Rich man and Lazarus

The rich man and Lazarus (also called the parable of Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives) is a parable of Jesus from the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Speaking to his disciples and some Pharisees, Jesus tells of an unnamed rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. When both die, the rich man goes to Hell and implores Abraham to send Lazarus from his side in Heaven to warn the rich man's family from sharing his fate. Abraham replies, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

Along with the parables of the Ten Virgins, Prodigal Son, and Good Samaritan, the rich man and Lazarus was one of the most frequently illustrated parables in medieval art, perhaps because of its vivid account of an afterlife.

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Interpretations

There are different views on the historicity and origin of the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

The story is unique to Luke and is not thought to come from the hypothetical Q document.

As a literal historical event

St. Jerome and others view the story not as a parable, but as an actual event which was related by Jesus to his followers.e.g
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Supporters of this view point to a key detail in the story: the use of a personal name (Lazarus) not found in any other parable. By contrast, in all of the other parables Jesus refers to a central character by a description, such as "a certain man", "a sower", and so forth.

As a parable created by Jesus

Other Christians consider that this is a parable created by Jesus and told to his followers. Tom Wright and Joachim Jeremias both treat it as a "parable". Proponents of this view argue that the story of Lazarus and the rich man has much in common with other stories which are agreed-upon parables, both in language and content (e.g. the reversal of fortunes, the use of antithesis, and concern for the poor).

Luther: a parable of the conscience

Martin Luther taught that the story was a parable about rich and poor in this life and the details of the afterlife not to be taken literally:

Lightfoot: a parable against the Pharisees

John Lightfoot (1602–1675) treated the parable as a parody of Pharisee belief concerning the Bosom of Abraham, and from the connection of Abraham saying the rich man's family would not believe even if the parable Lazarus was raised, to the priests' failure to believe in the resurrection of Christ:

E. W. Bullinger in the Companion Bible cited Lightfoot's comment, and expanded it to include coincidence to lack of belief in the resurrection of the historical Lazarus (John 12:10). Bullinger considered that Luke did not identify the passage as a "parable" because it contains a parody of the view of the afterlife:

Drioux: a parable against the Sadducees

An alternative explanation of the parable is a satirical parable against the Sadducees. One writer to identify the Sadducees as the target was Johann Nepomuk Sepp. The arguments in favour of identification of the Rich Man as the Sadducees are (1) the wearing of purple and fine linen, priestly dress, (2) the reference to "five brothers in my father's house" as an allusion to Caiaphas' father-in-law Annas, and his five sons who also served as high priests according to Josephus, (3) Abraham's statement in the parable that they would not believe even if he raised Lazarus, and then the fulfillment that when Jesus did raise Lazarus of Bethany the Sadducees not only did not believe, but attempted to have Lazarus killed again: "So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well" (John 12:10). This last interpretation had wide circulation in France during the 1860s-1890s as a result of having been included in the notes of the pictorial Bible of Abbé Drioux.

Perry: a parable of a new covenant

Anglican theologian Simon Perry has argued that the Lazarus of the parable (an abbreviated transcript of "Eleazer") refers to Eliezer of Damascus, Abraham's servant. In Genesis 15—a foundational covenant text familiar to any first century Jew—God says to Abraham "this man will not be your heir" (Gen 15:4). Perry argues that this is why Lazarus is outside the gates of Abraham's perceived descendant. By inviting Lazarus to Abraham's bosom, Jesus is redefining the nature of the covenant. It also explains why the rich man assumes Lazarus is Abraham's servant.

Friedrich Justus Knecht: a parable of the future life

The Catholic German theologian Friedrich Justus Knecht (d. 1921), states that this parable gives "a glimpse of the future state, both for our consolation and as a warning." Because after this life there is "a life where everything is quite different from what it is on earth. Lazarus was poor, despised, racked with pain and hunger while he was on earth; but when he died, angels carried his soul to the abode of the just, where he received consolation." However the rich man who when on earth, "led what was apparently a magnificent life. He was esteemed and honoured, surrounded by flatterers, waited on by a host of servants, clad in costly clothes, and he feasted luxuriously every day. But all this magnificence lasted only a short time. He died and was lost for ever, and has been for centuries suffering unspeakable torments."

Knecht also reflects on why the rich man was condemned writing: "Because he was a sensual man, an epicurean, and religion was a matter of no consideration with him. His only thought was how to lead a pleasant life, and he neither troubled himself about the future, nor believed in a coming Redeemer. He led a life without prayer, without fear of hell or desire for heaven, a life without grace and without God."

Afterlife doctrine

Most Christians believe in the immortality of the soul and particular judgment and see the story as consistent with it, or even refer to it to establish these doctrines like St. Irenaeus, an Early Church father, did.

