Today we are going to look at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16:19-31. This parable gives us a brief glimpse into the afterlife, but it also gives us some insight into something else.

The Parable

In the parable, Jesus tells us the story of two men with different positions in life. One of them was a rich man, and the other was a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus lay at the rich man’s door every day, hoping he could just get some scraps from his table. There is nothing in the text that suggests the rich man ever gave Lazarus anything. Both men die and have different fates. The rich man is tormented in Hades while Lazarus is resting comfortably at Abraham’s side.

The rich man was suffering in the afterlife so badly that he asked Abraham to let Lazarus bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue. Abraham denied the request, and the rich man continued to suffer.

At this point the rich man decided he wanted to warn his family, so he asked Abraham to send Lazarus to warn them. He didn’t want to see them end up in torment like him. He thought they would listen if somebody came back from the dead to warn them. Abraham said, “They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (see Luke 16:19-31). This request was also denied.

A Brief Explanation

In death, we see the reversal of fates with these two people. Lazarus is now at Abraham’s side. His suffering is over, while the rich man’s suffering is just beginning. Now the rich man is looking for Lazarus to give him the mercy that he refused to give Lazarus himself when they were both alive.

The obvious lessons of the parable are, first, there will be judgment after death, which will include either eternal punishment or reward. There is a heaven and a hell. Second, it is too late to repent after death; you must repent while you are still living.

Third, there is a lesson here about how we are expected to treat those who are less fortunate than ourselves. We are supposed to treat them with mercy and not with contempt. How we treat the less fortunate reveals something about ourselves that I will touch on for the remainder of this article.

A Deeper Look

When we first read the story, the rich man almost looked noble because he didn’t want to see his loved ones suffer the way he was suffering. But this aside, the rich man shows us that he had a heart problem in life, and it wasn’t cured after he was dead.

Sure, he wanted to protect his loved ones, but that alone doesn’t make him noble. Even sinners love those who love them (Luke 6:32). Who, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? (Luke 11:11)

We get a better look at the rich man’s heart by looking at what he thinks when he sees Lazarus at Abraham’s side. The rich man didn’t help Lazarus when they were both alive. But even now, while suffering in torment, he still thinks of Lazarus as being underneath him, even though Lazarus is now above him.

First, he wanted Lazarus to bring him a drop of water, and then he wanted to use him as a messenger. He still saw Lazarus as someone who should serve him.

When we read parables like this one, or we read Jesus’ encounter with the young rich ruler who wouldn’t give up his wealth to follow Christ (Matthew 19:16-22), and when we read about the love of money being the root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10), we tend to think God is condemning wealth.

But the problem is deeper than that. This parable involves wealth, but it’s not about wealth. Being wealthy isn’t necessarily the problem. What we do with wealth can be a problem because it reveals what is in our hearts. Where our treasure is, our heart will be there also (Matthew 6:21).

The rich man had every chance to use his wealth to help Lazarus when they were alive, and didn’t. Now he still expected Lazarus to serve him. But Jesus was the opposite. Even though He was in the very nature of God, He did not use His position to His advantage (Philippians 2:6 NIV). Instead, Jesus came as one who serves (Luke 22:27), and He commanded His followers to love others as He loved us (John 13:34).

During His earthly ministry, Jesus warned us about judgment after death. This parable is just one example. Jesus did come back from the dead to warn us. Was Abraham right when he said people won’t listen even if somebody comes back from the dead?

Many people didn’t listen then, and many refuse to listen now. But we all have to make that decision for ourselves while we are living. The chasm is too wide to be crossed in the afterlife. We can’t cross the chasm on our own. The way to cross the chasm is through Christ and the time to cross it is now.

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