"Ye cannot serve God and Mammon" said Jesus. The listening Pharisees derided him when they heard that saying; they had, in their own opinion, long since learned how to make the best of both worlds. It is likely that the complacent smiles were quickly swept off their arrogant faces when Jesus proceeded to relate the story of Dives and Lazarus

The account is preserved only in the 16^th chapter of Luke's Gospel. There was a certain rich man, said Jesus, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate.

So far the story ran true to everyday experience. Beggars squatting at the outer portals of rich men's houses were a familiar enough sight in the days of Jesus. They existed on such bounty as the householders chose to give them, supplemented by the charity of passers by. This particular beggar was like so many of them, a pitiable wreck of a man , clothed in rags, disease-ridden, his only companions the carrion dogs which were always prowling about the city and like him existing on such scraps of food as came their way. The Pharisees in the group listened to these opening words with barely concealed indifference: the situation was one with which they were thoroughly familiar and which they considered a normal feature of society. No reason existed for trying for trying to change it or mitigate its evils. So they listened with only detached interest.

But the next words brought them up with a jolt. The beggar died, and was carried into Abraham's bosom. He was buried and found himself in Hades.

Eyebrows contracted and lips were pursed at this. There is a story in the Babylonian Talmud, a story with which those Pharisees were certainly familiar, of somewhat similar character, but in that story the Pharisee is taken into the joys of the presence of God and the publican is condemned to the torment of thirst. It is fairly evident that Jesus, who also must have been familiar with the same old legend, deliberately based this parable upon that story but reversed the respective fates of the two characters.

Knowing that, it is easy to see that this parable is intended to show up the utter unworthiness of the Pharisees and the nation they represented, their ultimate loss of all the good things they enjoyed as the "chosen nation", and the reception into Divine favour of those previously outside the pale.

The traditional Jewish background of the story is very noticeable. There is no mention of God the Father nor of Christ the Son; no reference to Heaven the home of the faithful of Christ, the earthly Messianic Kingdom which is to be the "desire of all nations", or the Atonement, by means of which salvation comes to man. Instead, we have Abraham, Moses and the prophets, angels, "Abraham's bosom", and Hades, all essentially matters of Jewish interest. The Hades of the parable is not the Old Testament Hades (sheol ‑ the grave) but the Hades of Rabbinic speculation, modelled after Greek thought rather than Hebrew. There is no reason therefore for thinking that the parable has anything to teach about the future and wicked after death. There is nothing said about the moral standing of the two characters. Lazarus is not said to be righteous nor Dives wicked. (The name "Dives", often applied to the rich man but not appearing in the A.V., is the Latin for "rich man" and comes from the early Latin Bibles in Britain). And even if Lazarus is conceded to be righteous there is no justification for assuming that the expression "Abraham's bosom" is synonymous with Heaven.

How then can we apply this parable? The rich man was a picture of the Pharisees and, by extension, the whole of the unbelieving Jewish nation. For more than a thousand years they had been the chosen people of God "to be a light to the Gentiles, to declare his salvation to the ends of the earth". By virtue of the Covenant made at Sinai hey were guaranteed all possible material blessings, "blessed in basket and in store", safety from their enemies, and the privilege of being God's blessing to all families of the earth should come. In symbolic language, they were clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. In that position the Pharisees boasted themselves. "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man.".

That order of things came to an end when Jesus declared "Your house is left unto you desolate" and when, having rejected and crucified the Lord of glory, the favoured position of Israel came to an utter and disastrous end in the overthrow of the nation directly after the Crucifixion, and its dispersal among the nations. Truly "the rich man died and was buried.".

Lazarus, on the contrary, enjoyed an improvement of status. His life of misery came to and end and he found himself transported into "Abraham's bosom". The allusion has two explanatory instances in the Gospels. To lie in the bosom of a superior or a friend was a mark of great favour; the custom of reclining a meals with each person's head in the bosom of his neighbour implied that the one next to the host was to be envied. At the Last Supper it is John who is found to be "leaning on Jesus' bosom" (Jno.13 23). Jesus himself, in his close relationship with the Father, is said to be "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father" (Jno.1 18.) So with Lazarus; he is translated, not to Heaven, but to a position of close relationship with Abraham. The fact makes it fairly obvious that Jesus is alluding to the truth He uttered in such plain terms when on another occasion He said to these same Pharisees, again as representing their nation, "the kingdom of God is taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." (Matt.21:43).

