Are you The Rich Man?
When one reads the parable of
Lazarus and the Rich Man carefully (Luke 16:19-31), three things immediately
spring up in one’s mind vividly. Firstly, two extreme types of livelihoods are
juxtaposed that results in condemnation of one and exaltation of the other in
the reverse manner. This leads to a second material consideration, namely, what
is the ground of condemnation of one on one hand and that of exaltation of the other
on the other hand? Finally, and importantly, it leads us to consider the
reality of the place of condemnation and that of exultation.
The two characters
at play are the Rich Man and the invalid poor man. Note that the Rich Man is
not named but the invalid poor man is called Lazarus, which in Hebrew means “God
helps”. It appears that Jesus is indicating to the hearers that while Lazarus
is in an abject state of life while living, he does have faith in God in the
path of reliance on God. In contrast, the Rich Man who is filthy rich, as
exemplified by his purple outer garment, fine linen undergarment and sumptuous
daily indulgence, only lives for himself though he may be outwardly considered
a blessed member of the Jewish community and a child of Abraham by those around
him, given his wealth. We see that this Rich Man exhibits utter callousness, in
the face of abject suffering of Lazarus who lies at his palatial gate, and after death is condemned
in the words of Abraham, that as much as he lives only for his “good things” (v25) while alive on earth,
he now receives his just deserts of being tormented in hell. As CS Lewis once
said, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth
thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither” (cf. Matt 6:33; Matt 16:24-26).
Evidently, this Rich Man, with all his material possessions, only live for
himself without love for God and therefore no love for his neighbour as much as
he professes to be a child of Abraham.
Finally, as a careful reader yourself,
you would wonder if the picture of Heaven, as called Abraham’s bosom, and hell
are a reality after death, given that this is a parable. Firstly, we note that the
picture of hell is one of fire (v24) and torment (v25, v28). This picture of
hell’s torment with fire is also mentioned by Jesus in other parts of the
Scriptures, such as the one in Matt 13:50, “And shall cast them into a
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth”. So, one can truly believe that reality of the
torment of hell for those who live for themselves. But what about those who
rely on God and live for him alone in this life, such as Lazarus? We have this
place called Abraham’s bosom which is described as a place of comfort (v25)
where Lazarus is carried to by Angels after death. Perhaps the name Abraham’s
bosom describes a place where the inhabitants are close to God as much as Lazarus
is described as residing in the bosom of Abraham, a close friend of God. When
we turn to Matt 13:43, where Jesus is contrasting the state of the blessed with
the state of the condemned in the earlier verse (v42), a superlative position
of the blessed is basking in the splendour of the Sun (v43) in the Kingdom of
the Father! Here is a figurative description of the future state of the blessed
in the sense that the luminosity of the Sun is used to describe the splendour
of the righteous! “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom
of their Father” (v34). It is a splendour that only nature can speak of very
fabulously now whereby we can identify in some very strong sense our future
glorified state (Rom 8:30). One wonders, how we will be elated when we are
finally accepted by our heavenly Father through Christ, “knowing at last that
we have pleased whom we were created to please”[1]
with the words from our heavenly Father, “Well
done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21). It also means with utmost
seriousness that everyone (Yes, everyone!) that we pass by at work, at the Gym,
at home or at church is no mere mortal.
Everyone will either have immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.
As you know, the Rich Man hasn’t
got a name.
The
two big questions today are, firstly, “Are you the Rich Man?” and secondly, ”What
are you going to do to your neighbour?”
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