The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Painting the Parable
Do you believe that how you live before death affects how you live after death?
That what you do in the here and now will affect what you do in the there and then?
James Janknegt is an artist who lives in Elgin, TX with his wife. If you make the drive over to Elgin, you are likely to his artwork around town.
James is a believer in Jesus. He is retired but he is still painting. And he’s put together a book of paintings portraying the parables of Jesus.
This is his painting of The Rich Man and Lazarus.
Who Am I?
We will read this story that Jesus once told in just a minute, but before we do I just want you to look at this picture and ask yourself, “Which person am I more like?”
This is one of the questions that the stories of Jesus invite us to ask. Who do identify with in the story? Who are we more like in the story? Who do we want to be like in the story?
And it’s one thing to listen to the story, to hear the story, and then imagine who are or who we might be in the story. But it’s something else to see the story pictured like it is in this artwork by James Janknegt and ask ourselves the question… “Which person am I more like?”
If you know how the story ends, you know who you want to be more like in the end. But just looking at the picture, who are you more like in the here and now?
This is the tension that we face. It’s the same tension people faced 2000 years ago. We want the life we want now and… we want to go Heaven one day when we die. But what if we can’t have both?
The Uncomfortable Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Here’s the story Jesus once told. It’s found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 16.
Luke 16.19-31
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
The rich man in the story can be any rich man. Notice that he goes unnamed by Jesus. He is a caricature. He’s not just rich, he’s filthy rich. He’s got garments of purple and fine linen which were the most expensive you could own. Jesus says he lived every day in luxury.
Whatever he needs, he has it. Whatever he wants, he has it. Whatever he desires, he has it. He’s like the athlete that just signed a multi-billion dollar contract. Or the oil tycoon who just struck gold again. Or the person living in a comfortable home with heating, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and a pantry full of food while much of the world lives on less than $3 a day.
He’s rich not just by the world’s standards, but by any standards.
Then there is the poor man. And the poor man has a name. Jesus gives him the name Lazarus which literally means, “God helps.” Lazarus isn’t just poor, he’s the poorest of the poor. He has nothing. He is covered in sores. His only friends are stray dogs that come and lick his open sores. He either doesn’t have the strength the fend them off or has lost the ability to care.
He would love a scrap of food from the rich man’s table, but the rich man can’t be bothered. Kind of like the person that can’t be bothered by the homeless person who stands by the interstate bridge and keeps on driving, or the person that can’t spare any change for the poor person at the gas station, the rich man… honestly, he might not even see poor man Lazarus because in a strange way, Lazarus has become invisible to him.
Anybody feeling a little uncomfortable yet? I am! That’s what the stories of Jesus do. Or at least, it’s what they should do. They should make us uncomfortable.
Jesus sets the scene and everyone listening to the story understands what Jesus is talking about. There have always been the haves and the have nots. The rich and the poor. No one in the audience is shocked by this story… yet. This is a common occurrence in every place, in every time.
There’s a unnamed rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. We can make our assumptions about how the rich man got rich or how the poor man got poor. Was one blessed by God and the other not? Did one work hard for what he had and the other didn’t? Did the rich man get rich the wrong way and the poor man Lazarus a victim of terrible circumstances?
Who knows?
The Twist
Jesus continues the story…
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
All of a sudden, the tables are turned!
The rich man who feasted daily at his own table and lived a life of excess and luxury and wanted for nothing now finds that he is in great need! And Lazarus, who lived a life of torment, hunger, sickness, and want now discovers that he is seated at the heavenly banquet table sitting right beside Father Abraham and he has everything!
Yet, apparently, the rich man has learned nothing. He sees Lazarus, he finally sees Lazarus, because he needs something. He still thinks of himself as the rich man, the entitled one, the master, and so he calls on Father Abraham to make Lazarus his servant and fetch him some water because it’s a little hot where he is! Now he is the one in anguish. He wants Lazarus to do for him in this life what he was unwilling to do for him in the life before.
Jesus continues the story, and you can just see the puzzled looks on the faces of those who are leaning in to listen…
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
Now, the gravity of the situation is beginning to sink in for the rich man.
Truth be told, everyone in Israel knew that it was their responsibility to care for the poor. God had told them, “But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need.” – Deuteronomy 15:7–8
And this is a command that was repeated throughout the Jewish scriptures. (Leviticus 19:9–10; Deuteronomy 24:19–21; Exodus 22:25)
But wealth was just as much of a snare then as it is now. And Jesus knew something everyone there that day knew just like we know it’s true today, that the rich should but usually do not care for the poor and that God has special concern for the disadvantaged.
A Warning
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
Realizing what’s happened and that there is no hope for him, the rich man pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus to send word to his brothers.
