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The rich man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19–31 · Journey to Jerusalem

Scripture

Luke 16:19–31

here was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

King James Version · public domain

Lluka 16:19–31

dhe një njeri ishte i-pasurë, edhe vishej me porfirë e me stoli të-kuqe, dyke gëzuarë përdita ndriçim. 20Ishte edhe një i-vobek që e kish emërinë Llazar, i-cili dergjej përanë portës’ s’ati plot me plagë, 21Edhe dëshëronte të nginjej me thërrimetë që bininë nga truvez’ e të-pasurit; po edhe qëntë vinin’ e lëpininë plagët’ e ati. 22Edhe i-vobeku vdiq, edhe upru nga ëngjëjtë ndë gjit t’Avraamit. Vdiq edhe i-pasuri edhe ukall ndë varr. 23Edhe ndë hadht, tek ishte ndë mundime, ngriti syt’ e ti, e sheh Avraaminë së-largu, edhe Llazarinë ndë gjit t’ati. 24Edhe ay thërriti e tha, O atë Avraam, përdëlle-më, edhe dërgo Llazarinë, që të ngjyenjë majën’ e gishtit të ti ndë ujë, edhe të më ftohnjë gjuhënë; sepse po mundonem ndë këtë flakë. 25Po Avraami i tha, O djalë, kujtohu, se ti more të-mirat’ e tua ndë jetët t’ënde, edhe Llazari gjithashtu të-këqiatë; po tashi ky prëhetë, e ti mundone. 26Edhe mbi gjithë këto, ndër mest nesh e jush është ngulurë një pafundje e-madhe, që kështu ata që duanë të shkonjënë së-këtejmi ndër ju, të mos muntnjënë, as t’andejmitë të shkojnë ndër ne. 27Edhe ay tha, Të lutem pra, o atë, të dërgonjç atë ndë shtëpit të t’im et; 28Sepse kam pesë vëllezër; që të apë dëshmim ndër ata, që të mos vinjënë edhe ata ndë këtë vënt të mundimit. 29Avraami i thotë, kanë Moisinë edhe profitëritë; letë ndigjonjën’ ata. 30Edhe ay tha, Jo, o atë Avraam; po ndë vaftë ndonjë nga të-vdekuritë tek ata, dotë pendonenë. 31Edhe ay i tha, Ndë qoftë se nukë ndigjonjënë Moisinë edhe profitërit as ndë ungjalltë ndonjë nga të-vdekuritë, s’janë për të bindurë.

Kristoforidhi, Dhiata e Re Toskërisht 1879 · zotërim publik

Summary

Christ's most vivid teaching on the afterlife and on judgment: the beggar carried by angels to Abraham's bosom, the rich man buried and in torment, and the great chasm fixed between them, which the Fathers take as the irrevocability of one's eternal state once death has come. The Fathers note the order of the naming: the poor man alone is given a name, Lazarus, "God has helped," while the rich man, who had a name on every tongue in this life, is left nameless before God.

Chrysostom's seven homilies On Wealth and Poverty are the classic treatment, and his point is sharp: the rich man's sin is named nowhere as theft or open cruelty, only as the daily neglect of Lazarus at his very gate; indifference itself is condemnation, for not to share is already to rob. Chrysostom draws out too that wealth and poverty are not the issue but how each is borne: Lazarus is saved not by his poverty but by his patience, and the rich man condemned not by his riches but by his hardness. Basil presses the same charge in To the Rich: the goods we hoard belong to the hungry, and superfluity withheld is robbery of the poor. The Fathers read the chasm as the settled justice of God after death, where no repentance remains.

"They have Moses and the prophets" closes the door on the excuse of ignorance, and the Fathers hear in it a quiet prophecy of the Gospel: if they will not hear Scripture, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead. Read morally, the parable sets a poor man at every Christian's gate as the appointed place of mercy, and warns that the time to cross the chasm is now, on this side of death.

The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31)

Public-Domain Patristic Commentary

The chapter that began with the unjust steward closes with the only parable in which the Lord gives a character a name. "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores." Both die; the beggar is carried by angels to Abraham's bosom, the rich man is buried and lifts up his eyes in torment, begging across a great fixed gulf first for a drop of water on his tongue, then for a warning to be sent to his five brothers. Abraham answers that they have Moses and the prophets, and that if they will not hear them, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. The Fathers read it as a warning about wealth without mercy, and about the sufficiency of Scripture for those who will hear it. The parable is found only in Luke, and it follows directly on the saying about the mammon of unrighteousness that the covetous Pharisees had derided.

