Reflective Bible Study

The parable we will be focusing on in our passage for this episode is probably Jesus’ strangest parable. When thinking of parables, this one is very unique and there isn’t another one like it. Our parable is also only found in one of the four gospels, which implies that it stood out as significant to one of the gospel writers, but not to the other three.

This parable also has no real context. From where it sits in Luke’s gospel, there isn’t much of an introduction or conclusion. It is almost as though Luke includes it in his gospel because he feels it needed to be shared, and because he felt that its purpose and teaching was self evident enough. However, this has caused confusion regarding exactly how much this parable was intended to teach us, and whether this is a parable, or a more literal illustration of something that happened.

Many of you by now have figured out that we are talking about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and this parable has divided people more than most others regarding how literal we should understand its details. This is because this parable is set in a place that we cannot fully understand, and it is a lot less relatable than Jesus’ parables about fishing, farming, and other common tasks.

Let’s read this parable now and discover the big truth I believe Luke wants us to know. Our parable and passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 16, and we will read it from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 19, Jesus tells those present,

¹⁹ “Once there was a rich man. He was dressed in purple cloth and fine linen. He lived an easy life every day. ²⁰ A man named Lazarus was placed at his gate. Lazarus was a beggar. His body was covered with sores. ²¹ Even dogs came and licked his sores. All he wanted was to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.

²² “The time came when the beggar died. The angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In the place of the dead, the rich man was suffering terribly. He looked up and saw Abraham far away. Lazarus was by his side. ²⁴ So the rich man called out, ‘Father Abraham! Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water. Then he can cool my tongue with it. I am in terrible pain in this fire.’

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember what happened in your lifetime. You received your good things. Lazarus received bad things. Now he is comforted here, and you are in terrible pain. ²⁶ Besides, a wide space has been placed between us and you. So those who want to go from here to you can’t go. And no one can cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “The rich man answered, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham. Send Lazarus to my family. ²⁸ I have five brothers. Let Lazarus warn them. Then they will not come to this place of terrible suffering.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have the teachings of Moses and the Prophets. Let your brothers listen to them.’

³⁰ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will turn away from their sins.’

³¹ “Abraham said to him, ‘They do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. So they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

This is the end of the parable, and the details in this parable have left many to wonder how we should understand it in light of other places in the gospels where Jesus seems to describe death differently. There are also people who believe this parable Jesus shared isn’t as much of a parable, but Jesus taking and flipping the conclusion of a common tale the Pharisees and religious leaders shared where the poor man is tormented while the rich man is taken to a place of comfort.

However, since Luke includes no context for this parable, instead of trying to explain this parable using assumptions and other external sources, it would be better to focus entirely on the contents of this parable, and specifically the conclusion Jesus shared. It is in this conclusion that we discover two important truths, and in my own mind, it is assumption to extend the teaching of this parable past these two key concluding points.

The first truth is found in the final message, given through the character of Abraham in this illustration: “They do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. So they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

This statement emphasizes the fact that if someone is rejecting truth, they won’t even be convinced about it even if someone rises from the dead. While Lazarus is a named character in this parable, it is interesting that Luke does not include Lazarus’ resurrection in his gospel. Instead, John’s gospel is the only one that includes Lazarus’ actual resurrection event.

I think this may be because Luke knows that this parable is really foreshadowing Jesus’ own death and resurrection, not Lazarus’. Being resurrected is one thing, but accurately predicting one’s own death and resurrection, with a time frame of this all happening within three days is an amazing validation for Jesus’ ministry and teaching. All Jesus did and focused on was predicted through Moses and the prophets, and those who rejected Jesus also rejected the writings of their ancestors and spiritual leaders.

Unless someone is drawn to truth through the Holy Spirit, they won’t be convinced by any evidence, even the amazing evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. When the guards reported Jesus’ resurrection to the religious leaders, they reject the testimony of these guards and bribe them instead to spread a lie. This is the future Jesus predicted at the end of this ominous parable.

The other big truth this parable teaches is that after we die, we cannot change our decisions. This is emphasized by no one being able to cross the gulf between the rich man and Lazarus. But it is also interesting when we look closely at what is said, we don’t see the rich man actually asking for forgiveness or regretting any of his past. All the rich man asks for is brief relief from the pain, and that someone go and warn his brothers.

This also means that in a subtle way, we discover through this parable that after one dies, they likely wouldn’t change their decision even if given the chance. Nothing in the parable hints at the rich man wanting to change his past, and we don’t see any regret from him regarding him choosing to not help Lazarus the beggar. It is worth paying attention to the detail that this is while the rich man is in extreme pain. Even in extreme pain, we don’t see the rich man desire forgiveness or repentance.

In my mind, this is the extent of what this parable teaches. If we want to know what happens after someone has died, there are plenty of other places in the scriptures that describe this. It would be foolish and spiritually unwise to build an entire doctrine on one unique parable of Jesus without support from other, non-parable portions of the scripture.

While many people today use this as their key support passage for the doctrine of eternal torment, of an eternal soul, and of a place of purgatory, and that the rewards one receives happens immediately when one dies, there is enough counter evidence in the scriptures to outweigh this parable’s support on these teachings.