Others believe that the main point of the parable was to warn the godless wealthy about their need for repentance in this life and Jesus did not intend to give a preview of life after death. This belief is not held by Catholics, Orthodox, Oriental Christians and any other Nicene creed church. The parable teaches in this particular case that both identity and memory remain after death for the soul of the one in a hell.

Some Christians believe in the mortality of the soul ("Christian mortalism" or " soul sleep") and general judgment ("Last Judgment") only. This view is held by some Anglicans such as E. W. Bullinger. Proponents of the mortality of the soul, and general judgment, for example Advent Christians, Conditionalists, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians, and Christian Universalists, argue that this is a parable using the framework of Jewish views of the Bosom of Abraham, and is metaphorical, and is not definitive teaching on the intermediate state for several reasons. Nicene creed denominations of Christianity contend, however, that such views had no supporters or traditions supporting the mortality of the soul in the early years of Christianity and only arose after the end of the Middle Ages. In ''hades'' is itself thrown into the "lake of fire" after being emptied of the dead.

Literary provenance and legacy

Jewish sources

Some scholars—e.g., G. B. Caird, Joachim Jeremias, Marshall, Hugo Gressmann,—suggest the basic storyline of ''The Rich Man and Lazarus'' was derived from Jewish stories that had developed from an Egyptian folk tale about Si-Osiris. Richard Bauckham is less sure, adding:

In any case, esushas used otifs also found in the Egyptian and Jewish storiesto construct a new story, which as a whole is not the same as any other extant story. ...f coursecomparison with the way they function in other stories can help to highlight their function in the parable. In this sense, the parallels and contrasts with the Egyptian and Jewish story of the rich and the poor man can be instructive...

Steven Cox highlights other elements from Jewish myths that the parable could be mimicking.

Legacy in Early Christianity and Medieval tradition

Hippolytus of Rome (ca. AD 200) describes Hades with similar details: the bosom of Abraham for the souls of the righteous, fiery torment for the souls of wicked, and a chasm between them. He equates the fires of Hades with the lake of fire described in the Book of Revelation, but specifies that no one will actually be cast into the fire until the end times.

In some European countries, the Latin description ''dives'' (Latin for "the rich man") is treated as his proper name: Dives. In Italy, the description ''epulone'' (Italian for "banquetter") is also used as a proper name. Both descriptions appear together, but not as a proper name, in Peter Chrysologus's sermon ''De divite epulone'' (Latin "On the Rich Banquetter"), corresponding to the verse, "There was a ''rich man'' who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who ''feasted'' sumptuously every day".

The story was frequently told in an elaborated form in the medieval period, treating it as factual rather than a parable. Lazarus was venerated as a patron saint of lepers. In the 12th century, crusaders in the Kingdom of Jerusalem founded the Order of Saint Lazarus.

The story was often shown in art, especially carved at the portals of churches, at the foot of which beggars would sit (for example at Moissac and Saint-Sernin, Toulouse), pleading their cause. There is a surviving stained-glass window at Bourges Cathedral.

In the Latin liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the words of '' In paradisum'' are sometimes chanted as the deceased is taken from church to burial, including this supplication: "Chorus angelorum te suscipiat ... et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem" (May the ranks of angels receive you ... and with Lazarus, who was once poor, may you have eternal rest").

Conflation with Lazarus of Bethany

The name "Lazarus" (from the Hebrew: אלעזר, Elʿāzār, Eleazar, "God is my help") also appears in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus resurrects Lazarus of Bethany four days after his death.

Historically within Christianity, the begging Lazarus of the parable (feast day 21 June) and Lazarus of Bethany (feast day 17 December) have sometimes been conflated, with some churches celebrating a blessing of dogs, associated with the beggar, on 17 December, the date associated with Lazarus of Bethany.Stephen Gencarella Olbrys, "Money talks: folklore in the public sphere". ''Folklore'' Vol. 116, No. 3 (December 2005), pp. 292-310.

Romanesque iconography carved on portals in Burgundy and Provence might be indicative of such a conflation. For example, at the west portal of the Church of St. Trophime at Arles, the beggar Lazarus is enthroned as St. Lazarus. Similar examples are found at the church at Avallon, the central portal at Vézelay, and the portals of the cathedral of Autun.

In literature and poetry

Geoffrey Chaucer's '' Summoner'' observes that "Dives and Lazarus lived differently, and their rewards were different."

In William Shakespeare's ''Henry IV, Part 1'', Sir John Falstaff alludes to the story while insulting his friend Bardolph about his face, comparing it to a memento mori

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