"There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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. 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. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Luke 16:19-31

Today many Christians believe that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a historical account of two individuals' literal experiences in the afterlife. On the basis of this belief, some people teach that those who are consigned to the fiery torments of hell will never stop burning throughout all eternity. As with the parable of the trees and the bramble (Judges 9:8-15), however, serious problems arise with a literal interpretation of the story elements:

1. Is it possible that Abraham's bosom would be large enough to accommodate all the saved that have died? Since many righteous people died before Abraham was born, did Abraham's literal bosom exist prior to his birth? And if these were possible, in whose bosom does Abraham rest?

2. If there really is a great gulf fixed between heaven and hell, how could the rich man possibly have been heard by Abraham?

3. How could the saints enjoy the comforts of heaven while enduring the cries of the wicked being tormented?

4. Apparently neither of the two leading characters spent very long in the grave-both taken quickly to their respective places of reward. Their bodies obviously came along, for we find the rich man lifting up his eyes, desiring to have his tongue cooled by a drop of water from the finger of Lazarus who was resting in Abraham's bosom. This contradicts those who seek to find in this parable a support for the false doctrine of immortal souls living on after the death of the earthly body; rather, this is simply more proof for a parable not to be taken literally, for enough graves have been exhumed in recent years to know that the bodies of the deceased are carried neither to heaven or hell after burial. They finally turn to dust and await the resurrection.

From these few examples, we begin to see that in this parable, Jesus was not trying to explain the physical realities of the afterlife, but that destiny is decided in this present life by the use made of its privileges and opportunities; the "gulf" represents the difference in moral character between the rich man and Lazarus; that it is "fixed" emphasizes the fact that after death character cannot be changed (see Isaiah 26:10). Jesus was rebuffing the prevalent notion that salvation was based on Abrahamic descent rather than upon character, and subsequently the unfaithfulness of the Jews (represented by the rich man) regarding their assigned responsibility. As stewards of God's special message of truth, they utterly failed to share it with the Gentiles (represented by Lazarus), who were eager to hear it. In fact, the entire chapter of Luke 16 is devoted to the subject of stewardship.

The words of Isaiah were well known to the Jews, "I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." Isaiah 49:6. Instead of sharing their spiritual wealth with the Gentiles, the Jews considered them as "dogs" who would have to be satisfied with the spiritual crumbs falling from their masters' tables. The metaphor was known. Jesus had used it before, testing the faith of the Canannite woman, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." She responded accordingly: "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Matthew 15:26, 27.

Jesus thus rebuked the Pharisees for their disregard of the Scriptures, foreseeing that even a supernatural event would not change the hearts of those who persistently rejected the teachings of "Moses and the prophets." The miracle of raising the real-life Lazarus from the dead soon afterward confirmed the accuracy of Jesus' conclusion. One did rise from the dead, yet the brothers of the "rich man" did not repent. In fact, the Pharisees even plotted to kill Lazarus after his resurrection. His very life was a reminder to them of their own hypocrisy.

The reference to "Moses and the prophets" was a common designation for the canonical writings of the Old Testament in the days of Jesus (see Matthew 5:17; 7:12; 22:40; Luke 16:16; 24:27, 44; Acts 13:15; 28:23). Again and again Jesus pointed to the Old Testament as being of the highest value in matters of faith and doctrine, and, as here, recommended it to His hearers as a safe, sufficient, and sure guide to salvation and an authoritative source of information for people in this life concerning the future life. (see Matthew 5:17-19; Luke 24:25, 27, 44; John 5:39, 45-47). The rich man had had ample warning of the fate that awaited men who chose to live as he had lived-apparently he had not found the Old Testament convincing evidence, and doubted that his five brothers would. Those who today lightly cast aside the solemn messages of the Old Testament would do well to ponder the fate of the rich man of this parable who, though he had had access to "Moses and the prophets," had not been profited thereby.

This is the only recorded instance where Jesus gave one of the characters in a parable a name (Lazarus), a procedure made necessary in this case because of the dialogue of the parable (see Luke 16:23-31). The Greek "Lazaros," a name derived from the common Hebrew name "'El'azar" (see Exodus 6:23), means "God has helped." It is to be observed that the name is most appropriate to the spiritual condition of the man in the parable who bears it.

Sometimes attention is called to the fact that Jesus does not state that the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a parable, at least apparently in so far as Luke's account goes, whereas, elsewhere parables are usually so labeled (Matthew 13:3, 24, 33, 44, 45, 47). But it should be pointed out that although Jesus usually introduced a parable either by stating that it was a parable or by saying that the kingdom of heaven was like a person or a thing in the specific circumstances He then proceeded to relate, He did not always do so (see Luke 15:8, 11; 16:1 for examples). The same is true of various Old Testament parables such as those of Judges 9:8-15 and 2 Kings 14:9, yet no one professes to believe that because these parables are not clearly labeled as such they are to be taken literally.

The question may arise, "Why would Jesus introduce into a parable figurative illustrations that do not accurately represent truth as clearly set forth elsewhere in the Scriptures, and particularly in His own literal statements?" The answer is that He was meeting people on their own ground. Many in the audience-without the least Old Testament Scriptural reason for doing so-had come to believe in the doctrine of a conscious state of existence between death and the resurrection. This erroneous belief, which does not appear in the Old Testament, pervades post-exilic Jewish literature in general, and like many other traditional beliefs, had become a part of Judaism by the time of Jesus (see Mark 7:7-13). In this parable Jesus simply made use of a popular belief in order thereby to make forcibly clear an important lesson He sought to plant in the minds of His hearers. It may also be noted that in the preceding parable, that of the Dishonest Steward (Luke 16:1-12), Jesus neither commended nor approved of the dishonest steward's course of action, although that action constitutes the main part of the story (see verse 8). Even the modernist International Critical Commentary comments as follows on verse 22: "The general principle is maintained that bliss and misery after death are determined by conduct previous to death; but the details of the picture are taken from Jewish beliefs as to the condition of souls in Sheol (see Proverbs 15:11), and must not be understood as confirming those beliefs."

Those who believe this parable to be literal will state that "Abraham's bosom" is only a figure of speech, that the saints are not literally all resting in his "bosom." And they will also declare that the proximity of heaven and hell, here pictured close enough together for communication, is also purely figurative. But the moment they admit that these and other obviously figurative portions of the parable are not to be taken literally, they concede the figurative character of the entire parable. If they are unwilling to admit that the entire parable is figurative, they are forced to concede that their decision as to whether one part is or is not to be taken figuratively is simply a matter of their own arbitrary choice, and not based on any clearly defined and consistent principle of interpretation.