The Bible Lesson: Luke 16:19-31
19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Some General Comments
1. Remember one of the key principles for interpreting a passage of Scripture to which I return often: Context effects content. In other words, to clearly understand the meaning or meanings of a specific passage of the Bible, it's important to pay attention to various contexts.
It's good to ask:
(1) What's going on in this chapter of the Bible?2. Among the contextual issues to note about this lesson:
(2) What incidents or words have preceded this passage? What follows?
(3) What are some of the themes of this book?
(4) In considering key words or phrases in the passage, how are they used elsewhere, especially in this book?
(5) What about the historical context not only of the passage, but of the writer or writers who later committed it to paper?
(1) There's a lot of feasting going on in Luke 14, 15, and 16. As I pointed out last week (see here and here), the Bible often portrays heaven as a party with lots of feasting, a great banquet with good food and good wine.
In 14:15-24, a wealthy man throws a party, but his closest friends refuse his invitations, and he opens up to those who popular first century Jewish piety (and some confused contemporary Christian televangelists) would deem unworthy for the heavenly banquet.
In 15:2-6, a shepherd leaves 99 of his sheep behind to find a single missing one and then calls his friends and neighbors together to celebrate after he finds it.
In 15:7-10, a widow finds a lost coin following a thorough search and invites her friends to rejoice over its recovery with her.
In Luke 15:11-32, over the objections of an older son, a father has a huge feast to celebrate the safe return of a son who had received his inheritance and then blown it all.
From Jesus, as from the Old Testament passages that point to the messianic feast, we get the idea that the eternal banquet will be for all who have placed their hope in the God ultimately revealed to the world in Christ. Being Jewish or wealthy or able bodied will be no advantage. Admission will belong to all who heed the invitation of the Lord Who came to fulfill the Law and the prophets. (See here.)
(2) There's a lot of teaching in Luke on the proper use of money and how to view it. Jesus warns His followers to manage their money, not to allow it to manage them. He also says that failure to be generous with the poor is idolatry, making money an idol. In Luke 19:1-10, an extortionist tax collector, Zacchaeus, repents for this very sin and others and then, gives to the poor.
(3) It's in Luke's Gospel that we find the parable of the Good Samaritan, a tale told by Jesus in which, rather than the good religious leaders among God's people, a hated Samaritan fulfills the command to love one's neighbor as one's self. The parable that comprises this Bible lesson is ultimately, as George Buttrich states, not about money, but about neighborliness.
One can be neighborly whether one has money or not. One can fail to be neighborly whether one has money or not. If we have money, we're commanded by God to use it, along with the rest of our life, to express God's love. If we have no money, we're commanded by God to express God's love.
This precludes a lot of the nonsensical statements we Christians sometimes make, like, "If I had a lot of money, I would help people." God tells us to help people no matter what our financial condition.
(4) This passage is, as mentioned, a parable. Parable is a Greek compound word that literally means, to throw or roll alongside. A parable is a story with a point or an idea rolling alongside it. Jesus often told parables to make His points, often those we find least palatable. Luke contains more of Jesus' parables than the other Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and John) and also contains the most famous ones.
That's enough for now. More tomorrow, I hope.
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