In order to answer these questions, and understand which opinion is more correct, let's try to figure it out together today, once again delving into this wonderful example that our Lord once gave.

In the Gospel of Luke we read:
Some man was rich, dressed in purple andfine linen and feasted splendidly every day. There was also a beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate in scabs ... The beggar died and was carried by the Angels tobosom of Abraham . The rich man also died, and they buried him. And inhell , being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, saw in the distanceAbraham and Lazarus in his bosom, and crying out, he said, Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus - evil; now he is comforted here, while you suffer; and besides all this, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they pass from there to us. Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers; let him testify to them that they also do not come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him: They haveMoses andprophets ; let them listen. He said: No, Father Abraham, but if anyone from the dead comes to them, they will repent. Then [Abraham] said to him: if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then if someone rose from the dead, they will not believe.
( OK. )

Proponents of the idea that this was a fictional event make the following arguments.
1 Christ never told real stories, as they could affect the feelings of the listeners, causing wrong associations that prevent them from grasping the essence of the truth being conveyed. Therefore, Jesus used abstract, fictitious plots - which is what His parables are.

2 The second argument advanced by supporters that this event was unreal is its dogmatic inconsistency with the entire context of Scripture. Such moments as the angels who carry the soul to heaven, a certain bosom of Abraham where Abraham plays the leading role, the conversation of the tormented rich man with him, the vision of sinners and the righteous of each other, in their opinion, also make the plot told by Jesus absolutely impossible.

3 Another argument advanced by exegetes who see the implausibility of history is that a similar event existed in rabbinic traditions. Accordingly, it was not difficult for Christ to take this story from Hebrew folklore and use it as an example to show a lesson to the money-loving Pharisees. But since Christians are wary of traditions, not considering them to be the true Word of God, this story should not be taken seriously.

All these arguments look very interesting, but do not represent worthwhile evidence.
Answering the first argument, I would like to note that often his ghost is associated with cultural characteristics of those who interpret the story of the Rich Man and Lazar. The word "parable" in our cultural understanding is a work similar to Krylov's fables. Even this word itself is associated with us with a fictional story in which animals talk, fantastic events take place, which by itself makes it implausible. But the Jews had a different idea of ​​this literary genre. In their national understanding, parables often had the character of an analogy. That is, when some life story was cited to illustrate the transmitted truth. Therefore, students of the Scriptures have long noticed that when Jesus taught people through parables or stories, he always used real life situations. "Sower sowing seed, woman seeking drachma, prodigal son returning home to a loving father; a man who found a treasure buried in a field; hiding it again and selling everything to buy this field; a master who distributed mines to his slaves; the king who arranged a wedding feast for his son; a fig tree that did not bear fruit” All this was commonplace in biblical times! And even the seemingly impossible parable of Jesus Christ about the debtor who cannot give the king 10,000 talents has a very real currency and could have a similar character. Jesus never accompanied His teachings with entirely made-up stories like "a sower went out and began to talk to the grain." All of them, one way or another, were taken by Jesus from real life situations well known to his listeners. So why should we assume that in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus presented entirely fictional material that was not familiar to his hearers? Can't we see the explicit nature of His teaching?

In response to the second argument, which is given by supporters of the fact that this event was unreal, and has a dogmatic inconsistency with the entire context of Scripture, I would like to note the following. The story told was immediately clear. Otherwise, how could the listeners understand its meaning if it consisted in pure allegory, and did not correspond to their understanding of the afterlife? If there were elements in it that would be divorced from their understanding, then this would just distract people from the transmitted truth. Fantasy would enthrall their thoughts and the mind would not be able to grasp its essence. So of course Jesus told a story that was acceptable to those around him.

It is also important to note that Christ perfectly understood the category of his listeners. If He began to say some unreal things about what was so dear to the zealots of the law - the Pharisees, they would simply stop listening to him. The story would immediately become incomprehensible, and would close their heart forever. For example, imagine if you went to the pulpit today and started preaching about how a certain person got into paradise, received an award, several beautiful wives (as Muslims imagine) and then started talking about some truth. Would the parishioners listen to you further? Of course not, their perception of you as a trustworthy preacher would immediately end. Moreover, Jesus understood that the Pharisees listening to Him were extremely hostile and were looking for something to catch Him in the word.

