Parables of Jesus
The Rich Man and Lazarus
Various
Read: Luke 16:19-31
SeeThe rich man and Lazarus is a parable from the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Speaking to his disciples and some Pharisees, Jesus tells of an unnamed rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. When both die, the rich man goes to Hades and implores Abraham to send Lazarus from his bosom to warn the rich man's family from sharing his fate. Abraham replies, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." This parable was one of the most frequently illustrated parables in medieval art.
St. Jerome and others thought the story was not a parable, but an actual event that was related by Jesus. Those supporting this view point to the use of a personal name (Lazarus) for a character in the story, a technique not found in any other parable. Others consider this a parable created by Jesus and told to his followers, arguing that the story has much in common with other stories which are agreed-upon parables.
Some believed the parable was a parody of Pharisee belief concerning the Bosom of Abraham, and connected Abraham saying the rich man's family would not believe even if the parable's Lazarus was raised, to the priests' failure to believe in the resurrection of Christ. Others interpreted the parable as a satirical attack on the Sadducees. The Rich Man is identified as the Sadducee priests, and some also note that Abraham's statement that "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead." fits the Sadducees' rejection of the Prophetical books of the Bible as well as their disbelief in a resurrection of the dead.
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"The Rich Man and Lazarus"
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