16:19–21 The Lord concludes His discourse on stewardship of material things by this account of two lives, two deaths, and two hereafters. It should be noted that this is not spoken of as a parable. We mention this because some critics seem to explain away the solemn implications of the story by waving it off as a parable.
At the outset, it should be made clear that the unnamed rich man was not condemned to Hades because of his wealth. The basis of salvation is faith in the Lord, and men are condemned for refusing to believe on Him. But this particular rich man showed that he did not have true saving faith by his careless disregard of the beggar who was laid at his gate. If he had had the love of God in him, he could not have lived in luxury, comfort, and ease when a fellow man was outside his front door, begging for a few crumbs of bread. He would have entered violently into the kingdom by abandoning his love of money.
It is likewise true that Lazarus was not saved because he was poor. He had trusted the Lord for the salvation of his soul.
Now notice the portrait of the rich man, sometimes called Dives (Latin for rich). He wore only the most expensive, custom-made clothing, and his table was filled with the choicest gourmet foods. He lived for self, catering to bodily pleasures and appetites. He had no genuine love for God, and no care for his fellow man.
Lazarus presents a striking contrast. He was a wretched beggar, dropped off every day in front of the rich man’s house, full of sores, emaciated with hunger, and plagued by unclean dogs that came and licked his sores.
16:22 When the beggar died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. Many question whether angels actually participate in conveying the souls of believers to heaven. We see no reason, however, for doubting the plain force of the words. Angels minister to believers in this life, and there seems no reason why they should not do so at the time of death. Abraham’s bosom is a symbolic expression to denote the place of bliss. To any Jew, the thought of enjoying fellowship with Abraham would suggest inexpressible bliss. We take it that Abraham’s bosom is the same as heaven. When the rich man died, his body was buriedâ€â€the body that he had catered to, and for which he had spent so much.
16:23, 24 But that was not all. His soul, or conscious self, went to Hades. Hades is the Greek for the OT word Sheol, the state of departed spirits. In the OT period, it was spoken of as the abode of both saved and unsaved. Here it is spoken of as the abode of the unsaved, because we read that the rich man was in torments.
It must have come as a shock to the disciples when Jesus said that this rich Jew went to Hades. They had always been taught from the OT that riches were a sign of God’s blessing and favor. An Israelite who obeyed the Lord was promised material prosperity. How then could a wealthy Jew go to Hades? The Lord Jesus had just announced that a new order of things began with the preaching of John. Henceforth, riches are not a sign of blessing. They are a test of a man’s faithfulness in stewardship. To whom much is given, of him will much be required.
Verse 23 disproves the idea of “soul sleep,†the theory that the soul is not conscious between death and resurrection. It proves that there is conscious existence beyond the grave. In fact, we are struck by the extent of knowledge which the rich man had. He ... saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. He was even able to communicate with Abraham. Calling him Father Abraham, he begged for mercy, pleading that Lazarus might bring a drop of water and cool his tongue. There is, of course, a question as to how a disembodied soul can experience thirst and anguish from flame. We can only conclude that the language is figurative, but that does not mean that the suffering was not real.
16:25 Abraham addressed him as son, suggesting that he was a descendant physically, though obviously not spiritually. The patriarch reminded him of his lifetime of luxury, ease, and indulgence. He also rehearsed the poverty and suffering of Lazarus. Now, beyond the grave, the tables were turned. The inequalities of earth were reversed.
16:26 We learn here that the choices of this life determine our eternal destiny, and once death has taken place, that destiny is fixed. There is no passage from the abode of the saved to that of the damned, or vice versa.
16:27–31 In death, the rich man suddenly became evangelistic. He want ed someone to go to his five brothers and warn them against coming to that place of torment. Abraham’s reply was that these five brothers, being Jews, had the OT Scriptures, and these should be sufficient to warn them. The rich man contradicted Abraham, stating that if one should go to them from the dead, they would surely repent. However, Abraham had the last word. He stated that failure to listen to the Word of God is final. If people will not heed the Bible, they would not believe if a person rose from the dead. This is conclusively proved in the case of the Lord Jesus Himself. He arose from the dead, and men still do not believe.
From the NT, we know that when a believer dies, his body goes to the grave, but his soul goes to be with Christ in heaven (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23). When an unbeliever dies, his body likewise goes to the grave, but his soul goes to Hades. For him, Hades is a place of suffering and remorse.
At the time of the Rapture, the bodies of believers will be raised from the grave and reunited with their spirits and souls (1 Thess. 4:13–18). They will then dwell with Christ eternally. At the Judgment of the Great White Throne, the bodies, spirits, and souls of unbelievers will be reunited (Rev. 20:12, 13). They will then be cast into the lake of fire, a place of eternal punishment.
And so chapter 16 closes with a most solemn warning to the Pharisees, and to all who would live for money. They do so at the peril of their souls. It is better to beg bread on earth than to beg water in Hades.