On the other hand, if for Jesus this was a false teaching, distorting the true understanding of the afterlife, how could He act so thoughtlessly and unreasonably, misleading people?! Instead of refuting these false Jewish ideas about the afterlife of the soul and the afterlife, Jesus, in fact, confirms them with His parable of the rich man and Lazarus. He confirms them not only among Jews who do not believe in Him, but also among His disciples. This situation is as if a missionary preaching the gospel to Tibetan monks who believe that salvation lies in the rotation of ritual drums, gave an example detailed in accordance with the same ideas of the monks. At the same time, by telling this example, he would not at all clarify its symbolic meaning and would not point out their misunderstanding. I think it would be like that famous story in which the mother taught her son not to say bad words, but at the same time repeated them. It looks very doubtful and very unpedagogical.

Another strong argument that the story told was not just made up is the principle of historical continuity. Analyzing the early Christian authors, we can see that they not only cited the story of the rich man and Lazarus as an example, but also used it for apologetic purposes.
Here is some of them:
Irenaeus of Lyons (II century): “That souls not only continue to exist without passing from body to body, but also retain the same character of the body that they had in conjunction with it, and remember the deeds that they did here and which have now ceased to do - the Lord explained this very fully in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, who rested in the bosom of Abraham ”(Ad. Her. 2. 34, 1)
Tertullian (II-III century): "St. The Scripture convicts the eyes of the one who recognizes in the underworld the bosom of Abraham intended for the poor. After all, one, it seems to me, is the underworld, the other is the bosom of Abraham. Indeed, Scripture says that a great abyss separates these regions and prevents the passage from both sides ... But the rich man would not have raised his eyes, and moreover from a distance, if it were not a question of a higher place and a remote depth, looking through that huge distance between the hill and abyss. From this it becomes clear to any reasonable person who has ever heard of Elisia, that there is some limit located in a certain place, which is called the bosom of Abraham, for receiving the souls of his sons, even from pagan peoples - the father, as you know, of many peoples to be numbered to the generation of Abraham ... So, what is this region, let's call it the bosom of Abraham, not yet being heavenly, but being higher than hell, while providing comfort to the souls of the righteous, until the destruction of the universe will produce, making the reward complete, the resurrection of all, since then it will be revealed heavenly” (Adv. Marc. IV, 34, 11-13)
Christians used the story of Jesus about the rich man and Lazarus in the fight against the heresy of Origen, which had the theory that the time will come when the torment will end and the sinners will unite with the righteous and with God, and thus God will be all in all. But the words of Christ refute it, for Abraham says that those who wish to pass from here to you or from there to us cannot do so. Therefore, they drew conclusions that just as it is impossible for someone to pass from the fate of the righteous to the place of sinners, so it is impossible, said Abraham, to pass from the place of torment to the place of the righteous.

Other well-known Christian authors, too, betrayed the meaning of the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus by no means such that it cannot be used in understanding the afterlife.
John Chrysostom writes the following about his reflections on the parable:: It happened, it is said, that the rich man died and was carried away for eternal torment. Lazarus also died and was carried by the angels "to the bosom of Abraham." Being in the fire, the rich man saw Lazarus, who was resting in the bosom of Abraham, and recognized him. And he exclaimed, saying: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus," so that with a small finger he would water my lips, "for I am tormented in this flame." Where is the wealth, where is the gold, where is the silver? Where is the silver roof? Where are the many servants? Where is the spilled wine, (if) it seeks and desires a drop of water? "Father Abraham, have mercy on me." Oh poor rich man! When Lazarus lay at your gates, you did not want to know him, and now you call Lazarus for help? "Have mercy on me." Your request is useless. The time for mercy has passed. There is no mercy. "For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13) Why do you ask for mercy, which you yourself did not show on earth? "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus," so that with a small finger watered my lips, "for I am tormented in this flame." With what finger, rich man? Who did you not allow to participate in the meal? Then you did not want to think about hands, you abhorred (them); and now you're asking me to touch your tongue? "Father Abraham, have mercy on me." How do you call him father without doing what a son ought to do? He is the father of those who walk in the light. There is no communion between light and darkness. Don't call him father. You are a cruel son of darkness and hell. How do you call him father without having mercy on his son, Lazarus? The great patriarch did not crush him with grief, did not intensify his torment, did not strike him with words, did not reject human nature. He answered in a meek voice and with a bright face with the words: "Child, I have already received good things" on earth, "but Lazarus is evil." Therefore, "he is comforted here, and you suffer"2. Moreover, there is a "great chasm"4 "between us and you" and none of us5 can cross it (Luke 16:25-26) Do you see the end of the rich man? Do you see the transience of luxury? Do not cease to give to the poor out of what you have; never put off until tomorrow, "for you do not know what that day will bring forth" (Prov. 27:1).

