Luke 16:25, commentary and pictures

The verse tells of a complete reversal after death between a rich man who lived in ease and self-indulgence and a poor sufferer who trusted God in patience. In life the one received good things in honored comfort while the other lay in abject poverty and want, but afterward Lazarus is comforted and the rich man is tormented. The reversal reveals God's opposite estimate, for Lazarus had true faith and moral worth that God counted of great value and brought into the society of holy angels, while the rich man had no true moral worth and was thrust out from God's presence into misery and woe. The rich man is not condemned for having riches, which are no sin when not gained by injustice, but for spending entrusted means on himself and leaving Lazarus suffering when he knew God's commands and had opportunity to help. Men fix their eternal destiny in this life, for probation closes at death and there is no second probation, so earthly circumstances do not determine the final condition but comfort and torment are fixed by the character formed and the choices made during lifetime.

Parable Setting and Reversal

This is a parable contrasting a rich man who depended on wealth and did not surrender his life to God with Lazarus, who was poor, trusted God, and patiently suffered. Their positions are reversed, with Lazarus comforted while the rich man is tormented. Lazarus lacked friends, a home, money, and food, while the rich man had his needs supplied.

Lazarus lay in abject poverty, loathsome to the sight and despised by men, while the rich man was clothed with purple and fine linen, fared sumptuously every day, and lived in honored, ease-loving comfort. The verse states the reversal of their earthly lots: the rich man received good things and Lazarus evil things in lifetime, but afterward Lazarus is comforted and the rich man is tormented. This contrast between severe need and abundance, and its reversal, remains a lasting lesson for both rich and poor.

The reversal shows God's opposite estimate of the two men. Lazarus had true faith and true moral worth and soundness which God saw and counted of great value, so God comforted him, placed him in the most exalted position, introduced him into the society of holy angels as an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ. The rich man had no true moral worth, his character was worthless, corrupt and abominable in God's sight, and his riches did not recommend him to God nor secure His favor, so he was thrust out from God's presence and plunged into torment, misery and woe unutterable. Riches highly esteemed among men are abomination in the sight of God, and men are not to be judged or valued by wealth or by honors received from others.

Those who trust God despite poverty and suffering will be exalted above people who hold high worldly positions but have not given their lives to God, and worldly positions will be reversed. Present wealth or social position does not determine final standing. In telling it Christ uses the listeners' belief in conscious existence between death and resurrection as the framework for teaching.

Stewardship of Entrusted Means

Possessions do not fix a person's worth before God, for all that anyone holds is lent by the Lord, and riches and worldly honor do not secure His favor, so men must not be judged or valued by wealth or by honors received from others. The rich man in honored, ease-loving comfort, clothed with purple and fine linen and faring sumptuously every day, had no true moral worth, for his character was corrupt and abominable in God's sight, while Lazarus in abject poverty, loathsome and despised, had true faith and moral soundness which God counted of great value. Therefore their lots were reversed after death, with Lazarus comforted and exalted and brought into the society of holy angels as an heir of God, and the rich man thrust out from God's presence into torment, misery and woe, showing that misusing entrusted goods can leave even a wealthy person worse off than a poor, afflicted person who loves and trusts God. The contrast stands as a lasting lesson for rich and poor that earthly wealth or status does not determine standing before God, for people of every race and station who trust and obey Christ belong to one family and share the hope of the redeemed.

Being rich is no sin when riches are not gained by injustice, and the rich man is not condemned simply for being wealthy or for having riches. His condemnation came because he spent selfishly the means entrusted to him, using them in self-pleasing, self-gratification and hoarding for self instead of using them to do good and show sympathy to the needy. He enjoyed prosperity during earthly life while forgetting his obligation to God, treating what he had as his own and neglecting God's call. He had put Abraham where God should have been and failed to let God's Spirit shape his heart.

By using money to do good a person lays it up beside the throne of God and secures heavenly treasure that death cannot take away, for faithful service and good deeds done to lead people to Christ are lasting treasure. Treasure kept for self cannot be taken to heaven, for at death the steward must leave the possessions for which he was only a steward and takes nothing with him. When earthly stewardship ends the unfaithful steward is left in hopeless poverty, with wealth and fame gone and no treasure laid up in heaven and no mansion awaiting him. Each person's reward reflects how God's gifts were used, while the poor who love Christ, who became poor so that people could receive eternal riches, are not to be despised or neglected.

Worldly wealth cannot provide the righteousness needed to stand right with God, nor can earthly wealth relieve suffering or provide for the future life. Covetous living for self and earthly gain cuts the soul off from life, while Christ's spirit gives and sacrifices for others. Present blessings carry responsibility, and earthly circumstances do not determine final condition but are reversed in the judgment according to the choices made during life.

Probation Closes at Death

Men decide their eternal destiny in this life, for during probationary time the grace of God is offered to every soul, but those who waste their opportunities in self-pleasing cut themselves off from everlasting life and by their own choice fix an impassable gulf between them and God, with no after-probation to be granted them. The reversal of comfort and torment afterward reveals that fixing of destiny, with Lazarus comforted and the rich man tormented according to what was chosen in life. Salvation cannot be secured after death and there is no second probation, for this life is the only time given to prepare for eternity. Help and preparation for judgment must therefore be sought during life, because there is no further probation after death.