Instead, when reading this parable, we should focus less on the literal description, and more on the themes and lessons this illustration teaches. All Jesus did and focused on was predicted through Moses and the prophets, and those who rejected Jesus also rejected the writings of their ancestors and spiritual leaders. Unless someone is drawn to truth through the Holy Spirit, they won’t be convinced by any evidence, even through evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. Remember that after we die, we cannot change our decisions.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Choose today to side with God and to repent and reflect Him to the world around you. Make the decision today because we don’t know when our lives will end. While this sounds like a scare tactic, this isn’t my intention. Since you woke up this morning, there is a good chance you will wake up tomorrow morning too, but there will be a day when you may not wake up the next day. Don’t put off making the decision to choose Jesus. I don’t believe an eternity of torment awaits you if you don’t choose Jesus, but I do believe that after you die, you won’t be able to change your decision as this parable teaches.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. If you are challenged by this parable, or by anything you read in the Bible, take your concerns to God and ask Him to help you understand. It is likely that He will guide you as you study or that He will bring someone into your life who will help you understand. Accept God’s help when He sends it.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Near the end of the special supper Jesus shares with His disciples, and after Judas Iscariot had left, Jesus shares a powerful truth and challenge to His remaining disciples. While it would be easy to focus in on the part of Jesus’ words that Peter focused in on, something Jesus said is worth paying attention to that it appears as though Peter missed.

With that said, let’s dive into our passage and discover what Jesus shared that Peter missed, and several things that are worth us paying attention to. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 22, and we will read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31, John tells us that:

³¹ When he [referring to Judas Iscariot] was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³ “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷ Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

In this passage, we see Jesus challenge Peter on his vocal willingness to be ready to die for Jesus. Jesus responds with the famous challenge that Peter would deny Him that night. While it would be very easy for us to focus on this detail, there are two verses that seem to disappear when reading this passage. These two verses are powerful, but it is as though Peter doesn’t hear them because of what Jesus had just said before.

Immediately after Jesus told the disciples that they cannot come with Him, and before Peter asks Jesus where He is going, Jesus gives the disciples a new command in verses 34 and 35, saying “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

In this command, we might be tempted to think this is simply Jesus restating or reminding the disciples about one of the two greatest commandments that are shared earlier in the gospels. In many ways, loving one another is very similar to the command to loving our neighbor. However, if we stop here, we miss something significant.

Within the earlier command to love our neighbor, the context is very tangible, and when using Jesus’ illustration of the Good Samaritan, we have a framework for what it means to “love our neighbor”. The wording of this command is specifically to love your neighbor as you love yourself. 

However, Jesus’ command to the disciples is distinctly different. Just as Jesus elevated God’s ideal for His law to a level much higher than the words themselves, such as when Jesus calls hating someone close as equivalent to murder, I suspect that Jesus is doing something similar here.

In the Old Testament law, we are challenged to love others as we love ourselves, and this makes us equals. This is healthy, and it pushes back arrogance and pride from our lives, because we are equal with each other.

However, Jesus’ command in this passage is that we are to love others like Jesus loved them. With this framing, does Jesus love other people as though they are equal to Him? While a case could be put together that implies this is true, when I read the gospels, I don’t see an equal frame for Jesus’ type of love. While it is very true that Jesus loved all people equally and individually, and while this is something we should do, I don’t recall seeing a place where Jesus emphasizes His equality with men.

In contrast, Jesus understood who He was, namely the Son of God, and He understood that we are sinners. This perspective could have led Jesus to judge others, which is a temptation for everyone to fall into, but it didn’t. Instead, this perspective led Jesus to extend mercy and grace to everyone God loved. With only one or two extraordinary exceptions, Jesus’ harsh words were reserved for those who believed themselves to be better than others and who used this moral superiority to bully those who were not as good as them. Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm today on many social and spiritual issues.

However, while Jesus understood that He was the Son of God, sinless, and that we all are sinners, how did that change His actions? Remember, Jesus is giving the disciples a new command to love each other like Jesus loved them, and what did Jesus do to demonstrate that love?

While we could easily jump to the cross, the disciples didn’t have that as a frame of reference like we do looking back on this event. Instead, the clearest modeling of Jesus’ new command was when, earlier that evening, Jesus stepped into the lowest servant’s role and washed their feet. When we look at how Jesus acted when loving others, never do we see Jesus step above someone else. Instead, in almost every case, Jesus steps down and places Himself in the role of servant to those needing help.

With all this said, Jesus elevates the Old Testament commandment in these two verses by challenging the disciples to place others ahead of themselves, like Jesus placed humanity ahead of Himself. It would have been easier to abandon humanity to sin, but it wouldn’t have been loving. True love in God’s eyes pushes past the easy, convenient solution towards the solution that puts others ahead of Himself.

We are called to love each other like Jesus loved us, and this is done when we place others ahead of ourselves. While this doesn’t eliminate the need for us to rest or to have healthy boundaries, it does mean that when God brings people into our lives that we can help, we are to place them ahead of ourselves and love them like the Godhead loves us.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to love others like Jesus commanded His followers to do, and loving others like Jesus loved each of us. While Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, the love He models is giving Himself to help us in ways that only He could. We are called to use our time, our talents, and our resources to help others beyond the quick, convenient fix. While help often looks different depending on the situation, when in doubt, lean on God to help you know how to best love those He brings into your life.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with Jesus. A personal relationship is personal when we focus on growing closer to Jesus and we don’t put anyone else in the middle of our relationship. While authors, speakers, pastors, or even podcasters can have good ideas worth considering, take everything you read, see, and hear and compare it with the truth found in the Bible. If what you are hearing or reading doesn’t match a clear truth within the Bible, it is an idea that likely won’t last beyond the end of sin.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or discount where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!