All this gives us the vision that Jesus' story about the Rich Man and Lazarus was of great importance to Christians.

It is worth paying attention to one more interesting and strong points for argumentation. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, there is no introduction where Christ usually defines the genre of further narration. We usually read it as written: "He offered them a parable" or "He told the following parable." But this is not observed here. We also see that Jesus gives details. Although those who believe that this story could not be real consider them unimportant, I see that they are also of great importance. Jesus, telling the plot, mentions that one of the heroes of the story has a name (i.e. Lazarus), which is not observed in any of the parables of the Savior. It is the link to the name that makes this story very believable. The mention that the rich man had five brothers also suggests that this event, if it did not take place on earth, then definitely does not contain fantastic, unrealistic actions.

And finally, let's try what about such elements of history as whether they are angels who carry the soul to heaven, a certain bosom of Abraham where Abraham plays a certain role, the conversation of the tormented rich man with him, the vision of sinners and the righteous of each other - Scripture itself says.

Angels carry the soul to heaven.
“And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other end of them” Matt. 24:31
“The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather from His Kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who do iniquity, and cast them into a fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 13:37

Seeing the sinners and the righteous one another
Luke 13:28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves being cast out"

Bosom of Abraham
“I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 8.11:12).

Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude that we can not take into account the first opinion, since it does not seem to be correct. If for its supporters the actions of history seem unreal due to the absence of such a mention in Scripture, then one might just as well disbelieve other books and events of the Bible. For example, the book of Daniel where people do not burn in the oven, the hand writes on the wall, the king turns into an animal, etc. Or the book of Jonah where the whale first swallows it and then spits it out on land. We don't see things like this anywhere else.
We have an understanding that such an event, if not taken from the life of specific people, then definitely had a collective image in which all the moments presented were not fantastic and could actually happen. But most importantly, by reading the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, we will learn the spiritual lessons that Jesus taught us in it. Let us love the Word of God and hear Him. Let us love our loved ones by noticing their needs. And realizing that our life on earth is not eternal, we will collect treasures for ourselves in heaven.

Gospel of Luke

19 A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted splendidly every day.
20 There was also a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with scabs 21 and desired to feed on the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs.
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died, and they buried him.
23 And in hell, being in torments, he lifted up his eyes, saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom 24 And crying out, he said, Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus - evil; now he is comforted here, while you suffer; 26 And besides all this, a great chasm is fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they pass from there to us.
27 Then he said, I beseech you, father, send him to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers; let him testify to them that they also do not come to this place of torment.
29 Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen.
30 And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if anyone from the dead comes to them, they will repent.
31 Then Abraham said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then if someone rises from the dead, they will not believe.

The main idea of ​​this parable is that the misuse of wealth deprives a person of the Kingdom of Heaven and brings him down to hell for eternal torment. One rich man dressed in purple and linen.

Porphyry is a Syrian outer garment made of expensive red material, and fine linen is a white, thin, delicate cloth made of Egyptian linen. This rich man, living luxuriously, feasted every day, therefore living for his own pleasure. At the gate of his house lay a beggar named Lazarus. The word "Lazarus" literally means "God's help", i.e. the "poor" abandoned by all, who can only hope in God. The dogs caused him even more suffering, coming and licking his scabs, and he apparently did not have the strength to drive them away.

It was in this very beggar that the rich man could find a friend who would accept him after death into eternal abode, according to the thought of the previous parable, but the rich man, apparently, was a heartless man, merciless to the beggar, although not stingy, since he feasted every day. He did not spare money, but spent it only on his own pleasures. After the death of Lazarus, his soul was carried by the Angels to the bosom of Abraham. It does not say “to paradise”, because paradise was opened only by the suffering and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but only the thought is expressed that Lazarus, as the true son of Abraham, shared his posthumous lot with Abraham, having improved a state full of comforting hopes for future bliss waiting for all the righteous.