Death ends the opportunity to choose good or evil, for character is formed during life and at the resurrection people retain the appetites and passions they cherished in life. God does not remake a person who refused the opportunities for change, and one who found no delight in God would not be happy in His kingdom. Comfort and torment are fixed by the character formed during lifetime, and one suddenly snatched by death goes down to the grave with that lifetime character, where he has no power to choose good or evil because in the day he dies his thoughts perish. The closing of the rich man's history shows the closing scenes of this earth's history, for though he claimed to be a son of Abraham he was separated from Abraham by an impassable gulf, which is a character wrongly developed and the gulf of disobedience. Abraham served God in faith and obedience while the rich man was unmindful of God and suffering humanity, loved worldly pleasure and display, indulged appetite, and chose the atmosphere of sin, a course followed today by unconverted church-members who profess to long after God while serving self and who are no more righteous than the veriest sinner.

When earthly stewardship ends probation is ended, and the time to respond to God's call ends. The rich man's good things in life did not make him rich toward God, for he treated his possessions as his own and neglected God's call and the suffering poor. At death he had to leave the possessions for which he had been only a steward and took nothing with him, being left in hopeless poverty while Lazarus was comforted. He lacked the robe of Christ's righteousness, which warns that worldly wealth cannot provide the righteousness needed to stand right with God.

Warning to Nation and Church

The rich man stands for the nation, which had received gifts and privileges, abundant temporal and spiritual blessings, and light meant to bless the world, yet failed to use them faithfully to serve God and relieve the need of others. His privileges did not make him right with God, for he had put Abraham where God should have been and failed to let God's Spirit shape his heart. The nation likewise trusted in being Abraham's descendants instead of serving God, neglected God's call, failed to reckon with eternity, and by that course brought ruin upon itself, with its failure exposed at the crisis.

This warning was one the Jews would remember when Jerusalem was destroyed, for as starvation and suffering came upon them they understood the parable and saw that their suffering followed from neglecting to let their God-given light shine to the world. The closing of the rich man's history shows the closing scenes of this earth's history. Though he claimed to be a son of Abraham, he was separated from Abraham by an impassable gulf, which is disobedience and character wrongly developed, because Abraham served God in faith and obedience while the rich man was unmindful of God and suffering humanity, loved worldly pleasure and display, indulged appetite, and chose the atmosphere of sin.

True descent from Abraham is not established by family lineage but by spiritual kinship and living in harmony with him, as shown by Abraham welcoming the lowly beggar into close friendship despite his low social standing. The same course is followed today by unconverted church members who profess to long after God while serving self, and who are no more righteous than the veriest sinner.

Duty Toward the Needy

The rich man's wealth, abundance, knowledge, and abilities were entrusted to him so that he could help the needy and show sympathy to them, but he lived for himself and left Lazarus suffering at his gate. Lazarus lacked friends, a home, money, and food in severe need, while the rich man had his needs supplied in abundance, and the reversal by which Lazarus is comforted and the rich man tormented warns that earthly abundance and hardship do not excuse neglect of those in need. His neglect was culpable because he knew God's commands and had the opportunity to practise them, yet used what was entrusted for his own pleasure and honor instead of caring for the needy and serving God. His pleasure, praise, and possessions had occupied him so completely that he neglected God's Word, his responsibility to help the needy, and the final account he owed God for his entrusted means and abilities.

Those with abundance are responsible for helping the poor by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and sheltering those without a home. Those who claim to be sons and daughters of God must not look on at the ruin being worked without effort to lift up a standard against it, but must become human channels through whom Christ communicates food and clothing and fitly spoken words to wretched, fallen, hopeless beings.

Selfish pleasure, luxury, and intemperate living are not the sum of happiness. The rich man was responsible to share his abundance with Lazarus but refused, lived intemperately and luxuriously, and lost his soul. Afterward he suffered and wished he could exchange places with Lazarus, and would have given all he possessed for the exchange. After death he remembered his heartless treatment of Lazarus and repeatedly called on him for relief across a fixed gulf that could not be crossed, and his appeal shows that he had no knowledge of God.

His neglect of Lazarus reveals a character shaped by disobedience and transgression, which separates him from Abraham by an impassable gulf, and earthly wealth cannot relieve suffering or provide for the future life. People who use God's entrusted means for extravagant, selfish living will face a reckoning and must answer to God for their stewardship. God sees how people use what they have, and each person's reward reflects how God's gifts were used, so that those who chose worldly wealth and pleasure for happiness but used entrusted means for themselves instead of helping the poor will face loss of riches and fame with no heavenly treasure or mansion awaiting them.

Enjoying the good things of life while making no use of God's gifts to serve His purposes and help people in need is warned against, and Dives is the example of such selfishness in making no right use of what God gave to be used for carrying out His purposes. Earthly wealth or status does not determine standing before God, for people of every race and station who trust and obey Christ belong to one family and share the hope of the redeemed. The poor who love Christ, who became poor so people could receive eternal riches, are not to be despised or neglected, and those who used their lifetime for self-gratification and refused to serve God or help the poor will find wealth and fame gone with no treasure laid up in heaven. The lesson applies not only to individuals but to sociological development: the colored people of the South lie like Lazarus full of sores at the gate of Dives, and the white race stands like Dives with heavy responsibility to devote a portion of its energies to their moral uplifting to higher standards of education and home life. Woe will come to Dives if this is not heeded, for seeking supremacy as an end in itself and overriding justice loses what is sought, while uplifting others uplifts oneself.