1/23/2024 0 Comments Lazarus bible character study![]() Jesus wouldn't use a lie to teach the truth, but He could use other people's beliefs to shake their own. The parable seems to agree with a current belief - that's Jesus' way to get acquainted with people, communication is essential to reach into people's minds. That does not mean that we can use that as an excuse to deprecate spiritual truths.ġ. ![]() We need to understand that figures of speech, metaphors, and analogies are used in the Bible and need to be treated that way. The passage in question also reminds us that Jesus was culturally aware and used stories and idioms that were familiar to the people he was talking to. ![]() Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and overlook you when you do them, too? Don’t you realize how patient he is being with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see that he has been waiting all this time without punishing you, to give you time to turn from your sin? His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance. And we know that God, in justice, will punish anyone who does such things as these. When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are talking about yourselves, for you do these very same things. “Well,” you may be saying, “what terrible people you have been talking about!” But wait a minute! You are just as bad. It is a lesson for those of us who think we are intellectually superior or theologically purer than others in such a way that we patronise others. And it is not just referring to those who are greedy and rich in worldly goods at the expense of others. It also serves as a reminder as to how difficult it is to change the minds of those set on self-gratification in this life. Consequently, the story of the rich man and Lazarus probably did not raise too many eyebrows theologically.Īs the lesson author points out, the story is not about the state of the dead, but about relationships and how we treat one another. In fact, there was probably almost as much diversity as in modern Judaism. We are rather inclined to think of New Testament Jews as primarily Pharisees with their rivals the Sadduccees in the background. This passage of scripture possibly provides a bit of an insight into Jewish thinking at the time of Christ. What message from Jesus’ powerful words should we take for ourselves regarding the authority of the Bible and how we respond to it? “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead’” ( Luke 16:31, NKJV). The account teaches that 1. status and social recognition in the present are not the criteria for the future reward, and 2. the eternal destiny of each person is decided in this life and cannot be reversed in the afterlife ( Luke 16:25-26). The parable of the rich man and Lazarus presents a sharp contrast between a well-dressed “rich man” and “a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores” ( Luke 16:19-20, , NKJV). Douglas (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962), p. L, “Eschatology,” in The New Bible Dictionary, edited by J. Ladd, though a non-Adventist, certainly sounds like one here when he says that this story was probably “a parable which made use of current Jewish thinking and is not intended to teach anything about the state of the dead.” - G. How could a mother be happy in heaven while beholding the incessant agonies of her beloved child in hell? In such a context, it would be virtually impossible for God’s promise of no more sorrow, crying, and pain to be fulfilled ( Revelation 21:4).ĭue to such incoherencies, many modern biblical scholars regard the story of the rich man and Lazarus as a parable from which not every detail can be interpreted literally. If this passage were a description of the human state in death, then heaven would certainly not be a place of joy and happiness because the saved could closely follow the endless sufferings of their lost loved ones, and even dialogue with them ( Luke 16:23-31). We would also have to suppose that, in the afterlife, while the body lies in the grave, there remains a conscious form of the spiritual soul with “eyes,” a “finger,” a “tongue,” and which even feels thirst ( Luke 16:23-24). Image © Providence Collection at įirst, we would have to admit that heaven and hell are close enough to allow a conversation between the dwellers of both places ( Luke 16:23-31).
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