Lazarus deserved these “eternal shelters”, no doubt, by his heavy and uncomplaining suffering. "The rich man also died and they buried him." Funerals are mentioned, probably because they were luxurious, while the corpse of Lazarus was simply thrown out to be eaten by wild animals. But the rich man ended up in hell in torment. And behold, he sees Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Thus, the contemplation by sinners of the blessedness of the righteous increases the suffering of sinners in hell and, perhaps, arouses in them a hope, albeit a vain one, for relief.

As before, Lazarus wanted to be satisfied only with crumbs, so now the impoverished rich man asks only for a few drops of water to cool his sore tongue. The rich man, however, refuses even this small consolation: just as Lazarus is comforted in full proportion to his former torments, so the rich man suffers in the same full proportion to his former careless and heartless joy.

In addition, Abraham gives another reason for his refusal: the immutability of the sentence of God, as a result of which an impassable abyss is established between the place of blessedness of the righteous and the place of torment of sinners, in full accordance with the moral abyss that separates both. Abraham also refuses the rich man's request to send Lazarus to his father's house to warn his brothers not to follow the example of his life. "They have Moses and the prophets," i.e. the written Law of God, from which they can learn how to live in order not to end up in a place of torment.

The rich man admits that his brethren, like him, are deaf to the Law of God, and that only the extraordinary appearance of the deceased could bring them to reason and force them to change their way of life for the better. To this, Abraham objected that if they had reached such a moral decline that they did not obey the voice of God expressed in the Word of God, then all other assurances would also be in vain. The unbeliever, struck even by the extraordinary appearance of the deceased, then nevertheless begins to explain this phenomenon to himself in some other way and again remains the same unbelieving and uncorrected.

That this is so is evident from how stubbornly unbelieving Jews were not at all convinced by the countless signs and wonders that the Lord Jesus Christ performed: they did not even believe, seeing the resurrection of Lazarus, they even thought of killing him. The whole point is that the heart, corrupted by sin, stubbornly refuses to believe in the future torments that await sinners, and no miracles can convince it of this.

About Lazarus and the rich man, conversation of St. John Chrysostom

The Church is the greatest school for us: here the rich are enlightened and corrected, and the poor find peace and consolation for themselves. And now, beloved, we have to do the work of teaching. Following the instructions of the previous gospel, we will use what we have read now and try to extract from it useful for all of you. Today's gospel reading depicted for us the life of a rich man and a poor man: the rich man was drowning in bliss and pleasure, and the poor man spent his life in poverty.

“A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted splendidly every day. There was also a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who was lying at his gate in scabs and wanted to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man's table, and the dogs, coming, licked his scabs ”(Luke 16:19-21).

This story, beloved, must be analyzed in detail, so that, like sailors, from the experience of our predecessors, we too could learn from it to avoid the underwater rocks that cause shipwreck, so that on the one hand the rich may come to their senses, seeing what punishment the rich man depicted here suffered, and on the other hand. On the other hand, the poor, seeing by the example of Lazarus how brilliantly their hopes were justified, were more willing to walk the path of life amidst the sorrows that befell them.

“Some man was rich. Some person“. He is not called by name, did not receive such honor as Job, of whom it was written: “ there was a man in the land of Uz, his name was Job” (Job 1:1). His name is silent: as barren, he is also deprived of a name (after all, the righteous names are in the book of life, and the names of sinners will be blotted out without a trace), he is left with only a common generic name - man: this name is certainly for all people is common. Not having a distinctive proper name, he was distinguished for that by the special severity of his evil disposition. “ Some man was rich“.

Akin to poor Lazarus by bodily nature, he was alien to him by the heritage of Christ because of his embittered will. “ Some person was“. He was human in appearance, but in temperament he was a solitary animal. “ Some man was rich“. Rich in acquisitions, rich in crimes, rich in copper, rich in sinful poison; illuminated by the brilliance of silver, but overshadowed by sins; rich in gold, but poor in Christ; he had many clothes, but his soul had no cover; precious clothes were kept by him, but only a multitude of aphids fed on them. “ Some man was rich“.

