Luke 16:19-31 - The Punishment of the Man Who Never Noticed

Luke 16:19 ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” 25But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” 27He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” 29Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” 30He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” 31He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’

Background: Chapter 15 of Luke focuses on how precious human beings are to God and to what great lengths God will go to have relationship with us. Chapter 16 turns to how prone human beings are to put things other than God first, especially the acquisition of wealth. In this chapter we see the hard results that come to people who put their trust into wealth. Today’s lesson is one of the harshest in the Bible. Jesus has just spoken sternly to the Pharisees about their love of money. Now he tells a story designed as a warning about the consequences of that love. As hard as this chapter seems to our relatively affluent ears, it presents a message that is consistent throughout Luke. From the moment of Mary’s song in which she declares that the lowly will be elevated and the rich sent away empty all the way through Jesus’ sermon on the plain in which he tells us that the poor are the truly blessed, Luke’s Gospel has emphasized the spiritual dangers of unexamined wealth and accumulation. This parable is the pinnacle of that theme.

Remember: This parable is told to those whose relationship with money and wealth is getting in the way of their faithfulness. It is not about heaven and hell. It is about what hampers faith and the great chasm that exists between the love of money and the values of the kingdom of God.

Pattern: The parable is told as a play in three acts. It is created in a familiar Egyptian pattern depicting two worlds within two worlds.

Word Study
Vs. 19 – purple and fine linen – this description indicated that the man was a high official or maybe even of a royal line. High priests clothes were made of these expensive fabrics and the Roman government had strict rules as to whom could
wear purple and how much was permissible. The long and short is that this is a description of extreme wealth.
Feasted – this is the word for expensive gourmet food. The fact that one would eat like this everyday was truly incomprehensible.
Vs. 20 – gate – the house of the rich man was separated for privacy and security.
Lazarus – the poor man is the only person ever given a name in one of Jesus’ parables. The name means ‘God is our help.’
Sores – the contrast is between the rich man dressed in purple and the poor man dressed in sores.
Vs. 21 - To satisfy – a word usually used for the feeding of animals.
What fell from the rich man’s table – meals were not served with cutlery and napkins. People ate with their hands. Rich people wiped the oil and scraps from their hands with hunks of bread that were tossed under the table for the animals or thrown away over the gates. This is what Lazarus hopes to eat.
Dogs licked his sores – the ultimate degradation in that day.
Vs. 22 – the poor man died – obviously of starvation and disease
Carried away by the angels – no one on earth takes care of his body.
The rich man died and was buried – according to the law.
Vs. 23 – Hades – This is not hell as we think of it today. Hades was understood as the place where the dead went to await final judgment. People believed that Hades had levels where one waited based on one’s deeds.
Abraham – the father of Hebrew faith. Abraham is always a symbol for faithfulness and righteousness. Lazarus is waiting with the most faithful.
Vs. 24 – Father Abraham – the rich man obviously thinks of himself as a faithful person who is one of the chosen people.
Send Lazarus – here we see the man’s lack of awareness. He still thinks of Lazarus as a servant that Abraham can send to help him.
Vs. 25 – The scriptures reference justice as an eternal balancing of the scales.
Vs. 26 – chasm – this word has levels of meaning. It highlights the chasm between the rich and the poor both in the here and now and the hereafter.
No one can cross– shut off. No one can reach across it.
Vs. 28 – torment – the word first meant testing of coins and came to mean torture.
Vs. 29 – Moses and the prophets – Hebrew teaching made clear that care for the poor and suffering was to come first in one’s life. Just one example is seen in Deut. 15:7 “Do not be hard hearted and tight fisted toward your needy neighbor.”
Vs. 31 – For those who hear the story after Jesus’ death and resurrection there is still the mystifying question: ‘How can it be that One could rise from the dead and still some will not repent?’

Questions for Personal Reflection
1. How do you see the chasm between the rich and the poor playing itself out in our day?
2. Why do you think that Jesus chose to give the poor man a name but left the rich man nameless?
3. Who are the unseen sufferers in our world today?