The Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man Summary, Commentary, Meaning & Bible Verses – What does the Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man Mean?

The Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man Summary, Meaning, Commentary & Bible Verses – What does the Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man Mean?

The Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man is also known as The Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, The Parable of Lazarus and The Dives, or The Parable of Dives and Lazarus. This Thought Provoking Parable is found in Luke 16:19-31. (Scroll further down to see Bible Verses, i.e. Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man in the Bible)

The Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man Summary, Meaning & Commentary
To fully understand the meaning of this parable, we should take a look at some of the Bible Verses that come before it. In Luke 16:13-15, we see that Jesus is speaking about the very real danger of materialism and putting our trust in “stuff” – i.e. putting money above God. See also: List of Parables in the Bible; Bible Verses about Idols

Luke 16:13-15, NIV “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”

Shortly afterwards, Jesus tells his listeners the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The life and death of Lazarus, the poor beggar, is contrasted with that of the Rich Man. No matter how rich we are, our riches will not usher us into a peaceful afterlife if our hearts are not right with God while we are here on earth.

Our first and foremost priority on earth should not be to amass wealth and riches, but to have a heart that is rich towards God. The takeaway from this allegory is not necessarily literally about the fire in hell, but certainly about the deep and terrible anguish experienced when a soul separated from God in the afterlife, whether that involves a literal hell fire or not. See also: Bible Verses about Heaven, Eternity, Eternal Life

Mark 8:36, NIV What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Matthew 6:33, NLT Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, help us to get our priorities right. Help us to understand the gravity of what we are doing day by day. Help us to realize that there is life beyond what we experience here on earth – May we spend eternity dwelling with you! Open our eyes Lord, and help us see where we may be blind. Open our ears, Open our hearts. Help us to receive your free gift of salvation, walking with God and experiencing spiritual growth daily. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

See also: Getting to know God; How to become a Christian;
List of Parables in the Bible; Bible Verses about Priorities;
Bible Verses about Open Eyes, Open Mind, Open Hands

Parable of Lazarus and The Rich Man in The Bible
Bible Verses & Parable Source: Luke 16: 19-31 (ESV)
There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house – for I have five brothers – so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Thanks for reading, Dear Friends – Have a wonderfully blessed, stress-free, productive, and joyful day!
Much Love & Blessings,
Bomi Jolly ~ JollyNotes.com