There is some speculation about whether this account of the rich man and Lazarus is an actual historical account rather than a parable. However, since it begins like the previous par­able about the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-18) and continues many of its themes, most Bible scholars do count this as one of Christ’s parables.

This is certainly one of the most solemn parables. Though it tells us about two men, its focus is clearly on the rich man. In verse 14, Luke tells us that the Pharisees were covetous, so it seems reasonable that this rich man was a Pharisee himself, or at least someone whom the Pharisees would have esteemed. He certainly enjoyed many earthly comforts and set his heart upon them. He was well dressed and lived lavishly. Outside his door lived a beggar, Laza­rus, who lived on scraps from his table. This poor beggar was covered with sores and seemed the picture of misery.

However, death changed the scene drastically for both of these men. The rich man went to hell, the place of torment. Lazarus, on the other hand, was brought to heaven with all its comforts, to the bosom of Abraham. The gulf between heaven and hell is fixed and his sentence irreversible; the rich man would never be able to arrive in heaven. However, the parable portrays him lifting up his eyes and seeing Abraham and Lazarus in paradise. In great thirst, he begs Abraham to send Lazarus with a drop of water to cool his tongue. But Abraham reminds him of the good things in his lifetime, and also of the great gulf which separates them now. No one can pass from heaven into hell or from hell into heaven.

The rich man then begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his brothers about the dangers of hell, so that they might be spared coming there. But, Abraham answers, they have Moses and the prophets, which are enough to teach them what they need to know about the life to come. If they would not heed those words, they would not heed one who rises from the dead either.

Privileges will not keep you from hell⤒🔗

The first lesson that the parable clearly teaches is that earthly privileges will not keep a person from hell. Some have thought that this man’s sin was that he was rich, but neither the par­able nor any passage in Scripture teaches that. It is true that riches are often a snare – it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Mark 10:25). But as riches cannot save a person, neither can they themselves condemn anyone to hell.

This rich man had another privilege besides financial riches. Notice that Abraham addresses him as a son of Abra­ham (v. 25). Like his brothers, he had evidently been raised with the Word of God, Moses and the prophets (v. 31). Like the Pharisees to whom Jesus was speaking in this chapter, he was likely a faithful and respected member of the synagogue. All these things were privileges. But he failed to progress with them and to seek God’s blessing upon these privileges, and thus they did him no good in the end. This son of Abraham never made it to Abraham’s bosom in heaven. He lacked the faith of Abraham, who believed God and had it accounted to him for righteousness. The Scriptures warn us that outward religious privileges do not always trans­late to inward reality: “They are not all Israel that are of Israel” (Rom. 9:6).

Lazarus lacked many of the rich man’s outward privileges, but as the meaning of his name (“God helps him”) suggests, he had a helper in the Lord. God blessed him spiritually so he had something far better than the rich man:

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord.Ps. 146:6

The rich man may have been able to secure whatever help he needed for himself in life, but he was utterly helpless here in hell.

Prayer will not get you out of hell←⤒🔗

Undoubtedly, the rich man had prayed during his life. After all, he was a son of Abraham. However, his prayers would probably have been like those of the Pharisee from another parable, who prayed: “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men” (Luke 18:11). If only the rich man had learned truly to pray for help and mercy during his life. Now that he was in hell, he cried out to Abraham, even saying, “I pray thee...” (v. 27). But what the rich man was doing was not prayer at all. He prayed for mercy, but he prayed to Abraham instead of to God. He prayed for relief from his punishment, but not for pardon. He understood that he was now in tor­ment from which he desperately wanted relief, but he didn’t confess the guilt that brought him there. And the basic fact is that the gulf was fixed. In hell, prayer cannot and will not change anything.

Not even this man’s request to Abraham that Lazarus be sent to his brothers was answered. Some have wondered how someone in hell could desire the salvation of others; many have questioned the motives of the rich man regarding his brothers. The parable does not explain his motives. However, this much is clear: heaven will never listen to hell’s demands. In his life, this rich man could have simply snapped his fin­gers and water, wine, and all sorts of enjoyments would be brought to him. In hell, however, not the slightest or even the most pious-sounding request can or will be heard.

What will keep you from hell←⤒🔗

The last four verses of the parable use four words that shed light on what is able to keep a person from going down into hell.

1. Testimony. The rich man requested that Lazarus “testify” to his brothers (v. 28). This term “to testify” is often used in the New Testament. It means to witness earnestly to the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. Jesus (John 3:32) and the apostles (Acts 18:5) testified. The Scrip­tures (John 5:39) and the Holy Spirit (John 15:26) also testify to the truth of the gospel. Whatever the rich man’s motive may have been, Scripture makes clear that if we are to escape hell, we desperately need the testimony of the Scriptures and the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit in our consciences and hearts.

2. Hearing. Abraham responded to the rich man:

  They have Moses and the prophets; let they hear them.Luke 16:29

To be delivered from going to hell, we need to truly hear the Scriptures, that is, to heed the calls that they contain.

3. Repentance. The rich man answered Abraham:

 Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. Luke 16:30

This man had tragically refused to repent himself, but did point out that repentance was what his brothers needed. Indeed, true repentance will save a man from going down into hell.

4. Persuasion. The final words of the parable come from the lips of Abraham.

If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.Luke 16:31

Remember that Abraham himself, while in life, did not enjoy the privilege of having Moses and the prophets. However, he was a man of faith in God. As Hebrews 11:13 explicitly states, he was “persuaded” of the promises and died in faith. In this parable, he pointed out the value and sufficiency of Scripture for salvation. We need to be persuaded that what the Word of God says about ourselves, about God, and about the way of salvation is real and true. If only this son of Abraham had possessed a living faith and persuasion! It would have kept him from hell.

Questions←⤒🔗

1. Draw up a ledger of the “good things” and the “evil things” that we read about in v. 25 for both the rich man and Lazarus. Discuss what this means for how we should look at this life. Compare this with the message of Psalm 73.
    
2. Why did Jesus speak more about hell than anyone else in the Bible? What value is there in preaching and studying the doctrine of hell?
    
3. Some form of the word “torment” occurs four times in this passage. Why did Christ repeat this word? Some­one said that the hell of hell will be “son, remember” (v. 25). Explain what that person might have meant.
    
4. The rich man thinks that if someone rose from the dead, people would believe him. Is that what hap­pened when Christ rose from the dead?
    
5. How does verse 31 prove the principle of the suffi­ciency of Scripture? What practical implications does this principle have?