"Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." Luke 16:25
Additional readings: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 7, Psalm 1, Psalm 8
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable of judgment, and pictures the rich man as failing in the final judgment and the poor man as attaining the kingdom of heaven. It is not said that one was good and the other bad, but that one was rich and the other poor. And when the rich man asked that Lazarus might be sent to the rich man's house to warn his brothers, Abraham refused the request. This request of the rich man seems to be a legitimate one and the refusal unmerciful.
There are other passages in the Scriptures which seem to teach this same lesson. When the rich young man came to the Lord and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life, the Lord said "Keep the commandments." The rich young man replied, "All these have I kept from my youth up." Then the Lord told, him that he was near the kingdom, but that if he would enter in, he must go and sell all that he had and give to the poor (Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23).
Mary in her magnification of Christ was inspired to say, "He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away" (Luke 1:52).
Our text is from one of the Lord's parables, given to teach a lesson which it is important for us to understand, as it deals with our eternal happiness. We need to know who are meant by the rich man and the poor man. If the rich represent the materially rich and the poor those poor in this world's goods, wherein is there any parable? Of the Word it is written, "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). In its letter, the Word often seems hard, contradictory, and even contrary to the laws of the Divine love, but in its inner meaning it is consistent and teaches truths necessary to the attainment of heavenly life. And we know that many of its truths had to be so veiled because men were not ready to receive them.
In the parable the rich man stands for those who have the knowledges of Divine truth and because of this think themselves good—for those who are rich in their own conceit, who ask in the boastfulness of their pride, "What lack I?"
The first words the Lord spoke in the Sermon on the Mount were "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew 5:3). These are the poor of our parable. But the parable itself shows what is meant by the rich man. There is one very important word which discloses its meaning. The parable does not say that the rich man had the Lord's good things, the good things of heavenly life. Abraham says to the rich man, "Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things." And the parable tells what these good things were. "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day." His pleasures were those that gratified the senses of the body, the delights of the material world. He knew better. He had Moses and the prophets. And therein was his condemnation. He had the light of the Word, but he was so rich in his self-conceit that he would not hear it. Instead of searching the Scriptures to find the way of life, he thought that he knew enough to choose his own way, and he chose the things that he thought were good. And the parable teaches that he did not attain the kingdom of heaven. Could it be expected that he would?
Is it to be expected that we can make ourselves sensual and selfish, interested only in the things of this world, with no thought for the development of our souls, and then enjoy the life of heaven? Do we think that heavenly life consists in external pleasures and delights?
The rich man was told that no one could bring him a drop of water to cool his parched tongue because a great gulf was fixed between Lazarus in heaven and himself, which neither was able to cross. It seems hard and merciless that Abraham could not send someone across that gulf with at least a cup of cold water.
We knew the Lord to be a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness, and that if it had been within His power, He would have made rivers of water break forth in the rich man's desert. But yet a drop of water could be brought to him. What does this mean?
It means simply this: if a man with all the advantages of the church, with all the teachings and warnings of the Word, chooses to spend his whole life in acquiring and enjoying the things of this world alone, and does not cultivate the higher delights in spiritual things, he becomes a form of worldly desires and pleasures, and when he lays off the material body, these desires will continue to burn, and by the laws of that world they cannot be gratified.
Heaven is a kingdom of unselfish love. As the Lord said to Samuel, "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Heavenly happiness comes from the love of service to others, not from seeking things for self. The parable also pictures the state of the Jewish Church at that time. They had the Word and were proud of their knowledge, but would not share it with others. They would use it only for their own advantage.
To enter heaven we must at least begin to cultivate the loves which reign in heaven. Hell is the kingdom of selfish love. Heaven and hell are opposites. It is said that a great gulf was fixed so that those who would pass could not. That great gulf was fixed by the disorganized internal of the rich man. We may ourselves have seen that great gulf when, in trying to urge someone not to persist in a wrong course, we found the love of self and of self-indulgence so strong that there was no foundation for moral persuasion and no response to reason. That is the great gulf. Not a single truth can be imparted. Not one drop of cold water could be carried across that great chasm.
The parable discloses to us the laws of the spirit. It tells us what our life here is for, that it is given us as an opportunity for the attainment of eternal life. If we wish the true riches, we must lay them up now. If we want any virtue, we must treasure it in the heart, for where our treasure is, there will the heart be also (Matthew 6:21, Luke 12:34).
The poor man in the parable is the man poor in spirit, who does not think that he is in himself wise or good, but who looks to the Lord for light and for the power to understand and obey. He is one who sees his weaknesses, his spiritual poverty, who sees the needs of his soul. The way to heaven is through the keeping of the commandments, but there is a right way and a wrong way of keeping them. The rich young man said that he had kept them from his youth up. But he had kept them in order that he might gain the kingdom and he was proud of his success. Keeping the commandments even in this way brings us near the gates of the holy city, but the Lord told him that if he would enter in, he must go and sell all that he had. The riches that he had were his pride, his self-confidence and self-sufficiency. He must come into dependence upon the Lord instead of upon self.
The lesson of the parable is for all men of all time, for all of us are born natural, with tendencies to self-seeking. We form our characters here. We too have Moses and the prophets, and we should not let the great gulf form within us which will separate us from the kingdom for which we are to prepare ourselves.
"Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."