The Fathers gathered below, from the East and from the West, are each quoted verbatim from a public-domain translation. Cyril's first set comes from his own two homilies on the passage; the others are drawn from the Catena Aurea of Thomas Aquinas, in John Henry Newman's 1841 translation.

St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444)

From his Commentary on Luke (Homilies 111 and 112, on Luke 16:19–31), trans. R. Payne Smith, 1859. Public domain.

On the rich man left nameless, while the poor man is named by God:

While it was easy to have said, "That there was such and such a rich man whoever it might be," He does not say so, but simply calls him a rich man: while He mentions the poor man by name. What conclusion therefore must we draw? That the rich man as being uncompassionate was nameless in God's presence ... while, as I said, the poor man is mentioned by name by the tongue of God.

On the dogs, gentler than the rich man:

Yes, even the dogs, it says, licked his sores, and that, as it seems, not to injure him, but rather, so to speak, as sympathizing with him, and tending him ... But the rich man was more cruel than the beasts; for he felt neither sympathy for him nor compassion; but was full of all mercilessness.

On the two departures, the one carried by angels, the other only buried:

Of the poor man, He says, that he was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom: but of the rich man there is nothing of the sort, but only that he died and was buried. For those who have hope towards God find in their departure from the world a deliverance from anguish and pain.

On death as a harbour for the souls that have weathered the world:

Like as ships that sail upon the sea stand the shock of savage waves, and struggle with the violence of mighty winds, but afterwards arriving at tranquil havens fit for their rest, cease there from tossing; so in like manner I think that the souls of men, when they emerge from the turbulence of earthly things, enter the mansions that are above, as into a haven of salvation.

On Abraham's answer, and why the rich man alone is tormented:

You would have been a partner with Lazarus, and a portion of his consolation would have been given you by God, if you had admitted him to be a partner of your wealth. But this you did not do, and therefore you alone are tormented: for such is the fitting punishment of the unmerciful, and of those whose mind feels no sympathy for the sick.

On why mercy to the poor is named above every other virtue:

The act is better than any other kind of well doing: for it works in our souls a certain divine likeness which moulds us, so to speak, after God's image. For Christ also has said, "Be you merciful, as your Father also in heaven is merciful."

St. John Chrysostom (c. 349–407)

As preserved in the Catena Aurea on Luke. Public domain.

On the rich man spoken of in the past tense, as a shadow already gone:

There was, not is, because he had passed away as a fleeting shadow.

On the soul that was dead before the body died:

He died then indeed in body, but his soul was dead before. For he did none of the works of the soul. All that warmth which issues from the love of our neighbor had fled, and he was more dead than his body.

On the eyes left free only that the torment might be sharper:

His eyes are allowed to be free that he may be the more tortured, not having that which another has. The riches of others are the torments of those who are in poverty.

On the true cause of his condemnation:

But not because he was rich was he tormented, but because he was not merciful.

Theophylact of Ohrid (c. 1055–1107)

As preserved in the Catena Aurea on Luke. Public domain.

On why the rich man addresses Abraham and not Lazarus:

He does not however direct his words to Lazarus, but to Abraham, because he was perhaps ashamed, and thought Lazarus would remember his injuries; but he judged of him from himself.

On the great gulf as the distance between the righteous and sinners:

The great gulf signifies the distance of the righteous from sinners. For as their affections were different, so also their abiding places do not slightly differ.

On the fixed gulf as a refutation of those who deny the eternity of punishment:

You may from this derive an argument against the followers of Origen, who say, that since an end is to be placed to punishments, there will be a time when sinners shall be gathered to the righteous and to God.

St. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–395)

As preserved in the Catena Aurea on Luke. Public domain.

On the just judgment of God as a mirror answering our dispositions:

As the most excellent of mirrors represents an image of the face, just such as the face itself which is opposite to it, a joyful image of that which is joyful, a sorrowful of that which is sorrowful; so also is the just judgment of God adapted to our dispositions.

On the carnal heart that its passions do not leave even after death:

For a man who becomes altogether carnal in his heart, not even after he has put off his body is out of the reach of his passions.

St. Basil the Great (c. 330–379)

As preserved in the Catena Aurea on Luke. Public domain.

