Rose
10-04-2012, 06:34 PM
In re-reading the story of Lazarus and the rich man found only in the Gospel of Luke, some new insights became apparent that I had never noticed before.
Luke 16:19-21 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, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
In the first few verses we have the description of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus. The story tells us of a rich man is clothed in expensive garments who eats extravagantly every day; while on the other hand the poor beggar is starving and full of sores, which are probably caused from leprosy. It says that the beggar is waiting for crumbs of food to fall from the rich mans table while dogs are licking his sores; quite a graphic picture of a suffering human being. Jesus chooses to relate this particular story and focuses our attention on the rich man eating sumptuously while the beggar eagerly waits for some of his crumbs, which of course garners our sympathies for the poor man and heightens our anger towards the selfish rich man. What goes unnoticed, and Jesus fails to expose, is the greater responsibility of the biblegod whom he calls his father. Whether or not the rich man is guilty of not giving of his abundance and sharing with the beggar, should in no way dismisses the fact that the beggar was a sick man in need of healing which the rich man was incapable of giving him, whereas Jesus or his father had the ability to heal this poor sick man (at least the Bible tells us he does), who had dogs licking his wounds, yet they did nothing.
Luke 16:22-26 And 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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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. But 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.
What happens next in the story is that the beggar and the rich man die. After their deaths the beggar is whisked away to heaven and the rich man sent to the torments of hell. Despite the pleas of the rich man for mercy, none is given, instead the explanation is put forth that because the rich man enjoyed good things in this life he was sentenced to the torments of hell, whereas Lazarus only received evil things in this life, so he was comforted in heaven with Abraham.
The obvious conclusions that one extracts from this parable is that those who enjoy abundance in this life and don’t share with those less fortunate are in danger of suffering in hell-fire. This completely overlooks the probable fact that the reason Lazarus was a beggar was because he was sick and couldn’t work, or shunned by his fellow Jews because of his leprosy. I’m sure this poor, sick beggar pleaded with God daily for healing, but to no avail, so no matter how much food the rich man did or did not give to Lazarus, he still would have suffered from his disease. Why would Jesus use such a parable to convey the evils of being rich and not sharing your wealth, when the finger points directly back to him in being able to heal, yet doing nothing to alleviate the suffering of a poor sick man? Also the Old Testament teaching of an “Eye for an Eye” was supposed to be rejected by Jesus in favor of forgiveness and loving your enemies, but in this example because the rich man refused to give crumbs to the beggar, Lazarus refused water to the tormented rich man. What happened to the Golden Rule of loving your neighbor as yourself? It seems to be missing from the story, in favor of focusing on being sent to hell for ones selfishness, and showing no mercy to those who ask.
May I ask where is the mercy of God in this picture that Jesus so clearly portrays?
Blog article found here (http://godandbutterfly.net/2012/10/04/lazarus-and-the-rich-man-2/).
Rose
Luke 16:19-21 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, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
In the first few verses we have the description of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus. The story tells us of a rich man is clothed in expensive garments who eats extravagantly every day; while on the other hand the poor beggar is starving and full of sores, which are probably caused from leprosy. It says that the beggar is waiting for crumbs of food to fall from the rich mans table while dogs are licking his sores; quite a graphic picture of a suffering human being. Jesus chooses to relate this particular story and focuses our attention on the rich man eating sumptuously while the beggar eagerly waits for some of his crumbs, which of course garners our sympathies for the poor man and heightens our anger towards the selfish rich man. What goes unnoticed, and Jesus fails to expose, is the greater responsibility of the biblegod whom he calls his father. Whether or not the rich man is guilty of not giving of his abundance and sharing with the beggar, should in no way dismisses the fact that the beggar was a sick man in need of healing which the rich man was incapable of giving him, whereas Jesus or his father had the ability to heal this poor sick man (at least the Bible tells us he does), who had dogs licking his wounds, yet they did nothing.
Luke 16:22-26 And 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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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. But 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.
What happens next in the story is that the beggar and the rich man die. After their deaths the beggar is whisked away to heaven and the rich man sent to the torments of hell. Despite the pleas of the rich man for mercy, none is given, instead the explanation is put forth that because the rich man enjoyed good things in this life he was sentenced to the torments of hell, whereas Lazarus only received evil things in this life, so he was comforted in heaven with Abraham.
The obvious conclusions that one extracts from this parable is that those who enjoy abundance in this life and don’t share with those less fortunate are in danger of suffering in hell-fire. This completely overlooks the probable fact that the reason Lazarus was a beggar was because he was sick and couldn’t work, or shunned by his fellow Jews because of his leprosy. I’m sure this poor, sick beggar pleaded with God daily for healing, but to no avail, so no matter how much food the rich man did or did not give to Lazarus, he still would have suffered from his disease. Why would Jesus use such a parable to convey the evils of being rich and not sharing your wealth, when the finger points directly back to him in being able to heal, yet doing nothing to alleviate the suffering of a poor sick man? Also the Old Testament teaching of an “Eye for an Eye” was supposed to be rejected by Jesus in favor of forgiveness and loving your enemies, but in this example because the rich man refused to give crumbs to the beggar, Lazarus refused water to the tormented rich man. What happened to the Golden Rule of loving your neighbor as yourself? It seems to be missing from the story, in favor of focusing on being sent to hell for ones selfishness, and showing no mercy to those who ask.
May I ask where is the mercy of God in this picture that Jesus so clearly portrays?
Blog article found here (http://godandbutterfly.net/2012/10/04/lazarus-and-the-rich-man-2/).
Rose