CHAPTER 19

THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

The Most Misunderstood Parable of Jesus Christ
  

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus given in Luke 16:19-31, speaks about the mystery of the Kingdom of God. This parable is the most misunderstood of all of Jesus' parables. Unfortunately, many Christians read this parable as if it were a true literal account, and this is one reason why they misunderstand and misapply the spiritual truths about the Kingdom of God conveyed in it by Jesus. This is despite a clear statement made by Jesus telling us that He never spoke to the multitudes except in parables when conveying spiritual truths.

Matthew 13:10-11
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" 11 He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Notice that the Kingdom of Heaven, which means the same as the Kingdom of God, has mysteries, and only believers, God’s Elect, are meant to understand them. Jesus Christ spoke in parables to hide the meaning of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God from unbelievers.

Matthew 13:34-35
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world".

Notice that the mysteries of the Kingdom of God were kept secret from unbelievers ‘from the foundation of the world’. Apostle Paul was one of the first among the early apostles to whom God clearly revealed all aspects of the mystery of the Kingdom of God hidden in Jesus' parables, including the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

An important aspect of the mystery of the Kingdom of God is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs with the Israelites (Ephesians 3:1-6). Jews and especially the self-righteous Pharisees looked down on the Gentiles, considering them as cut off from the Kingdom of God. The truth that the Gentiles are fellow heirs with the Jews of the Kingdom of God was an important revelation to Paul, who had been a self-righteous Pharisee, before his conversion to Christianity.

Romans 11:25-27
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins."

This scripture provides the key to understanding the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and the mystery of the Kingdom of God. Here, Apostle Paul urges us not to be ignorant of two important aspects of the mystery of the Kingdom of God.

Firstly, God has purposely blinded a part of Israel, which is most of Israel, from believing the Gospel of Christ until the full number of Gentile Elect have come to Christ before they die.

Secondly, all Israel will be saved when the Deliverer will come to Jerusalem. This refers to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when He returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom of God on earth.

All Israel means absolutely all Israel without exception: past, present and future. It is a shame that most Christians remain ignorant of this important aspect of the mystery of the Kingdom of God that God's purpose is to ultimately save all Israel. Romans Chapter 11 is an important chapter where God reveals to Apostle Paul that all unbelieving Israelites are not permanently rejected by God.

The fact that all Israel will be saved is also good news for all Gentiles because they will also be saved by the Seed of Abraham, who is Jesus Christ. In fact, the salvation of the whole world is integral to the Abrahamic Covenant in which God promises to bless (save) all the families of the earth. Chapters 6 and 7 cover this subject in detail.

We are only able to understand the parable of the rich man and Lazarus once we have the revelation of the mystery of the Kingdom of God, which is that God unconditionally promised Abraham that He would bless (save) all Israel and all Gentiles through the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. With this knowledge, we are now in a position to make an in-depth study of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

Luke 16:19-31
19 There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
 
24 Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'

27 Then he said, “I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” 29 Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” 30 And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” 31 But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

The purpose of this parable is to confirm several aspects of the spiritual truths of the mystery of the Kingdom of God. The first thing we need to understand is that the rich man and Lazarus are two fictitious characters who represent two groups of real people. It is important to identify who these two groups of people are.

It is clear that the rich man is an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham through the spiritually rich line of Isaac and Jacob. This is because he calls Abraham, Father Abraham, and Abraham calls him son. The rich man represents all unbelieving Israelites who are the olive branches that have been temporarily cut off from their own natural spiritually rich and royal Holy Olive Tree of Israel (Romans 11:16-17).

Let us now understand that Lazarus represents all of the Gentile Elect, who are naturally wild olive branches that are grafted into the spiritually rich Holy Olive Tree of Israel (Romans 11:19). The story of Jesus dealing with the Gentile Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 below, gives us the revelation of the identity of Lazarus as a Gentile Elect.

Matthew 15:21-28
21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

This is not a parable, but a true event of when a Canaanite woman, who was a Gentile believer, sought healing from Jesus for her daughter. She was one of God's Elect, and had great God given faith to believe as a true worshiper of Jesus Christ. She had an amazingly humble spirit, in great contrast to the self-righteous and proud Pharisees. Pharisees looked down upon the Gentiles as dogs, and Jesus Christ used this same terminology to test the faith of the Gentile Canaanite woman. She was willing to be a spiritual beggar and wanted every crumb of blessing she could get from Jesus, as she understood her total dependence upon Him, the Saviour of Israel, for her daughter's healing.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus Christ used the name Lazarus to denote a Gentile believer. The name Lazarus is a form of the Hebrew name Eliezer (Strong's G2976). Eliezer was a faithful Gentile servant of Abraham, whom God used to get a bride for Isaac (Genesis 15:2, 24:1-66).

