The  Great Divide.

Most people know the story of the Rich Man and the poor beggar, Lazarus.  It’s found in Luke 16:19-31 where Jesus is teaching his followers. Jesus told this story in the form of a parable to bring home a pointed lesson.  The Lord often spoke in parables to teach a moral lesson which people could understand.  He used familiar locations and as well as various themes…. using types of people familiar to that culture.  The Lord never wasted an opportunity to relay spiritual truths.  This parable like all of his stories had multiple layers of meaning.

This parable is often told to illustrate that those who are faithful in this life, will be rewarded in the life to come.  In other words the faithful ones will receive their place in heaven.  Or in this case it was “Abraham’s bosom.” The Rich Man, whose name is not given, sees Lazarus in the heavenly realm and pleads with him for just a drop of water on his parched tongue.  However, there is a great gulf between them.  They are able to see each other but cannot cross this gulf.  Then the Rich Man tells Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers of their pending doom unless they change their life.  His reply was, “They have the law and the prophets let them listen to them.”  (NIV)

So what is the real take on this story?  Is this a story about life after death?

We must look to Jewish life in the 1^st c. to really understand its meaning. The scribes, teachers and Pharisees believed that God rewards those who do His will.  They taught that the place of the dead was called Sheol.  The New Testament Greek equivalent to Sheol is Hades, which is also a general reference to “the place of the dead.” The souls of the righteous, at death, go directly into the presence of God… “Heaven,” “Paradise, “or “Abraham’s bosom.” Perhaps this the way you have always thought of this parable. However, we need to know the background of Jewish teaching.

Our Master, Jeshua, was speaking to His followers as well as those who doubted Him.  They knew about Sheol and the Great Divide as taught by the scribes. They had studied the Hebrew Scriptures and it was their general belief that a great gulf separated the wicked from those in Paradise.   They also understood that the Rich Man was perhaps, a Sadducee.  The Sadducees were a sect of Judaism and were the officials who were in control of the temple. Unlike the Pharisees, they did not believe in the afterlife, angels or resurrection of the dead.  Jesus is poking a hole in their thinking.

As Jesus (Jeshua) described the soul of Lazarus being carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom, He spoke in the common terms and idioms of Pharisaic theology to describe the death of the righteous.

So if Jesus isn’t talking about life after death what is He saying?  Think about this.

• Jesus did not tell this parable to teach us about the afterlife. He assumed that His listeners already understood those basic principles.  He spoke to a Jewish audience with a general Jewish expectation.  His depiction of the afterlife was incidental to the story.  He wanted to convey a moral lesson about caring for the poor.  The Rich Man should have given Lazarus a place at his table.  Those who receive good things in this life and not share with those who need help are like the Rich Man.  “The first shall be last and the last first.” Sound familiar?

• Finally the Master used this parable to speak of his own death and resurrection. Those who refused to believe him and heed his message of repentance would continue in their disbelief even after His resurrection. The main point of this parable is the message of repentance and forgiveness. Seeing oneself as needy and seeking God in all things.

The lesson to be learned here is this.  We seek God in our repentance, in our humility before Him.  We prove our love by helping our fellow man.  We share the story of His love with tangible evidence of our discipleship.  John, the Baptizer said (Matthew 3: 1-3)

“Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”