On the fitting reward measured out to the unmerciful rich man:

But he receives a meet reward, fire and the torments of hell; the parched tongue; for the tuneful lyre, wailing; for drink, the intense longing for a drop; for curious or wanton spectacles, profound darkness; for busy flattery, the undying worm.

St. Gregory the Great (c. 540–604)

From his Homilies on the Gospels (Homily 40), as compiled in the Catena Aurea on Luke 16 (trans. J. H. Newman, 1841). Public domain.

On the costly robes, named by the Gospel because they are no small fault:

Now if the wearing of fine and precious robes were not a fault, the word of God would never have so carefully expressed this. For no one seeks costly garments except for vainglory, that he may seem more honorable than others; for no one wishes to be clothed with such, where he cannot be seen by others.

On the care for his brothers that wakes in the rich man only when it is too late:

When the rich man in flames found that all hope was taken away from him, his mind turns to those relations whom he had left behind.

St. Ambrose of Milan (c. 339–397)

From his Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, as compiled in the Catena Aurea on Luke 16 (trans. J. H. Newman, 1841). Public domain.

On poverty and riches, neither holy nor guilty in themselves:

But not all poverty is holy, or all riches criminal; but as luxury disgraces riches, so does holiness commend poverty.

Blessed Augustine (354–430)

As preserved in the Catena Aurea on Luke. Public domain.

On the insatiable covetousness of the rich:

For the covetousness of the rich is insatiable, it neither fears God nor regards man, spares not a father, keeps not its fealty to a friend, oppresses the widow, attacks the property of a ward.

On Abraham's bosom as a hidden resting-place, not a bodily lap:

If you would not fall into a childish mistake, you must understand Abraham's bosom to be a retired and hidden resting-place where Abraham is; and therefore called Abraham's, not that it is his alone, but because he is the father of many nations, and placed first, that others might imitate his preeminence of faith.

On the burial in hell as the lowest depth of torment:

The burial in hell is the lowest depth of torment which after this life devours the proud and unmerciful.

St. Bede the Venerable (c. 673–735)

From his Commentary on Luke, as compiled in the Catena Aurea on Luke 16 (trans. J. H. Newman, 1841). Public domain.

On the parable as the confirmation of the warning the Pharisees had mocked:

Our Lord had just before advised the making friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness, which the Pharisees derided. He next confirms by examples what He had set before them.

On the purple and the fine linen, the marks of the rich man's luxury:

Purple, the color of the royal robe, is obtained from sea shells, which are scraped with a knife. Byssus is a kind of white and very fine linen.

Note on sources and other Fathers

The Fathers do not read the rich man's sin as his wealth alone but as wealth joined to a closed heart. Cyril makes the point sharpest: the rich man is left nameless "as being uncompassionate," while the beggar is "mentioned by name by the tongue of God"; and the one fault that condemns him is that "he felt neither sympathy for him nor compassion," so that the dogs were gentler than he. Chrysostom presses the same nerve, that the man's soul "was dead before" his body, and that "not because he was rich was he tormented, but because he was not merciful." Basil hears the punishment fitted point for point to the sin, fire for luxury and "for busy flattery, the undying worm." Theophylact draws from the great gulf "fixed" a guard against the followers of Origen who would set an end to the torments, while Gregory of Nyssa likens the just judgment of God to a mirror that returns to each soul its own image, joyful or sorrowful. Augustine corrects the bodily picture of Abraham's bosom, reading it as "a retired and hidden resting-place," and names the burial in hell as the lowest depth "which after this life devours the proud and unmerciful." Ambrose guards the balance from the other side, that poverty is not holy in itself nor riches criminal, "but as luxury disgraces riches, so does holiness commend poverty." Gregory the Great hears in the costly robes the vainglory that seeks to be seen, and notes that the rich man's care for his brothers wakes only "when all hope was taken away from him." And over against the torment Cyril sets the positive lesson of the whole chapter, that mercy to the poor "works in our souls a certain divine likeness which moulds us, so to speak, after God's image."

The Catena also carries comment on this passage under the names of Pseudo-Chrysostom and Pseudo-Basil, but those attributions are spurious, so they are not quoted here; readers who want Chrysostom's fuller voice on this parable should look to his own homilies On Wealth and Poverty (the sermons De Lazaro), which are securely his. Remaining Catena names on the passage, such as the Gloss, Remigius, and Rabanus, are medieval-Western compilers and are likewise passed over.

Patristic sources