration about a rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. The rich man represents the religious leaders who are favored with spiritual privileges and opportunities, and Lazarus pictures the common people who hunger for spiritual nourishment. Jesus continues his story, describing a dramatic change in the men’s circumstances.

“Now in course of time,” Jesus says, “the beggar died and he was carried off by the angels to the bosom position of Abraham. Also, the rich man died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, he existing in torments, and he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in the bosom position with him.”

Since the rich man and Lazarus are not literal persons but symbolize classes of people, logically their deaths are also symbolic. What do their deaths symbolize, or represent?

Jesus has just finished pointing to a change in circumstances by saying that ‘the Law and the Prophets were until John the Baptizer, but from then on the kingdom of God is being declared.’ Hence, it is with the preaching of John and Jesus Christ that both the rich man and Lazarus die to their former circumstances, or condition.

Those of the humble, repentant Lazarus class die to their former spiritually deprived condition and come into a position of divine favor. Whereas they had earlier looked to the religious leaders for what little dropped from the spiritual table, now the Scriptural truths imparted by Jesus are filling their needs. They are thus brought into the bosom, or favored position, of the Greater Abraham, Jehovah God.

On the other hand, those who make up the rich-man class come under divine disfavor because of persistently refusing to accept the Kingdom message taught by Jesus. They thereby die to their former position of seeming favor. In fact, they are spoken of as being in figurative torment. Listen as the rich man speaks:

“Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this blazing fire.” God’s fiery judgment messages proclaimed by Jesus’ disciples are what torment individuals of the rich-man class. They want the disciples to let up on declaring these messages, thus providing them some measure of relief from their torments.

“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you received in full your good things in your lifetime, but Lazarus correspondingly the injurious things. Now, however, he is having comfort here but you are in anguish. And besides all these things, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you people, so that those wanting to go over from here to you people cannot, neither may people cross over from there to us.’”

How just and appropriate that such a dramatic reversal take place between the Lazarus class and the rich man class! The change in conditions is accomplished a few months later at Pentecost 33 C.E., when the old Law covenant is replaced by the new covenant. It then becomes unmistakably clear that the disciples are favored by God, not the Pharisees and other religious leaders. The “great chasm” that separates the symbolic rich man from Jesus’ disciples therefore represents God’s unchangeable, righteous judgment.

The rich man next requests “father Abraham” to send Lazarus “to the house of my father, for I have five brothers.” The rich man thus confesses he has a closer relationship to another father, who is actually Satan the Devil. The rich man requests that Lazarus water down God’s judgment messages so as not to put his “five brothers,” his religious allies, in “this place of torment.”

“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to these.’” Yes, if the “five brothers” would escape torment, all they have to do is heed the writings of Moses and the Prophets that identify Jesus as the Messiah and then become his disciples. But the rich man objects: “‘No, indeed, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” God will not provide special signs or miracles to convince such. People must read and apply the Scriptures if they would obtain his favor. Luke 16:16, 22-31; John 8:44.

Answer 8

Well it was regarded as interesting fiction at the time.