Blooming with wealth, it did not have the color of truth: an autumn tree, barren, doubly dead. “ Some man was rich, dressed in purple and linen“. He dressed in purple, but was rejected from the kingdom of God; his porphyry was not stained with the blood of Christ, it was dyed with the blood of sea shells; she did not serve as a guarantee of the kingdom of heaven for him, but foreshadowed his terrible fire of Gehenna.

“A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted splendidly every day.“. He did not rejoice in the Lord, as the righteous (after all, for the righteous, joy is the memory of God, as David testifies, for example: “ I remembered God and rejoiced” – Ps. 76:4); his amusements consisted in drunkenness, debauchery, overeating, satiety; in a word, he was no better than pigs wallowing in the mud.

“There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus“. The Lord called the poor man by name, giving him honor by the designation of the name. “ There was also a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who was lying at the gate of his“, almost drowned by the waves of poverty, and a little later carried with honor by angels to the bosom of Abraham. “ There was also a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who was lying at the gate"rich" in scabs” (v. 20).

Oh, what disasters the poor suffered! He was oppressed by the most severe poverty like (an ear) by a strong hail; scorching abscesses, like sparkling coals, corroded his body; streams of grief rushed at him from everywhere, destroying his body and tearing his heart; he found no relief, no relief, in anything.

“Outside - attacks, inside - fears” (2 Corinthians 7:5). Outwardly, the body was exhausted by abscesses, and inside the heart was gnawed by relentless worries. Neither the fruitful field gave him the seeds of bread, nor the grapes brought him sweet bunches, nor the tree in autumn gave him its juicy fruits, nor any other product of the earth served as a consolation to him in his poverty.

And this man, who had neither an inch of cultivated land, nor a cubit of roof for habitation, was thrown out into the open sky on a dunghill! Dung served as a cover for him day and night, warming him somewhat in winter, and mercilessly burning him in summer. His body was covered with continuous wounds. The work of the farmer was beyond his strength, travel and trade enterprises were impossible for him, and he was not capable of any other means of dealing with poverty. In everything he was lacking, in everything he was deprived.

Moans before tears were born in his heart, like thorns; streams of tears rushed down his cheeks, so that from the constant flow of tears his cheeks were covered with furrows. In a dream he looked for death and in reality he called for her, but she did not appear. He was waiting for death as deliverance from all labors and worries, like the long-suffering Job. After all, even he, having lost wealth, herds, property, completely naked, devoured by worms, lay on pus and wished for death.

Here is what he said: “Wherefore light has been given to the sufferer, and life to the grieving soul, who are waiting for death, and there is none, who would dig it more willingly than a treasure, would rejoice to the point of delight, would be delighted that they found the tomb” (Job 3: 20-23). “ And wished“, it says, “ feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man's table” (Luke 16:21). Oh, the contradiction of life! The rich were drowning in a stormy stream of pleasures, and the poor were languishing under the yoke of poverty, not having a single drop for refreshment. Why, in fact, did the course of life not lead them to mutual communication? From what? In order for the poor to perceive the bright crowns for his patience, and for the rich for bringing his soul to brutality, he had to gnaw unripe grapes with his teeth. “ And dogs“, it says, “ coming, licked his scabs“.

The dogs turned out to be more humane than the rich man and kinder than him. He never gave a drop of oil to the poor, and the dogs, taming the sharpness of their teeth with philanthropy, healed him with their soft tongue, removing all impurities and dried blood from his wounds; the smoothness of the tongue, smoothing over his fierce boils, they imperceptibly eased the severity of his wounds. The rich man never honored the poor man with a gracious look or a word, even if it was useless; He didn’t throw him any rags, or the remnants of food, not a single penny covered with rust, not bread, not even a crust of bread, touched by mold, but he sent all this through his throat into his womb, as if it were all-embracing.

2. So what? What are the merits of each, such is the reward. “” (v. 22). Having barely escaped the hardships and worries of poverty, he arrived at the quiet harbor of Abraham. “ The beggar died and was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham“. Do you see how, beyond the threshold of this life, poverty is surrounded by the care of angels? “ The rich man also died, and they buried him” (v. 22).