The description and attitude of Lazarus in the parable resemble that of the Gentile Canaanite woman in the true event. Like her, Lazarus is associated with dogs, and he is also a spiritual beggar dependent upon the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Lazarus, as a Gentile believer, also understood that his spiritual hunger could only be satisfied through the spiritually rich line of Abraham as given to the Jews through the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, who is the Bread of Life.

The first important truth to learn from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is that unbelieving Israelites (like the rich man) are the temporarily broken off branches from their spiritually rich natural Holy Olive Tree of Israel. This has happened in order to fulfil God's will to graft a set number of wild olive branches, who are God's Gentile Elect, into the Holy Olive Tree of Israel, before all Israel can be saved (Romans 11:16-20).
 
All unbelieving Israelites (the cut off natural olive branches) will miss out on the first phase of the Kingdom of God, the Millennial Kingdom. However, Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear in Romans Chapter 11 that God has not permanently cut off and rejected the unbelieving Israelites. Ultimately, God’s Plan is to save all Israel as we explain in detail in Chapter 7.

Luke 16:22
So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom...

In this verse, Lazarus, after his death, is pictured in Abraham's bosom. This is a beautiful spiritual picture of a Gentile believer who has been grafted into the spiritually rich Holy Olive Tree of Israel, represented by Abraham. Please remember that it was to Abraham, the Father of the Jewish nation, that God made His unconditional promise of the Abrahamic Covenant to bless all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:2-3). Let us continue to understand the spiritual truths revealed in this parable.

Luke 16:22-23
22 ...The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments (basanos) in Hades (the grave), he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

These verses prove that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable and not a true factual account. It would be ridiculous to think that currently billions of dead unbelievers are able to lift up their eyes from their graves (hades) and see Abraham and believers like Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.

Note that this scripture does not say that Lazarus' spirit or his soul went to heaven nor does it say that the rich man's spirit or his soul went to hell. One cannot use this scripture to prove that when a person dies, his soul is immediately judged by God to go to either heaven or hell.

The powerful truth of the Bible is that when a person dies, his body goes to dust and his spirit enters an unconscious ‘sleep’, in God’s safe keeping, until his resurrection. A dead body cannot be tormented in hades (the grave), because the dead person is in a state of unconscious sleep until his resurrection. In Chapter 23, we deal with this important subject in detail.

Also, let us remind ourselves of the meaning of the Greek word basanos, which has been translated as torment in Luke 16:23 above. According to Strong's G931, the primary meaning of basanos is ‘to test (metals) by the touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal’. The use of the Greek word basanos indicates that there is a refining judgement awaiting all unbelieving Israelites after their resurrection, and not eternal torment.

Luke 16:24
Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'

This wonderful verse proves that after death, all unbelieving Jews, represented by the rich man, will repent and plead for God's mercy. This will happen when they are judged in God's age-lasting refining Lake of Fire, on the Great White Throne Judgement Day.

The rich man humbly accepts that it is Lazarus the Gentile, rather than himself, who is connected (grafted) into the spiritually rich Holy Olive Tree of Israel, and it is Lazarus the Gentile who has access to the Living Water flowing from the Seed of Abraham, who is Jesus Christ Himself. The rich man further understands and knows that even one drop of water, given to him by Lazarus who has access to the Living Water of Life, is sufficient to satisfy his spiritual thirst.

Apostle Paul says that God's purpose to save the Gentile Elect before most of the Jews will provoke unbelieving Jews to jealousy (Romans 11:11). This will be holy jealousy provoking them to desire the same Living Water accessed by God's Gentile Elect. Paul further says that it is through the Gentile Elect that God will show mercy to unbelieving Jews. Ultimately, all unbelieving Jews will receive God's mercy (Romans 11:30-32).

The attitude of the rich man in hades, after his death, desiring a little water from Lazarus, wonderfully compares with the attitude of Lazarus before his death, desiring crumbs from the rich man’s table.

Before death, all Gentile Elect believers, represented by Lazarus, will repent and be humbled to become spiritual beggars. Through the gift of God given faith, they will believe the true Gospel (the Abrahamic Covenant), understanding that even the crumbs, which fall from the rich man's table, are sufficient to satisfy their spiritual hunger. These crumbs represent the Bread of Life promised to the Jewish nation through the Abrahamic Covenant. The Bread of Life is Jesus Christ Himself, who is the Seed of Abraham.

After death, all unbelieving Israelites, represented by the rich man, will be humbled to become spiritual beggars just like Lazarus before he died. All unbelieving Israelites, who are temporarily cut off (sacrificed) from their rich Holy Olive Tree, will be resurrected at the Second Resurrection, and they will be humbled, repent and plead for God’s mercy in God’s refining yet merciful Lake of Fire judgement. They will understand through God given faith that even a drop of Living Water from God’s Gentile Elect, represented by Lazarus, is sufficient to satisfy their spiritual thirst. All unbelieving Jews will come to know that this Living Water is Jesus Christ Himself, the Seed of Abraham.

