19. THERE was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day;
20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores.
21. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22. 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;
23. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house;
28. For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
(Memorize verses 25, 26.)
Golden Text: “Ye can not serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:13.
NOTE.—The lesson taught by the portion of chapter 16 included in the lesson scripture is the climax of the parable of the unjust steward, and the instruction following that parable. In that is shown the wisdom exercised by men in worldly affairs, and what may be gained by a purely worldly friendship and usage of the wealth of earth. Constant study in any line gives skill. “Practice makes perfect” is the common expression. The point is, however, that the most important of all are the true riches, the things of God, and if a skilful use of worldly riches brings worldly success, how much more will attention to the true riches develop skill in the use of divine things, and bring eternal success. This the hearers of Jesus had failed to see, as was manifested by certain practices which he condemned. See verses 14–18.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) How is the rich man described? Verse 19. Note 1. (2) Who was laid at his gate? Verse 20. Note 2. (3) What did the beggar desire? Verse 21. Note 3. (4) What attention only did he receive? Verse 21, last part. (5) What occurred to each of these men at death? Verses 22, 23. Note 4. (6) What is the rich man represented as saying? Verse 24. (7) What reply did Abraham make? Verse 25. Note 5. (8) What other reason was urged why the request of Dives could not be complied with? Verse 26. Note 6. (9) Then what request did the rich man prefer? Verses 27, 28. (10) How did Abraham reply? Verse 29. (11) What argument did the rich man put forward to support his request? Verse 30. (12) What answer did he receive? Verse 31. Note 7.
NOTES.
1. A certain rich man.—The name Dives, often given to this man, is simply the Latin for rich man, used in the Latin translation. Was clothed in purple. The form of the expression in the original shows that this was his habitual attire, and not a dress for a special occasion. Outer garments made of silk or wool, dyed purple, were worn by kings. The term purple included three colors: a deep violet; deep scarlet or crimson,—the Tyrian purple; the deep blue of the Mediterranean. “It was the royal color, and indicated pride as well as luxury. Wool of violet purple was sold at that time at the rate of $15 for the Roman pound.”—Edersheim. Fine linen. This was the under-garment, and was made from the byssus, or Egyptian flax. This linen was exceedingly soft and of dazzling whiteness, and, according to Pliny, has been sold for twice its weight in gold. Fared sumptuously, literally, “making merry in splendor.” The sin of the rich man consisted not in his riches themselves, but in the use he made of them. They were his god. Instead of using them to do good, they were used to promote his own selfish pleasure.
2. Lazarus.—The Greek name Lazarus comes from the Hebrew Eleazer (God helps), abbreviated by the rabbins to Leazar, and from this comes Lazarus. From his name in this parable comes the word lazar, “which in some form in every language of Europe designates a person infected with a filthy, pestilential disease.” He was laid at the gate, or outside entrance, where the rich man must see him, and would, if he were so disposed, have compassion for him. It is assumed, for the purpose of strong contrast, that the beggar was a righteous man. The circumstances which made him a beggar are not mentioned.
3. Desiring.—This is from the same word as “would fain” in Luke 15:16. He ardently longed for the crumbs which fell from the table.
4. Carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.—This scene and the conversations following are entirely allegorical. The story supposes all the parties brought into the narrative to have received their final reward. Abraham is supposedly in Paradise, as he was a righteous man; hence the righteous beggar is carried to his bosom. This shows that he was highly favored, as such a position,—at a feast, as is doubtless inferred,—is the choicest. See John 13:23. The rich man is in hell, and in torments. Between the two is an impassable gulf, yet they readily converse with each other. As an allegory it answers its purpose, which is to impress a lesson. It is not intended to reveal anything concerning a life or condition beyond the grave, as some have misapplied it. This we know from the testimony of Scripture regarding the condition of the dead, and final rewards. “The dead know not anything” (Eccl. 9:5, 10); in the very day man dies, “his thoughts perish” (Ps. 146:4); man lies down in death and sleeps the sleep of the dead till his change comes (Job 14:12, 14), which is the resurrection (Isa. 26:19; John 5:28, 29; 1 Cor. 15:52–55; 1 Thess. 4:16). There are two resurrections, one thousand years apart. At the first the righteous are raised and receive their reward (Luke 14:14; Rev. 20:6; 2 Tim. 4:8); at the second the wicked dead come forth to their reward, which is death in the lake of fire for their misdeeds (Rev. 20:5, first part, and verse 14; John 5:29). These texts are sufficient to show conclusively the allegorical nature of the events described in the lesson. The word “hell” is from hades, meaning the grave.
5. Good things, and . . . evil things.—It is the rule in this present world that the wicked flourish and receive their good things, which are worldly riches and pleasures, and the righteous receive persecutions. But the Lord takes note of this condition, and has spoken words of comfort to his people through his word. Job 21:7, 29, 30; Ps. 37:1–10; 92:7.
6. A great gulf.—This shows incidentally the irrevocable nature of the distribution of rewards. Death forever fixes character by cutting off any and all opportunities for its further development. There is no second probation, for in this life is presented to man the fullest opportunities to accept the Lord. Nothing could possibly be gained by a second probation for one who had in the meantime been wholly unconscious in the grave. So just before the Lord comes, after everything has been done for man that the infinite God can devise, and when the seven last plagues of his wrath are to be poured out on the wicked world, the decree of Rev. 22:11 goes forth: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
7. The one rose from the dead.—If one is willingly blind and indifferent to the message of the Lord, one raised from the dead as an evidence of the truth of the message and of the power of God would have no persuasive effect. This was shown during Jesus’ ministry. Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, came forth from the dead in the sight of the Jews, but they sought to kill him, with Jesus (John 12:10, 11), and the crowning evidence of the resurrection of Jesus himself had no converting effect. The reason of this was that the only salvation possible to fallen man was through Jesus Christ, foretold by Moses and the prophets. To reject them was, and is, to reject salvation, and vice versa. So while they—those to whom Jesus was talking—professed outward adherence to the law and the prophets, in reality their teachings had no influence for good upon their lives; for in heart they coveted the wealth and pleasures of this world. And the lesson is just as applicable to-day. The question with every soul should be, Am I serving God, or am I serving the mammon of unrighteousness?
