If you read the gospels even briefly, you will notice that Jesus taught in “parables” very often. A parable is simply a teaching which uses physical things to represent and illustrate a spiritual point. Many Bible teachers within traditional Christianity have wrongly insisted that of all Jesus’ parables, ONLY the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is to be taken literally at face value. Sometimes it is claimed that the fact this the only parable in which first names are used (Abraham and Lazarus) is evidence of this.

But this simply isn’t true. If you’re interested, here you can find a well-written piece providing much evidence that this is indeed a parable and not a literal illustration. In this post, I’m going to look at who or what is represented by Lazarus, the rich man, and their death.

It’s essential that we understand that this parable is simply a continuation and elaboration of what Jesus was saying in the preceding verses, during his conversation with the religious leaders of Israel. Here is what Jesus was saying which led to telling this parable (NKJV):

“ Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. 18 “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery. (Now) There was a certain rich man…”

Allow me to rephrase this to make his meaning more clear:

“You (Israel’s religious leaders) make sure to appear righteous in the sight of men, but God is not fooled. He sees and knows the corruption of your heart and your hypocrisy. You selfishly take advantage of the esteem and respect that people give to your position, though God despises pride and oppression. In reality you are blind, foolish, and spiritually destitute. Know that according to the will of God, a new spiritual season is beginning, and John is its first messenger. No longer will any regard be given to those who hold certain positions or know and keep laws. Instead, those who are esteemed by God are those who seek the Kingdom of Heaven with a violent desperation. But woe to you, religious leaders, because the law will not go unfulfilled, and since you are bound to the law by oath like a marriage, it would essentially be adultery for you to pursue the spiritual Kingdom of God outside of the constraints of that law.”

The Rich Man :

To those in Jesus’ day about 2,000 years ago, the rich man typified the Pharisees and other religious leaders of the Jews (the word “Jew” refers to the descendants of Judah, which you will soon see is very relevant in this parable). In this parable, you will notie Abraham refers to the rich man as “child.” This is because, as scripture says clearly, the Pharisees saw themselves as children of Abraham (and thus entitled to the blessings promised to him) 1 . Notice this too, which is quite amazing and important: Genesis chapters 29-30 state that Abraham’s descendant Judah, from whom the word “Jew” originates, had five brothers, and in the parable the rich man specifically mentions his five brothers .

So, this rich man represents the Jewish religious leaders, who Jesus so often warned and derided. The Pharisees live on in scripture as a representation of those who promote and follow the way of religion. Therefore, for us today, the rich man in this parable represents those who promote the way of religion, which is that of natural understanding, natural perception, self-awareness, fear, and attempting to appear good or gain favor with God by a code of conduct and set of beliefs.

Jesus purposely describes the lifestyle of the rich man like this: (Darby Translation): “…he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer in splendor every day.” Purple was the color of royalty, and linen was worn by priests. These luxuries therefore represent the rich man’s royal lineage as a descendant of Judah and his elevated status as a religious leader. The Pharisees had it good! They were content and confident (“good cheer” ) in their law-keeping and knowledge, and they enjoyed the continual respect of other men due to their outward piety and grandiose appearance and behavior (“splendor every day”). But, Jesus exposed them as frauds, as they did not exhibit the fruits of the Spirit and did essentially nothing to help those they saw as “beneath” them – certainly not at the expense of their comfort or their precious law.

here Religion began the moment Adam ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (which I wrote about in more detail). The twisting of mind/heart that happened at that time still pushes us toward religion today. The spirit of Christ, on the other hand, leads us towards freedom and the establishment of the kingdom of God, based on love. Believe it or not, Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the Rich man is actually teaching that while religion offers many enticing benefits and appears wonderful on the surface, it is a deceptive web which ultimately brings nothing but spiritual destitution, torment and death.

What’s amazing and scary is how similar Jesus’ description of the rich man is to the description of the immensely evil Babylon the Great in Revelation 18, who is described this way: “…she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, “I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 3 The rich man and Babylon are kindred spirits, both typifying blind, stubborn, deceptive religion, which fuels pride, fear, self-centeredness, and division. Jesus came as an illustration of one free from these things – a true son of God, not a mere servant who doesn’t really know the King.