Lazarus is intended to picture the despised and outcast Gentiles who at last enter into the high calling of God, as they did do under the preaching of the Apostles, becoming spiritual children of Abraham (Gal.3 7‑8). The eleventh chapter of Romans makes I clear that the fruitless olive branches were broken off and wild olive branches (i.e. the Gentiles) were grafted in. Lazarus in Abraham's bosom pictures the Christian Church of all nations and peoples classed as children of Abraham and hence, as Galatians declares, "heirs according to the promise".

In the meantime the rich man is in Hades "in torments". This used to be a "key" text to urge the reality of the "everlasting fires", but critical study soon shows that this position cannot reasonably be maintained. The word rendered "hell" here is "hades", the death state, not "gehenna", which is final doom. Hades is a temporary condition, for the time will come that Death and Hades are to be cast into the lake of fire (Rev.20 13-14), i.e. be themselves destroyed or brought to an end. Another and a most important consideration is that the sojourn of Dives in Hades begins to have a remedial effect; the one who in his lifetime gave evidence of inherent selfishness and lack of consideration for others in that Lazarus only got the crumbs which fell from his table is now displaying concern for the fate of his brothers. "I have five brethren; (send Lazarus) that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." He still calls Abraham "Father" and the latter still calls him "Son" (vs.25) which does not look as if the rich man's case is hopeless. The word rendered "torment" In vss.23 and 28 "in hades he lifted his eyes, being in torments" is from "basanos" which properly denotes a touchstone or stone (basonite), used for testing gold. Genuine gold, rubbed on this particular kind of stone, left a characteristic mark, hence the word at first indicated the trial or test of genuineness. Since judicial trial in ancient times almost always employed torture to extract confessions, the word when used judicially came to mean "torture", hence the translation "torment" in this instance. That it need not carry this meaning is shown by other occurrences of the word in the New Testament, such as:

Matt.8. 6. "Sick of the palsy, grievously tormented".

Matt.4. 24. "Sick persons...divers diseases and torments.".

Mark 6. 48. "He saw them toiling in rowing".

Matt.14. 24. "Midst of the sea, tossed with waves."

The rich man, then, during his sojourn in Hades, is undergoing a severe, harrowing trial which nevertheless must come to an end sometime because Hades itself is but a temporary condition. That is an apt symbol of Israel's "Hades" experience during the period between the First and Second Advents. Scattered among all nations, deprived of citizenship and country of her own, she has been the victim of oppression and cruelty in every land.

But God has declared that He will eventually restore Israel to a destined place in his purposes where she shall fulfil her original destiny to convey Divine blessing to me. "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee...and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." (Isa.60:1,3).

The word "tormented" in vss.24 and 25 is from "odunomai" which signifies anguish, pain or distress of any kind, as in:

Luke 2:48. "Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing."

Acts 20:38. "Sorrowing most of all."

Rom.9:2. "Continual sorrow in my heart."

1 Tim.6:10. "Pierced through with may sorrows."

So the rich man in his distress beheld Lazarus enjoying the felicity of communion with Abraham and cried out for some small moiety of relief. "Send Lazarus that he may...cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame." And Abraham had to tell him that what he asked was impossible. "Between us and you there is a great gulf (Gr. Chasma) fixed" a chasm which effectually precluded any passage from the one side to the other. It was not that Abraham would not relieve; it was that he could not.

What is the gulf? As regards the people of Israel, it is the immutable purpose of God! When the Most High decrees judgment, none can set it aside. From the day that the unreasoning crowd cried "His blood be upon us and upon our children" (Matt.27:25) the Jewish nation entered into a condition from which they cannot and will not be delivered until in the outworking of the Divine Plan the "fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom.11:25). When, at the end of this Age, the Christian Church is complete and joined to her Lord in Heaven, and the "residue of men" (Acts 15:17) are ready to "seek after the Lord", then will God "build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down" (Acts 15:16) and manifest a restored and purified Israel nation in the midst of the earth to play its own destined part in the evangelising of the world.

The parable does not go that far, for there is still one lesson, the most solemn lesson of all, to be taught, and Jesus would fain leave the Pharisees with that word. The rich man was concerned about his brethren; he wanted one from the dead to go to them that in the wonder of that happening they might find conviction. "They have Moses and the prophets" said Abraham "Let them hear them". True enough; Israel always had Moses and the prophets, and Christ said that if they had rightly heard Moses and the prophets they would have believe him, for in those writings lay the evidence of his Messiahship.

The rich man dissented; even though his brethren rejected Moses and the prophets ‑ and he did not dispute the fact of their having done so ‑ yet a visitation from the dead would convince them. That gave the opportunity for one of the most telling phrases which ever fell from the lips of Jesus. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead" (vs.31). The whole history of Israel, from the First Advent until now, is evidence of the truth of that word. Jesus rose from the dead; they still did not believe!

