19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and 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. 23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So 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. 26And 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, 28for 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.’ “
(Luke 16:19–31)
The contrast between the rich man and the beggar could not be more ironic. On earth, the rich man enjoyed all the creature comforts that his wealth could procure — luxurious living with fine accomodation, clothes, food and drink. Whilst at the gate of the rich man was laid a beggar, who obviously had no money to pay for treatment for his physical ailments, and who was happy to eat the leftovers from the rich man’s table.
The name of the beggar was Lazarus, and whilst the Bible does not name the rich man, he is known as Dives (Latin for “rich man”). It might be noted that the Bible passage does not tell us that there was enmity between the two men. But they would have been acquainted with each other — Lazarus obviously knew who the rich man was, and Dives actually knew Lazarus’ name (see verse 24).
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9:27), so Lazarus and Dives each died in time, and each faced judgment. We know the decision of the judgment: the beggar was carried by angels to “Abraham’s side”, and the rich man ended in Hades where he was tormented by fire. Lazarus must have met the righteous requirements of God to be sent to Abraham’s side, and Dives must have not met those same requirements.
(Abraham was the first Jew, and thus was the father of the Jews.)
The story as told by Jesus above suggests that the judgment is irreversible. A great chasm separates the place where Dives was from the place where Lazarus was with Abraham, so that no one can cross from one place to the other. Abraham certainly did not know how one could cross over. There was nothing he could do for Dives, who had begged “Father Abraham” for help to relieve him some of his torment in Hades.
The heart of Dives did not seem all bad (this indicates that hell is not reserved for only the worst of sinners, or those rotten to the core). Even as he suffered in Hades, Dives remembered his five brothers who were still alive on earth, and begged that Abraham send Lazarus to warn them so that they would not end up like him in the place of torment.
The answer of Abraham was that the people already had “Moses and the Prophets” whom they could (and should) listen to, that is, the warning is already given in the Jewish Scripture (the Old Testament of the Bible). Dives knew that this was not sufficient for his brothers — after all, they have had the Bible with them their whole lives (as did Dives) but have paid no heed to what the Bible says — and so he pleaded with Abraham to still send Lazarus: he reasoned that if someone from the dead went to them, they would repent.
The unfortunate truth, in Abraham’s reply to Dives, is:
If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. (verse 31)
Jesus rose from the dead. He had preached about the kingdom of God, for which the Jews (who had Moses and the Prophets) had him crucified. After his resurrection, Jesus did this: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) If the Jews had believed in their own scriptures, they would have recognised Jesus as the promised Messiah and not have murdered him.
How does one get to go to where Abraham is, that is, to paradise?
- Abraham was called God’s friend in James 2:23 — he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.
- Lazarus must have been a believing Jew, and so went to Abraham’s side when he died.
- The rich man and his brothers all had the Scriptures, but did not believe, making the scriptures of no avail to them. According to Jesus, even if someone returned from the dead to warn them, they would not have believed.
- Two criminals were crucified next to Jesus. One hurled insults at Jesus, but the other said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” To this one, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)
Do you want to be destined for paradise? The Bible says that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Lazarus, though he was poor on earth, entered paradise, because he believed. The rich man, though he had much on earth, entered into torment, because he did not believe despite having had the scriptures.
Don’t let the world stand between you and paradise.