In the previous blog we saw why the parable of the rich man and Lazarus cannot be a representation of the state of the dead. To be complete, we also want to discuss the entire parable verse by verse. That is not an unnecessary luxury, because the meaning of this parable is rarely understood.
Luke 16
19 And there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and linen, and he was cheerful and splendid every day.
greedy
We must remember that the Lord is not just going to tell a story out of nowhere, there is a reason for it. The reason for telling this parable is that the Pharisees, who were greedy, mocked Him (:14). Then the Lord tells them a story about a certain rich man, who now has a good life in wealth and splendor, but where it does not end well. The rich man represents the Pharisees.
purple and linen
Purple is used especially in royal garments (Esther 1:6; 8:5). Linen speaks of priesthood. The priests’ garments were made of linen (Ex. 28:5; 39:2-5). The rich man dressed in purple and linen represents Israel, who as a people are called to be a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6).
20 And there was a certain poor man named Lazarus, laid at his gate with sores full of festering.
Lazarus
Lazarus means: God is my helper. The Lord begins in Luke 15 by speaking a series of parables, because the tax collectors and sinners approached Him and He was therefore despised by the Pharisees and Scribes. Lazarus represents these believers, who expect their help from Him. In essence, Lazarus is also a type of the Lord himself, who lived by faith and trusted in His Father in everything.
21 And he desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. But the dogs also came and licked his festering wounds.
Gentiles
Lazarus is an ‘outsider’, who has no part in the rich man’s blessings, but he eats of the crumbs. This of course brings us to the story of the Canaanite woman, who as a Gentile, was eager to eat of the crumbs of the bread (>word) that was intended for Israel (Matt. 15:26-27; Mark 7:27-28). Dogs are a representation of the nations. Lazarus is associated with Gentiles, as the Lord is now among the nations (Col. 1:27).
22 And it came to pass, that the poor man died, and was carried away by the messengers into Abraham’s bosom.
That someone who dies is taken away by angels or messengers and that he comes into the bosom of Abraham is not something taught by Scripture, but comes from Jewish traditions. The Lord mocks the myths (Tit. 1:14) of the Jewish leaders by creating a caricature in this parable.
22 … And the rich man also died, and was buried.
The rich man, as a type of Israel, dies. It is a depiction of Israel being cut off. The people are in the grave, among the nations (Ezek. 37:11-13).
23 And in Hades he opened his eyes, and he was in great torment, and he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Hades
We saw earlier that the Greek word translated here as Hades means: the unseen, the unobservable. The word realm of the dead can cause misunderstandings because it suggests that it is a physical place. But Hades is not a demonstrable place, but death is something that cannot be seen or perceived.
sheol
In Hebrew, the word sheol has the same meaning as the Greek hades (compare Acts 2:27 with Psalm 16:10). Sheol is derived from a word that means to ask. In Sheol is ignorance, for the dead know nothing (Eccl. 9:5). There is no knowledge in death.
parody
The rich man opens his eyes in the realm of the dead and is there in tormenting pain. However, he has a view of the good side, on the other side of the gulf (:26) and sees Abraham and Lazarus there. Anyone who knows the Scriptures knows that what is described here is not the reality of the state of the dead. By telling a parody of their own traditions, the Lord shows that the leaders had strayed far from the word of God and did not listen to Moses and the prophets