When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, He said that He would give Living Water to the thirsty, and anyone who receives this Living Water will never thirst again (John 4:4-14). The rich man in hades was thirsty for the Living Water and pleaded to Abraham for God’s mercy so that he could receive this Living Water. Do we think that it is too late for the repentant rich man to receive the Living Water from Jesus, who is the Saviour of Israel and the Saviour of the world, whose mercy endures forever? Absolutely not!  

Luke 16:24 above, makes complete nonsense of the traditional view of hell, which says that a dead unbeliever is permanently cut off from communicating with God and that he has no possibility of coming to genuine repentance.

Luke 16:25
But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.’

This verse refers to the self-righteous unbelieving Israelites who consider themselves as spiritually rich in this lifetime and the Gentiles as spiritually poor. The truth of the matter is quite the opposite. It is the unbelieving Israelites who are spiritually very poor because they are the broken off branches from their rich Holy Olive Tree of Israel. It is the believing Gentiles, God's Elect, who are spiritually very rich because they are grafted into the Holy Olive Tree of Israel, and benefit by taking the place of the broken off Jewish branches.

Again, the verse above makes nonsense of the traditional view of hell, which says that God's love for unbelievers ends at death. Please note, that Abraham has a loving and caring fatherly approach towards the rich man shown by Abraham calling him son.

Luke 16:26
And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.

The great gulf spoken of in this verse is the great gulf of time of the glorious one thousand-year age of the Millennial Kingdom of God. This verse is not speaking about a permanent eternal gulf of unbelief and separation between Lazarus and the rich man. The gulf will be bridged when all unbelieving Israelites, represented by the rich man, are resurrected in their new immortal, yet still unsaved, bodies in the Second Resurrection at the end of the Millennial Age. This is when all unbelieving Israelites, who are the cut off branches, will face God's refining yet merciful judgement in the Lake of Fire. They will all be humbled, repent and be grafted back into their rich Holy Olive Tree of Israel. They will all enter the Eternal Kingdom of God, thus fulfilling the scripture 'and so all Israel be saved' (Romans 11:26). 

Please remember that a parable is not a fatual chronological account of a real event, and therefore should not be interpreted as such. Don’t forget that Jesus gave this parable to hide the Mystery of the Kingdom of God from unbelievers, but to reveal this Mystery to His believers only.

Luke 16:27-30
27 Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment’. 29 Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them’. 30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

The rich man shows love, concern and compassion for his brothers, fellow Israelites who remain unbelievers. Apostle Paul also had great love, concern and compassion for his fellow Israelites who remained unbelievers. Also, the verses above show that the rich man understands the importance of genuine repentance before death, in order for his fellow Israelites not to miss out on Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, and also for them not to have to face God's refining judgement in the Lake of Fire.
 
Luke 16:31
But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'

This verse refers to the Law of Moses and to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jews cannot be saved through keeping the Law of Moses or even if they personally witness or hear of the miracle of Jesus Christ rising from the dead. This demonstrates the powerful truth of Election by Grace. Salvation is entirely a matter of God's will. A person can only come to Jesus and be saved if the Father draws him to Jesus, and every person whom the Father draws will come to Jesus (John 6:37, 44). Ultimately, it is God's purpose to draw all people, all Jews and all Gentiles, from darkness into the light of Jesus Christ in God’s time and His order (John 12:32).

Conclusion

There are three important spiritual truths about the Kingdom of God hidden in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. You are blessed indeed, if you are able to grasp these truths, which are:

1. Gentile believers, represented by Lazarus, are pictured as spiritually ‘carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom’ after death. This picture represents them being blessed with the blessing of Abraham at the First Resurrection, which is to enter the Millennial Kingdom of God with Jesus Christ. The Gentile believers, because they are grafted into the Holy Olive Tree of Israel, receive this rich Millennial blessing, which God promised in the Abrahamic Covenant.

2. All unbelieving Israelites, represented by the rich man, will miss out on this rich Abrahamic blessing of entering the Millennial Kingdom of God with Christ, because they are cut off from their Holy Olive Tree of Israel. They will first need to endure God's refining, corrective judgement in the age-lasting Lake of Fire, when they rise at the Second Resurrection. This is when they will seek God’s mercy, repent and be saved by the Seed of Abraham, who is Jesus Christ.

3. The powerful truth of Election by Grace is that no Jew can be saved through the Law of Moses or through the writings of the Old Testament prophets, or even through witnessing or hearing about the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation is entirely a matter of God's will, which He is carrying out in His own time and order. Ultimately, all people without exception will be reconciled to God through repentance and God given faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to forgive the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2, Luke 23:34).

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