Concerning the rich man, the tomb is immediately mentioned, according to the words of David: “ and their tombs are their dwellings forever” (Ps. 48:12). Therefore, it is said to you: poor man, do not be afraid, “when a man grows rich, when the glory of his house increases: for when he dies, he will take nothing; his glory will not follow him” (Ps. 48:17,18). He will leave everything here - slaves, servants, saints, hangers-on, flatterers, chariots, golden-breasted horses, baths, estates, houses with gilded ceilings and mosaic floors, kingdom, power, authority - he will leave all this here and leave here naked. And being in hell, he raised his eyes', - notice at what depth the rich was and at what height the poor, - ' raised” says, “ your eyes", rich " I saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom”(v.23).

Why, however, did not Lazarus see the rich man? Because, of course, whoever is in the midst of the light does not see who is in darkness, and whoever is in darkness sees who is in the light. And said: " Father Abraham! have mercy on me“! You say: " have mercy“Now that the time for mercy has already passed. Didn't you hear someone say: judgment without mercy to the unmerciful” (James 2:13)? You repent now when there is no place for confession; did you not hear what David said: in hell who will praise you” (Ps. 6:6)? “ Have mercy on me and send Lazarus“. Do you know Lazarus? Did you recognize the one who was lying in the dunghill, and whom you never wished to give equal honor to dogs? But you - in the days of your prosperity - closed your bowels before him; so I now - on the day of punishment - close the bowels of mercy before you. Have you not heard how God, through all the prophets, called to you, saying: watch mercy and judgment and trust in your God always” (Hos.12:6), because “ I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Hos. 6:6); “ blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7), and also: “ he who does good to the poor lends to the Lord” (Prov. 19:17)?

So where you sow, there seek and reap; where squandered, there and collect. You never scattered the seeds of alms, you never lent anything to God through alms to the poor, but you collected and used everything for your womb. And where your treasure was, there let your heart be also. “Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame” (v. 24). The tongue suffers punishment, which served him for the enjoyment of food; he asks for a drop of water, while in his lifetime he never gave even a cup of cold water to a thirsty person in the name of a disciple.

If during your lifetime you had shared your good with Lazarus, now you would share the kingdom with him; if then he had been compassionate towards the poor, now he would have avoided heavy condemnation - because “ blessed is he who thinks of the poor! In the day of distress the Lord will deliver him” (Ps. 40:2). Throw generously your wealth into the poor, in order to level that fiery abyss with them; let your mercy flow in a rich stream to quench that flame; support the life of orphans - and now you have killed the already restless worms; Wipe away the widow's tear, and you have freed your soul from the oppression of sins.

For this, after all, this was read to you, so that, following in the footsteps of the merciless rich man, you would not be subjected to the same punishment in hell. And you, poor man, do not lose heart and do not lose heart, no matter how the waves of poverty constrain you. Look at the most glorious Lazarus, fix your eyes here day and night, so that, guiding your life with the wheel of patience, you will reach the same saving harbor, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Priest John Pavlov

43. Parable of the rich man and Lazarus

Looking at this world, people often ask difficult questions. Why is one person born rich and another poor? One is endowed with excellent health, and the other is born disabled? Is one naturally endowed with good abilities, while the other is born weak-minded? “Where is the justice? - many people ask. - After all, Christianity claims that God is just and fair, but where is justice here if, for example, it often happens that vicious people live comfortably and carefree, while virtuous people suffer from poverty, sorrows or illnesses? Where is the justice here, what is the point in all this?

All such questions and perplexities are fully resolved by the Gospel parable of the rich man and Lazarus. We are familiar with its content. In a certain city, a rich man lived in a luxurious house. His life was a continuous celebration. He dressed in purple and fine linen. Porphyry is a very expensive fabric dyed with a purple dye extracted from marine molluscs. Linen is a special finest white fabric, also very expensive. Such clothes in ancient times were worn only by kings and the big rich. This is why the Gospel mentions the names of fabrics to show how rich this person was.

At the gate of the palace in which the rich man enjoyed life, lay Lazarus. Lazar was a beggar, sick and homeless, in our opinion a bum. His life was one continuous torment. It was covered in pus-filled scabs, and stray dogs would come and lick the pus. The dog in the East was considered an unclean animal, and the fact that Lazar lived with dogs, the Gospel shows all the misery, all the horror of his situation ...