The parable ends with the rich man still in Hades. But Abraham called him "Son" and he called Abraham "Father"; and Hades will one day pass away. So there is a bright gleam behind the dark horizon of the picture. There is still hope.

AOH

Is it wrong to be rich?

When we read the story of Dives and Lazarus, it seems at first that Dives, the rich man, is simply condemned for being rich. It makes a very pointed story that the situations of beggar and plutocrat are reversed after death.

Scripture often speaks against the rich. Without making a study of it, one calls readily to mind Jesus' saying concerning the 'Rich Fool' who at death lost all the possessions he had gathered together, or the case of the 'Rich Young Ruler' whose possessions prevented him from becoming a disciple, or the severe words found in James ch.5.

"And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches for these last days. You have not paid any wages to the men who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty......" (Jas.5:1-4 GNB)

Is it the case that the possession of riches inevitably has a corrupting effect? Or is the question at issue not the possession of riches but how they are obtained, and how they are used.

A commentary has this to say about Dives in the story.

"Why is Dives so uncompromisingly condemned? .... He was not obviously a bad or cruel man. He is not said to have been deliberately cruel to Lazarus. He did not, as it were, kick him in the passing; he did not order him to be removed from his gate; he seems even to have been perfectly willing that Lazarus should be fed with the hunks of wasted bread that fell from his table.

"The sin of Dives was simply this - he accepted Lazarus as part of the landscape and of the permanent conditions of life. He accepted the fact without question that he himself should move in purple and fine linen and fare sumptuously every day while Lazarus should lie, starving and full of sores, at his gate. He could look at Lazarus and feel no answering sword of grief or pity pierce his heart. It never even dawned on him that it had anything to do with him. It was nothing to him as he passed by. His condemnation is the condemnation of the man who saw the piteous pageant of the world's need and who never even felt that he should do something about it. And what made his sin worse was that need and suffering were on his own doorstep." (Barclay, in 'And Jesus Said')

Jesus taught that when He comes to reign, those who are chosen to possess the kingdom will be those who cared for the poor, using their possessions to do so. It is a challenge for us, who perhaps are not very rich and yet are not completely destitute. Do we have the wisdom to understand, in our own situation, in what ways we can best obey His teaching?

Steward or owner?

Do you consider yourself a steward of your money and property, or are you the owner of it? The right, scriptural way to look on yourself is as a steward, not an owner. The time is coming when our stewardship will end. Then we shall enter into the possession of what is our true inheritance.

The steward has to give an account of his stewardship. This is not to say that our salvation depends on our conduct as stewards, for we are saved by grace, grace alone, and not by works. But this very fact should make us earnestly grateful, and show our gratitude by consistent conduct.

What is appropriate for us is to be faithful stewards. This brings its reward here and now to a great extent, while we are living. In the world to come the reward given by grace will be proportionate to our faithfulness in this life.

Thoughts based on George Muller, 1880.

The Temptation to feel that people are not worth loving

The world is lamentably short of outgoing love. Part of the reason for this is because it is so much easier to love among our own circle, or at least to love those who will return our love. Although we do not express it in so many words. I believe that one of the reasons why so few people venture to give themselves for the sake of other people is because they feel that "people are not really worth it". But who are we, who call ourselves Christians, "saved", … "the Church" ? In what way do we think we were "worth it", when Christ visited this earth to save us? In the eyes of Heaven this whole sin-infected, blundering human race could hardly have seemed worthy of the highest sacrifice which God could make for its redemption. Yet love took the initiative and bore unspeakable contradiction, misunderstanding, and humiliation to win us to Himself. To quote John's words, "if God so loved us we ought also to love one another".

This sense of first being loved and then being willing to give oneself in love is the secret of a life such as that of Paul. I mention Paul simply because we know a fair amount about his life, but there must have been hundreds of others whose names we do not even know who gave themselves similarly in love to the world around them; yet how rare is that love found in the church today among its ordinary members. Thank God, there are exceptions in all the churches, men and women who will go into the dark and messy situations of human life to bring the light and order of Christ. There are at this moment thousands of such people scattered throughout the world - doctors, nurses, pastors, teachers, social workers of all kinds - who make tremendous sacrifices because they are impelled by the love of Christ. But they are a tiny minority compared with the membership figures of all the churches….. The real lack is the lack of love. Not enough people have realised the love of God and his tremendous purpose. Not enough have so exxperienced His love that they are prepared to love other people at considerable personal cost…

J B Phillips in New Testament Christianity 1958