The Rich Man, Lazarus, and Hell

Do you have a biblical text that haunts you? I don't mean a text that you struggle to understand. I don't mean a text that you wish people did not regularly abuse. I mean a text that really gets inside of you and makes you troubled. Actually, when I read Jesus' teachings in the gospels slowly and carefully, I keep saying, "Did he really say that?" But there is one text that really bothers me. It bothers me because it is abundantly clear. There is really no doubt what Jesus says because he does not hide the point. He announces it. The text is found in Luke 16. 


He tells the story of a rich man. This was a very rich man. He had the finest of everything. No worries or anxiety here. More than enough food to eat. However, outside the gate of his home was a poor man named Lazarus. This poor man was suffering greatly--with leprosy (or something similar) and hunger. He is so hungry that he longs for the scraps from the rich man's table. But the text tells us that the dogs licked his sores, presumably after eating the scraps. (The text does not say this, I am just embellishing a bit.) Perhaps we are to think that the dogs cared more about this poor, suffering wretch of a man than did the rich man. (Again, the text does not explicitly say that.)


Fast forward, and the poor man dies. He is taken away by angels to Abraham's "bosom," meaning in a place of comfort with Abraham.  The rich man dies and goes to the burning place of torment--which is Hades in Greek. From that place, the rich man cries out to Abraham for help. He does not get help, but he does get a succinct explanation of the seemingly explicable situation--inexplicable because this rich man was certainly a good man deserving something better, while the poor man..., well you get it. Here is Abraham's explanation to the rich man: 



"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" (Luke 16:25 ESV).



"Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony" (Luke 16:25 NIV84). 



“Son, you seem to be forgetting something: your life was full to overflowing with comforts and pleasures, and the life of Lazarus was just as full with suffering and pain. So now is his time of comfort, and now is your time of agony" (The Voice). 


I have included more than one translation so that you can see that I am not exaggerating in my struggles. What is my struggle, you may ask? Well, the poor man is with Abraham and the rich man is in Hades for one reason: they were poor and rich in this life and now in the future life the tables are turned. The only reason that the poor man is with Abraham is because he was poor in life. The only reason that the rich man is in Hades is because he was rich in life. We typically avoid the difficulty of this text by making it about the greed of the rich man. Most people that I talk to about this text have never struggled with it because they have jumped to that conclusion. And, this explanation may well be true, but it is not the explanation that the rich man receives. He is told that he is suffering because he was rich. Jesus offers no explanation that would soften this message (although he does talk about the impossibility of worshiping both God and wealth in the next chapter). The message simply stands there is stark contrast to our lives. 


So, what do I do with this text? Do I think that all rich people are going to hell? Fair question. If I believe this, then I suppose that I am going to hell, too. After all, I have never been hungry to the point of suffering. I have never longed for the scraps off the floor. I have never lain on the ground suffering while the dogs licked my oozing sores. I am sitting in the comfort of my nice, air-conditioned house, smugly saying that my house is well below the median price of houses in the Houston area. Therefore, I am certainly not guilty of greed, right? 


So, first, I try to balance the text with the other teachings of scripture about wealth.  I know that not all teaching on wealth is negative (although much, in fact probably most, of it is). Second, I work at being generous. I want to give to those in need. Third, I try to avoid living in guilt. Guilt can be a positive motivator, but it can also be a hindrance to growth. Fourth, I try to avoid ignoring guilt. If I am not being as generous as I can be, then I am guilty. If I am ignoring the poor around me, then I am guilty. Jesus is abundantly clear at this point. In fact, Jesus said that when we ignore the poor, we are ignoring him. Hmmm. I suppose then, that the rich man was guilty of ignoring Jesus as his gate. (Again the text does not say that.) 


So, my friends, struggle with me. Let's not be smug and defensive. Let's not be frozen and stuck in our guilt. But, let's hear the hard teaching of Jesus and serve the world, building the Kingdom of God. For, as Jesus also said in Luke 17:25, "You want to see the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is already here among you" (The Voice). Will we have ears to hear?