Citation: Luke 16:19-31 Note: This is the only parable Jesus tells in which a character has a personal name (Lazarus, Λάζαρος, Greek form of Eliezer "God helps"). Some interpreters argue from this that it isn't a parable but a true history; mainstream commentary treats it as parable. Either way, it is unique within Jesus's teaching corpus.
The parable
A rich man (KJV "Dives" from Latin; no name given in Greek) clothed in purple + fine linen; feasted sumptuously daily. A beggar Lazarus, full of sores, laid at his gate desiring crumbs from his table; dogs licked his sores. Lazarus dies + carried by angels to "Abraham's bosom" (a Jewish term for the righteous dead's resting place). Rich man dies + buried; finds himself in Hades-in-torment. Sees Abraham + Lazarus afar off; begs Abraham to send Lazarus to cool his tongue. Abraham: "you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted and you are in anguish." Also: a great chasm fixed; none can pass. Rich man begs Lazarus be sent to warn his five brothers; Abraham: "they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." Rich man: "if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." Abraham: "if they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead."
Theological framing (multiple views)
Eschatological-anthropology reading, Jesus describes the intermediate state between death + resurrection: conscious existence for both righteous + wicked; comfort for one, torment for the other; a fixed boundary. Traditional Christian reading; anchor passage for conscious-intermediate-state doctrine.
Soteriological-warning reading, emphasizes the reversal at judgment + the impossibility of post-death repentance + the sufficiency of Moses + prophets for warning. Application: respond to God's word NOW; don't wait for spectacular proof.
Annihilationist reading (minority view: Edward Fudge, John Stott, conditional immortality school), argues the "torment" is symbolic / parable-internal-detail; the wicked do not consciously experience eternal torment but cease to exist. The parable, on this reading, is not literal description of afterlife but cautionary illustration. The view is recorded here as held in some traditions.
Wealth-ethics reading, Luke 16's main thrust is critique of wealth-without-mercy; the rich man's sin isn't actively-cruel but failure-to-notice the beggar at his gate. Application: wealth without compassion is its own indictment.
Resurrection-foreshadow reading, the closing "if one rises from the dead" predicts the response to Jesus's own resurrection: the religious leaders won't be persuaded (cf. Matthew 28:11-15; Acts 4:18-22; etc.).
Notes on terminology
- Abraham's bosom (κόλπος Ἀβραάμ kolpos Abraam), Jewish term reflecting reclining at meals next to honored figure; the righteous dead in fellowship with Abraham. NOT the same as "heaven" in NT later usage; pre-resurrection-of-Christ intermediate state.
- Hades (ᾅδης), Greek translation of Hebrew Sheol; place of the dead generally, here distinguished into two compartments (comfort + torment) by a great chasm.
- Gehenna (γέεννα), distinct from Hades; the Valley of Hinnom, used by Jesus elsewhere (Matthew 5:22,29,30; Matthew 10:28; etc.) for post-judgment final state of the wicked. Not the term used in this parable.