Lazarus :

The name Lazarus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name “Eliazar,” which means “surrounded/helped by God.” (It’s not a coincidence that according to Genesis 15, Abraham’s chief servant and one-time heir was Eliazar! More on that next time). In Jesus’ day, Lazarus represented those (mostly Gentiles) who desired to be a part of God’s people, but remained helplessly shut out and oppressed.

Jesus said that Lazarus (Gentiles) desired the crumbs from the rich man’s (Jews’) table. This reminds me of Mark 7:25-29, where a Gentile woman comes to Jesus asking him to cast a demon out of her daughter. He tells her that the children (Jews) should be given bread (God’s favor and blessings) first, and then the dogs (Gentiles). But the woman replies that even dogs (Gentiles) eat the crumbs that fall from the children’s (Jews’) table. This answer, which demonstrated authentic and prophetic faith, impressed Jesus, and her daughter was immediately set free. Jesus seems to have been testing her, as she received “bread” despite being a “dog!” If the Father didn’t want this to be so, it wouldn’t have been. In the parable, unlike the rich man (religiously confident Israel/Judah), Lazarus had no supply of bread (a history and knowledge of the law and prophets, as well as a Jewish bloodline and covenant). Jesus also says that Lazarus was oppressed by evil spirits and evil men (represented by the dogs licking his wounds), but was unable to improve his situation, remaining oppressed until both he and the rich man “died.”

For us today, Lazarus represents the violent kingdom-seekers who Jesus said were replacing those whose confidence before God was in their religion based on the law and prophets . The Lazarus kingdom-seekers are humble, desperate and often overlooked and shunned by the religious; people who desire God from the heart and are not confident in their own knowledge or works. Religion tends toward routine and rigid formulas and beliefs, but the Spirit doesn’t work that way.

Of the two men, Lazarus was actually the one blessed in God’s sight, because as Jesus said in the “beatitudes,” the blessed are those poor in spirit, the mournful, meek, merciful, peacemaking, those hungry and thirsty for righteousness, the pure in heart, and those persecuted for righteousness… 4

Their Death and “Afterlife”

After describing the state of Lazarus and the rich man, Jesus literally says “it came to be” (meaning God’s timing/season had arrived) that both died, at the same time! That is amazing and very significant!!! Remember, immediately before telling this parable Jesus was telling the Pharisees that the law and prophets were “ until ” John? Since John had already come, Jesus was saying there was a new season in place and the old season had ended, or “died.” The death of the old season came to both types of men simultaneously.

Death in this parable represents the ending of the season of the law and prophets which began with Moses. The “afterlife” in this parable represents the effects of the new season. What we see is that once the season of law ended, at the two mens’ “death,” the tables turned. The rich man became tormented, losing all his comforts and basis for his self-righteousness, while Lazarus begins to be comforted by Abraham. Paul’s writings remind us that Abraham predated Moses and the law, and that Abraham’s promise from God was not attached to the law or prophets, but was attached to Christ . The new season which was declared and revealed is that of the spiritual, violent kingdom-seekers, also known as sons of God who want to bring the reign of love, of whom Jesus was the first and of whom we have the privilege and right to be as well.

Summary :

Rich man = Jewish religious leaders (and those today who promote/uphold religion, especially at the expense of the freedom of sonship and the simple, profound centrality of oneness and sacrificial love).

Lazarus = Gentiles and seekers of God’s kingdom who had been shut out of covenant/fellowship with God.

Death = the ending of the time/season of the law and prophets.

Afterlife = the dramatic change resulting from the ending of the season of the law and prophets and the beginning of the new season of spiritual Kingdom-seekers.

With the primary characters and their death now explained, in my next and final post of this series I am going to look more at what Jesus describes after death and what the ramifications are for us today. Thank you for reading, God bless you.

1.Matthew 3:9, John 8:39 Genesis 29, 30 Genesis 15:2 Matthew 5:2-12