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
And right there, Jesus says something that was true that day and would also be true on the Sunday after his own resurrection. If they won’t listen to them, they won’t listen to him.
In His mercy and in His grace Jesus is giving this story to a group of people who needed to hear it. He wanted them see this picture of the poor man named Lazarus and the rich man and He wanted them to learn something about the Kingdom of God.
You know, the Kingdom of God, well… This is kind of like that.
And people have asked questions like, Why did Jesus tell this story? What was He trying to teach? Is this story about the afterlife? About heaven and hell? Is it about what happens when you die? Is it about money, wealth, and riches? Do all rich people go to hell? Do all poor people go to heaven? Is there a place called hades, torment, paradise, some place that exists between life as we know it now and heaven and hell?
And those are all good questions. And this parable may help answer some of them, maybe. But to really understand the story, the meaning of the story, it helps to back up and understand why Jesus told this story and who he was talking to in the first place.
If you back up to verse 14, Luke writes…
14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this (everything Jesus had been teaching up to this point) and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 “Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. 17 But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.
So Jesus is talking to a group of religious people who are rich and who dearly loved their money and who were making fun of him. And Jesus tells them… you love to look good in public but….
GOD KNOWS YOUR HEARTS.
God knows your hearts, and you know God’s word! And even though I have come and I am preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God and everyone is eager to hear it and get into it even though they don’t fully understand it, don’t think for a minute that God’s heart has changed. It has not. What was important to God our Father when He met with Moses on Mt. Sinai is still important to the heart of God today. God cares for the poor. For people just like poor man Lazarus.
God cares about lastness, lostness, leastness, and littleness. And judgment day is coming.
Who are you?
So, let me ask you again to look at this picture and ask yourself, Who are you more like?
As you look at this picture by James Janknegt, it’s hard not identify with the man in the top picture with his Five Guys hamburger and his Papa John’s Pizza. He’s got his Coke Zero and His Chocolate Cake. The All You Can Eat sign behind his head follows him wherever he goes because truth be told, he doesn’t have to ever feel hungry if he doesn’t want to.
You can see the sores on the feet of the poor man at the bottom. He’s got his bed mat on one side and his hand out on the other. The dogs are there as his only companions and he dare not look up and try to make eye contact. Why would he? After all, he’s invisible.
If you keep looking, you might see the rich man in flames in the bottom corner in anguish. And you might notice poor man Lazarus in the top corner with his head rested in peace on the chest of Father Abraham.
And you might notice the three men preaching to the five brothers of the rich man as Moses, the Law, and the Prophets try to remind them that God cares for the poor, the marginalized, and the disadvantaged.
What you may not know from looking at this picture by James Janknegt is that the white-bearded Lazarus is a portrait of the artist.
James, reflecting on this story of Jesus and his own artwork, said this…
“I am both the poor man and the rich man. You can have material wealth by the world’s standards and be spiritually starving. I hope, by the mercy of God, we all arrive at Abraham’s bosom.”
And then, you might realize why Jesus told this parable. He wasn’t trying to give us a doctrine of Heaven and Hell or tell us exactly what happens when we die. He’s not teaching that money is evil or that poor people are all virtuous. No. This is a parable. And Jesus tells this story this way because he wants you to know, He knows your heart and He knows God’s heart. And Jesus wants you to find yourself in the story so you can find your way to the heart of God.
Jesus wants you to know God’s heart.
And His heart is always FOR others. For those who are hungry spiritually, for those who are hungry physically. For those who are in need of a literal piece of bread, AND are in need of the Bread of Life – Jesus Himself. And we get to share ALL that we have with others.
You see, Jesus wants you to begin living in this life the way He wants you to live in all eternity! Feasting at the table of the Lord, at peace in His presence, sharing with those around you in the abundant blessing of God!
This is the invitation to us today, to share. To love God, yes! But to also love others in practical, ordinary, everyday ways. And when you do that, when you SEE those around you who are hurting and in need and when you GIVE in meaningful ways to serve those needs, you demonstrate that you know God’s heart.
Confused, Angry, or Hopeful?
WE: Jesus was famous for telling stories and he used them to point people towards what the Kingdom of God is like. And more often than not, a great reversal was involved. Things get turned upside down. This confused some people, made others angry, and for some, it gave them great hope.
Today, you may be a little confused. That’s ok. I invite you to keep leaning into this story and ask Jesus to be your ever present teacher.
You might be angry. This a common response to the stories of Jesus. If that’s you, I invite you to keep leaning into this story and ask the Spirit of God to leverage this story to cultivate within you deeper faith, hope, and love.
And this story may give you great hope. I pray it does. And if it does, I invite you to share that hope with others.
For those who have to ears to hear, hear.
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