So for a long time these people lived not far from each other. But both of them - both Lazarus and the rich man - died one after the other. Of course, the rich man was buried with great honors, and the whole city followed his funeral procession. Lazarus was quickly removed from sight and buried ingloriously, somehow. And further in the Gospel it is narrated how different their afterlife was. After his death, Lazarus was carried by the Angels to the bosom of Abraham, to the blessed Kingdom of the saints. The demons brought the rich man to the underworld, to the hellish fire of torment. Great was the difference between the rich man and Lazarus during their earthly life. But the opposite and incomparably greater difference appeared in their afterlife, which is what the righteous Abraham says to the rich man: between us and you lies an abyss and a great impassable abyss.

Thus, from the Gospel we see that every earthly injustice, every innocent suffering will be corrected and rewarded in eternity, in the coming Kingdom of Christ. The Lord is a righteous Judge, and He will settle and pay all debts with each person. The reproach of God with injustice, perhaps, would be admissible in the event that everything ended with death for a person. Then - yes, one could say that the world is full of injustice, for what justice is it if one good person, like Lazarus, for example, suffers all his life, and another, vicious, like the rich man in the Gospel, enjoys? If after death everything ended the same for both, then we could say that Lazar's life is a continuous and senseless injustice. But the fact of the matter is that after death nothing ends, but on the contrary, everything is just beginning. A new life begins, a new way of being; a person passes into another world, where a fair and final calculation will be made - a calculation not according to human truth, but according to the truth of God.

Elder Paisios of Athos said that Christians have an account in heaven for every illness, for every injustice, if they accept it all with patience and trust in God, where the heavenly reward is deposited. God, as it were, says this to every person: “Have you toiled a lot, suffered in this world? I will give you the most blissful place in Paradise. Have you lost your sight and lived your whole life blind? I will give you the brightest place in Paradise. Were you born disabled and ugly? I will give you all the beauty of the heavenly world, the eternal beauty that no one will ever take away from you. Were you insane? I will give you all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and you will know what the wise men and professors of this world do not know and what no man has ever supposed to know. And in this way the Lord will make a calculation with each person, so He will execute judgment according to His Divine truth ...

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus convinces us that all earthly injustice, all earthly suffering and bitterness will be overcome and corrected in the Age to Come, where everyone will receive a reward from God, according to how he lived on earth. And all Holy Scripture testifies to the same thing - that God is a righteous Judge, all of whose ways and deeds are holy, true and just. “I glorify the name of the Lord,” the prophet Moses exclaims in songs, “give glory to God. He is a stronghold; perfect are his works, and all his ways are righteous; God is faithful, and there is no unrighteousness in Him; He is righteous and true." And therefore, undoubtedly, at the last Last Judgment, all those who reproached God for injustice will see their mistake and will be forced, together with the psalmist David, to say: “Thou art righteous, O Lord, and Thy judgments are right.” Amen.

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Interpretation

One of the interesting and frequently asked questions is the following: "How to understand the parable of the rich man and Lazarus"?

Since the relevance of this issue for our readers is very high, we decided to publish the interpretation of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus not in the “Question and Answer” section, but in the “Research” section and place the interpretation on the main page. So, the Rich Man and Lazarus.

Editorial "Boruch".

Let's start with the parable itself.

“A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted splendidly every day. There was also a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate in scabs and desired to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man's table, and the dogs, coming, licked his scabs. The beggar died and was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died, and they buried him. And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom, and crying out, said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus - evil; now he is comforted here, while you suffer; and besides all this, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they pass from there to us. Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers; let him testify to them that they also do not come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen. He said: No, Father Abraham, but if anyone from the dead comes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said to him: If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then if someone rises from the dead, they will not believe” (Luke 16:19-31).

Reading the traditional Christian interpretations of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, we can very clearly see how the substitution of concepts takes place and how the biblical texts are adjusted to traditional ideas.

According to a tradition especially strong in Eastern Christianity, after the death of a person, his body decomposes in the grave, and his soul goes either to hell or to heaven. The content of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus does not correspond to these ideas. Thus, in particular, the rich man, who is on fire, asks Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and anoint his tongue. If, according to traditional ideas, the soul of Lazarus is in heaven, and the soul of the rich man is in hell, then where does Lazarus have a finger, and the rich man's tongue?!

It is clearly seen that the rich man suffers both in soul and body. This corresponds to Matthew 10:28: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Mat. 10:28).

It is also clear that bodily and mental suffering is described elsewhere in the Gospel: “If your right eye offends you, tear it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body be thrown to hell. And if your right hand offends you, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body be cast into hell” (Mat. 5:29,30).

