
Idolatry is a central concern in this parable. He is the one who is risen from the dead to proclaim our need for salvation and also what He has done to provide it. Jesus, then, is not only our Savior but is also the prophet who warns of the wrath to come. If the Pharisees didn’t understand this parable before Jesus went to the cross, perhaps they would after the Savior rose from the dead. The passage ends, “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”In referring to one who will rise from the dead, Jesus is referring to Himself. Help them to see that heaven is eternity without such miseries. Ask students to list the hardships they experience in life. Be encouraged to use this verse to illustrate heaven. What a blessed destination follows his life of deprivation and humiliation. Our Lord’s words bless us as we read, “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.” This provides a glimpse into the overwhelming bliss of heaven it is not our own strength but rather God’s own angels who usher the forgiven sinner to mansions of glory. Heaven’s true joy and peace is the complete presence of Jesus Christ without the burden of the sinful nature, not a reunion with the most cherished loved one. In the process of teaching this narrative, be sure to help students understand that Jesus used Abraham because the Jews held the Old Testament patriarch in such high esteem. Further, to heed the message of Christ only after death avails nothing. The hearer and reader is to be convicted that nothing should come before God and that we all do well to attend to those who preach the truth. Given the request for Lazarus, we surmise that this poor man did have saving faith, and for this reason went to heaven.

When the rich man recognizes the reality of his eternal state, he beseeches Abraham, “I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house- for I have five brothers-so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead’” (vv. For this reason, death translates the man to hell rather than heaven. Instead, we understand that the rich man allowed his prosperity to eclipse all else, including God. There are plenty of wealthy Christians and there are also unbelievers in poverty. Salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ. Reading Abraham’s words in verse 25, “ Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish,” we should not suppose that riches now mean hell later, neither that poverty now means heaven later. This is different than what one might assume, that wealth of itself is sinful. The rich man is guilty of loving the comforts of this world to such an extent as to ignore the importance of the kingdom of God and those who preach the message of salvation. And he called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham ’s side. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
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We’ll explore the central meaning of the parable in more detail, as well as the theological pitfalls and how to avoid them. Interestingly, however, a great deal of what this parable has to offer Sunday School teachers is what it doesn’t teach. It warns against valuing property above people. This parable teaches the importance of viewing others as people who Jesus loves and wants to save, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
