“A beggar named Lazarus”

Read Luke 16:19-31

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This story illustrates what Jesus has just taught: “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (9). That saying led on to further comment about “worldly wealth” (11-13). The Pharisees, “who loved money” (14), are typical of the rich man in this story who has no care for those who are poor and insignificant.

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After death we will all see things differently (Mk.10:29-31; James 2:5). This view from beyond isn’t literal but uses Jewish imagery to convey some core truths about the after-life: Heaven is a place of bliss and gain. Hell is a place of anguish and loss. A great gulf is fixed between them. And there will be a reversal of earth’s fortunes based on very different values. It’s hard for the rich to enter heaven (Mt.19:23-24; Lk.4:18; 6:20).

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The problem isn’t in being rich - Abraham himself was wealthy (Gen.13:2) But this man didn’t use his riches well. In contrast, the beggar had no earthly helper, but his name (Lazarus means helped by God) points to his faith that his name was written in heaven (Lk.10:20). Both men provide the eternal perspective which calls us to live justly and by faith.