According to what is written in the Gospel of Matthew, we see that the punishments in hell fire cannot take place immediately after the death of a person, for we know that the body of every dead person is in the grave. Accordingly, in order for the body, together with the soul, to fall into hellfire, a resurrection is necessary, as the Gospel of John, chapter 6, and Daniel, chapter 12, speak about.

“But this is the will of the Father who sent me, that of what he has given me, I should not destroy anything, but raise it all up on the last day” (John 6:39).

“And many of those sleeping in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, others to eternal reproach and shame. And those who are wise will shine like the lights of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:2,3).

Exactly the same picture is presented to us by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, where the Son of Man, having come to earth with angels, administers judgment and divides humanity into two categories: he invites some to inherit the kingdom, sends others into the fire. Reading these biblical texts, we can unequivocally say that the reward of a person is not after his death, but when "many of those sleeping in the dust of the earth wake up." Then not only the souls of sinners will be sent, but also their bodies to the fiery Gehenna - "others to eternal reproach and shame." Reading the story about the rich man and Lazarus, we can unequivocally conclude that the rich man suffered in his body, so this could only happen after the event that the Gospels call the Second Coming.

That is why Abraham tells the rich man that it is no longer possible to send Lazarus to preach the gospel to his brothers. And it cannot be otherwise. In Luke 16, Abraham refuses to inform the rich man's relatives about the fate their brother was in store for. If the rich man's torment took place after his death, then Abraham's refusal would look absolutely illogical. It turns out that, realizing his position, the rich man wants to do everything so that his brothers repent, and Abraham does not give them any chance and no alternative. It turns out that God does not want sinners to repent. If, as we justified it, the rich man suffers in the fiery Gehenna that takes place after the "awakening of the sleeping", then it becomes clear that in this situation it is too late to repent. And then Abraham is right: if someone has been reading the law and the prophets all his life and has not repented, then at the “end time” that Daniel writes about, it will be too late to do so.

But the story of the rich man and Lazarus is called a parable for a reason. In particular, the name Lazar was not chosen at all by chance. The Gospel of John describes how Jesus resurrected his friend Lazarus, after which the chief priests first decided to eliminate Jesus; and in chapter 12 it says that they decided to kill Lazarus as well. As in traditional rabbinical parables, the characters and images in Jesus' parable are symbolic of some kind of reality. Based on John 11 and 12, we see who the rich man and the brothers represent. They symbolize the Sadducees and the temple elite, who were not affected by what they saw on the Sunday of Lazarus.

The religious elite of Judea, depicted as a rich man, always said that they were destined for a fate in the world to come. A poor workaholic who does not have the opportunity to devote his whole life to the study of the Torah, according to their understanding, must certainly burn in Gechinome (gehenna). However, Jesus depicts the fate of his untimely deceased friend, obviously not from a wealthy family, lying on the chest of his father Abraham. At the same time, as all this proud self-confident elite will be punished in fiery hell. Addressing the Sanhedrin and the high priest Caiaphas, who judged him, Jesus speaks about this absolutely directly. “But He was silent and did not answer anything. Again the high priest asked Him and said to Him: Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? Jesus said: I; and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61,62).

The main mistake of the interpreters of the story about the rich man and Lazarus is that the rich man falls into the fire immediately after his death.

Jesus likens death to sleep. “Having said this, he says to them later: Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep; but I go to wake him” (John 11:11). A person sleeping in the sleep of death has no sense of time. The rich man, caught in the fire of retribution, does not know how long he was in the grave. For him, the interval between his death and retribution is a moment. Therefore, finding himself in the fire, he thinks that his brothers are alive.

Many readers of the story of the rich man and Lazarus do not want to recognize it as a parable. However, the element of the parable is clearly present here.

First, the place where Lazarus ends up is not called paradise or the new earth, but is called the bosom of Abraham.

Secondly, nowhere is it said that, being in the fire of retribution, the sinner will have the opportunity to have a conversation with Abraham. And in general, on what basis was Abraham given the right to raise from the dead and talk to sinners burning in fire?!

All this indicates that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable, the symbolism of which has been explained above.

Alexander Bolotnikov,
Director of the Research Center "Shalom",
Doctor of Divinity

Image: Rich man and Lazarus. Fragment of an engraving by Doré

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