![]() There was nothing in the world more precious more coveted than to be called the children of “our father Abraham” John 8:39. Jesus was talking to a class of people who sincerely believed themselves superior and privileged from God by being born Jews, children of Abraham. In verse 14 just above it tells us that the Pharisees heard Him and derided Him. It is here that we begin to understand the back ground to this parable and we ask the question why did Jesus tell the parable at this particular moment? To whom is it addressed? I am going to direct our attention Jesus’s audience in Luke 16:19-31. The starting point in understanding this parable is actually 2 verses earlier. I am convinced that the message is as relevant as it was during the time Jesus said it. ![]() Every Christian ought to listen to the real message that Jesus was passing to his audience. Meluleki Maphosa Amateur Bible Student In my view the parable told by Jesus here had absolutely no bearing or meaning on the age old question - What happens after we die? I think this attention that is given to "hell" and "Abraham's bosom" diverts attention away from some important and eternal truths that are quite relevant to our time. Jesus thus rebuked the Pharisees for their disregard of the Scriptures, foreseeing that even a supernatural event would not change the hearts of those who persistently rejected the teachings of “Moses and the prophets.” The lesson is that the rich man, who symbolizes God's people and who have the truth are not sharing their food with the poor, the lost, and that they may find that in the Judgment the poor are saved and the rich are lost. Also, there is no other place in Bible where people in heaven are communicating with people in hell. Are we to believe that the graves of these two people are now empty? It would make no sense to take the story literally. Their bodies apparently came along, for we find the rich man desires to have his tongue cooled by a drop of water from the finger of Lazarus who is resting in Abraham’s bosom. Third, both (Lazarus and the rich man) are being taken to their respective places of reward. Jesus did not believe in Greek mythology and is undoubtedly using here a figure of speech that the audience understood. ![]() Second, Jesus uses the word Hades, a mythological Greek place. ![]() In Luke 16:22 the NKJV says ".that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom." This is the first clue: there's no other Scripture that says that the saved go to the bosom of Abraham. And we clearly know this is a parable because of the many allegoric elements of the story. They had a special message of truth and failed to share it with the Gentiles, who were eager to hear it. Aurel Gheorghe In the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus was not talking about the afterlife instead, He was addressing the Pharisees (Luke 16:14) and their unfaithfulness in regards to their responsibility. ![]()
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