Christ’s Experience with the Jewish Nation
By A. R. Bell
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus—No. 1
“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you can not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:19-31. THIS parable was set to rebuke covetousness among the professed people of God for all time, but it had its special application in the Jewish people. Favored with every temporal and spiritual blessing, made the depository of sacred truth, the bread of eternal life, they forgot that they were simply stewards of the manifold grace of God; and becoming filled with covetousness and pride, they made their boast that they were rich and increased with goods, and had need of nothing. They5thanked God they were not like the rest of men, and thus showed their ignorance of the fact that they were “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” In the parable, the Lord “held up before His hearers a mirror wherein they might see themselves in their true relation to God;” that they might know “that no man is valued for his possessions,” and that “a misuse of these gifts will place him below the poorest and most afflicted man who loves God and trusts in Him.” Christ’s Experience with the Jewish Nation
There is also an application of the parable that fits every detail of Christ’s experience with the Jewish nation, their treatment of Him, and the consequences of that treatment to them. Under the figure of a “rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen,” the Jewish nation is fittingly presented. At his gate, “a certain beggar named Lazarus . . . was laid.” This gate was the gate of the nation. We read of Daniel that he “sat in the gate of the king.” Dan. 2:49. The gate of the king was the place of judgment. We read in 2 Sam. 15:2, 3: “And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, . . . See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.” Again, under a different order than that of kingly rule, the gate of a city was the place of judgment. See Deut. 21:18-21. The gate, then, is the place of judgment; and in the parable, the place of the judgment of the nation. Now it was a beggar who was placed there. The Emphatic Diaglott renders it, “And a certain poor man.” Who was this “poor man”? We read of One who, “tho He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” 2 Cor. 8:9. He was so poor that He said to one who would follow Him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.” Matt. 8:20. In the parable, Christ is revealed in the person of Lazarus, who was laid at the rich man’s gate; and that this was really the experience which Christ passed through, and that the “gate” was the place of His judgment, is clearly shown in the prophecy in Psalm 69. This scripture is a prophecy of Christ’s judgment and suffering and death. We read in verses 20, 21: “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” And again in verse 9, “For the zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon me.” How true all this is regarding Christ and the sad and bitter experiences He passed through! One other experience He underwent is recorded in verse 12. We read, “They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.” He was brought before the highest tribunal in Israel, in the “palace of the high priest.” Surely is it true that there they spoke against Him. He was found, in the words of the multitude, “guilty of death” (Matt. 26:66), and was led away “from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment” (John 18:28), to have Pilate confirm and approve their sentence. Surely there too they spoke against Him. It is said of Lazarus that he was “full of sores.” In a spiritual sense this was absolutely true, and in a literal sense also to a certain degree. We read, “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.” 2 Cor. 5:21. In Isaiah 1 sin is revealed in all its hideousness. The prophet, speaking of Israel’s sinful condition, says, “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.” Isa. 1:6. And Peter tells us Jesus “bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” 1 Peter 2:24. And of His physical wounds we read, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isa. 53:5. We read also that Lazarus desired “to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.” Luke 16:21. He was hungry. The Jews had been made the depositaries of truth—the bread of eternal life. It had been given them to feed men who were starving. Christ was hungry. His burning desire was that they might recognize Him, and share with Him the bread of life. They treated Him as they treated the rest of men, denying even the crumbs. “Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” For ages it has been held that the licking of a sore by a dog is the healing of the wound. No Jew would have any difficulty over the matter of the dog. Every Gentile was a dog to him. Mark 7:25-28; margin. We read in John 12:20-23: “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew; and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified.” Here were Gentiles desiring to see Jesus. He who could read the heart, knew this was no desire such as idle curiosity prompts. Christ saw in their desire the hunger of a world. Do the Gentiles desire to see Me? The hour is come when I shall be glorified in them, and they shall receive the gospel. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He the right [margin] to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:11, 12. This was the healing of His wounds, the Gentiles receiving the gospel. It had its beginning practically at Antioch; where Paul, speaking to the Jews, said: “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:46-48. And its complete fulfilment will be in the day when, from every kindred, nation, tongue, and people, will be gathered a redeemed host, and as says the prophet Isaiah, “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.” Isa. 53:11. [Next week Mr. Bell will give the meaning of “Abraham’s bosom,” and tell how and when the “poor man” went there. He offers some suggestions about a parable’s being such in fact. He furthermore presents what the Bible teaches concerning the condition of man in death.—EDITOR.]