Lazarus

“Lazarus”

(Luke 16:19-31)

The Greenhouse ~ 15th Sunday after Trinity

The parable we encounter today, the story of the rich man and Lazarus, has many unique qualities. First, we don’t get the formula of many of Jesus’ parables, “the kingdom of heaven is like.” Instead, we get “There was a certain man who was wealthy.” Such a beginning is not so surprising, however, as Luke records Jesus as saying something similar in 15:11, “a certain man had two sons,” and almost verbatim in 16:1, “there was a certain man who was wealthy,” to start the parable of the dishonest steward. Interestingly, we have already seen how the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son (prodigal son) are linked together. This phrase “there was a certain man” now links together the lost son (prodigal son), the dishonest manager, and the rich man and Lazarus. This story, like the first three stories of something lost, emphasizes repentance.[1] A second unique feature of this story is the naming of one its characters. Jesus consistently tells parables about nameless characters so that the message is more universal. For example, in this series of parables, we get a shepherd, a woman, a father, his two sons, a manager, and a master. Now we get a certain wealthy man. None of them are named. Nor are other characters in Jesus’ other parables. Yet verse 20 names the poor man as Lazarus. Such a unique move requires some comment, especially because the naming of Lazarus potentially influences our understanding of this story.

Why name Lazarus, then? First, naming Lazarus is an act of reversal of prestige. As the story goes, in this life, a certain man was wealthy and feasted regularly at people’s tables. We can imagine him as a universal, archetypical character. He represents a wealthy class of people who have few, if any, cares in the world because their wealth provides them the security, status, and social capital that they need. This certain wealthy man, like many other wealthy persons, has no time or attention for the lowly of society. Those lower than he can provide him nothing, so he does not pay them any attention. Lazarus, by contrast, longs for merely the crumbs that fall from the table, but he receives nothing but the pity of dogs who come and lick his sores. Lazarus is completely ignored; Eugene Peterson calls him the “invisible man,” and he appears so—not even noticed enough to be rejected, simply ignored. However, upon the death of both, Lazarus finds himself in comfort at Abraham’s side, while the rich man finds himself in torment in Hades. The reversal is astounding. The one who suffered so much in life now in comfort in death; but the one who experienced such comfort in life is now suffering in death. By naming Lazarus, he receives the dignity in the story of being noticed. No longer invisible, indeed, he is even named. The rich man suffers in the obscurity of death, paradigmatic of a life led poorly though he was rich, perhaps because he was rich.

Additionally, some scholars suggest a third reason that Lazarus is named. Perhaps he is meant to represent Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Mary and Martha and friend of Jesus. In this case, it is not a literal story of Lazarus’ own death, but the ending of the parable about one rising from the dead fits the context well. Jesus says that if they reject Moses and the prophets, even if one rises from the dead, they would not repent. A miracle of this caliber would seem to be something that would wake us up to the reality of who Jesus is, but the historical reality is that Lazarus being raised from the dead led not to repentance, but to murderous intent. When Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in John 11, though some believe, many go and tell the Pharisees, who respond by hatching a plan to kill Jesus (11:53) and Lazarus (12:10-11).

The uniqueness of this parable nevertheless draws our attention to several truths common to Jesus’ teaching elsewhere. We will briefly explore three.

First, the inclusion of Lazarus at the side of Abraham speaks to a consistent theme of Jesus’ ministry: though the world ignores the outcasts of society—the lame, the blind, the weak, the poor, women, and children—Jesus seeks those very people for His kingdom. From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus declared this mission as evidence of His Messianic identity. In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth, stands up with the scroll of Isaiah, and reads:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim release

to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed,

to proclaim the year

of the Lord’s favor”

(Luke 4:18-19, CSB, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2)

He then hands back the scroll, sits down, and says this Scripture has been fulfilled this day in their presence. Jesus makes clear that His mission will include, indeed will begin with, the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed. Paul declares similarly in 1 Corinthians 1 how God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, and God chose what is low and despised in the world (even things that are not) to bring to nothing things that are. Lazarus embodies the mission of Jesus to bring outcasts into His family, yet those who trust in their own wealth find themselves outside the family of God.

Second, we must avoid the danger of making this passage all about the afterlife. Though the context of the story is the “afterlife,” this parable seems to put little to no emphasis on the afterlife, other than to show that the roles of the rich man and Lazarus, who suffers and who is in comfort, are reversed. Beyond this reversal, Jesus places no emphasis on the afterlife, and we should likewise not make too much of something that Jesus leaves unexamined. Consequently, we should not draw too many theological conclusions on the topic and nature of the afterlife from this passage, especially since it is a parable and not Jesus’ main concern.

Third, we must explore what Jesus’ main concern is, if not the afterlife. In his discussion on raising someone from the dead, Jesus says it won’t help those who are determined not to believe. Jesus makes clear that the words of Moses and the prophets speak to the identity and mission of Jesus, and someone who rejects Jesus on those grounds will not change their mind based on miracles. Throughout the gospels, Jesus establishes His identity as Israel’s Messiah with the Old Testament Scriptures. In John 5, Jesus says that the religious leaders pore over the Scriptures thinking they have eternal life in them, but these same Scriptures testify about him (v. 39). He goes on to say, “For if you believed in Moses, you would believe in me, because he wrote about me. But if you don’t believe his words, how will you believe my words?” (vv. 46-47).[2] If you don’t believe in Moses’ word, how will you believe in my words? We can hear echoes here of Luke 16. If they don’t believe in Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if one rises from the dead. This parable draws our attention to the evidence we have that ought to move our hearts to repentance. What we must know about Jesus has already been spoken in the Old Testament Scriptures, and for us today, we now have further witness in the New Testament Scriptures. The Scriptures bear witness to Jesus, His mission, and our responsibility to repent. We should not wait until it is too late, nor should we wait for some astounding miracle. Rather, read the Scriptures, find Jesus revealed in them, and repent and worship Him as Lord and King.

Though we may not be rich like this man in the parable, we are much more secure than Lazarus and many others in the world of his day and ours. Our security, as much as I desire it, can become a threat to our faithfulness. Depend on Jesus, not earthly goods. Like Jesus, see the invisible man for who he is, a creature created in God’s image and possessing a name, an identity, and an inherent worth. If we could but take the focus off ourselves for a moment, perhaps we would have eyes to see the one who is hurting and be God’s hands and feet to bring healing. Like Jesus, let’s preach good news to the poor because the message of Jesus is indeed good news. Let’s bring release to the captive and freedom to the oppressed, both literally and spiritually.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do we have the tendency to turn away from and ignore the poor and needy?

2. How does having a name (or knowing someone’s name) change our relationship with them and our responsibility to them?

3. How can we balance the need to proclaim the gospel with the need to meet real-world problems and injustices?

4. What are some situations where we are waiting for some miraculous sign from God when the truth is plain if we would simply study the Scriptures?

[1]It is quite possible, then, that we should understand contextually that the dishonest manager repents of his sin, even though it is not explicitly stated. This would perhaps soften the fear some interpreters feel at Jesus seemingly praising the dishonest manager.

[2]See also Luke 24 on the road to Emmaus, where Jesus says that everything written in Moses and the prophets (v. 27) and in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms (v. 44) speak of Him.

Feature Image: The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, Workshop of Domenico Fetti. Public Domain.