“And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,”
My Notes
What Does Luke 16:20 Mean?
"There was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores." In Jesus' parable, only the beggar is named. The rich man — who has a feast, fine clothing, and a gate — is anonymous. The reversal of significance is deliberate: in the world's estimation, the rich man matters and the beggar doesn't. In Jesus' parable, the beggar has a name and the rich man has none.
The name Lazarus (Eleazar) means "God has helped" — ironic given his condition. He's covered in sores, lying at someone else's gate, hoping for scraps. Where is God's help? The name contains a promise that the story will eventually fulfill: in the afterlife, God has indeed helped Lazarus. The help arrives after death, not during life.
The phrase "laid at his gate" means Lazarus was deposited there — perhaps too weak to walk. He didn't choose the gate; someone placed him there. His proximity to wealth is involuntary and unchosen. He sees the feast through the bars but can't enter.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Who is 'at your gate' — visible, known to you, in need — that you're walking past?
- 2.What does it mean that God names the beggar and leaves the rich man anonymous?
- 3.How does the name 'God has helped' function when help doesn't arrive until after death?
- 4.What gate in your life separates you from someone you could help?
Devotional
The beggar has a name: Lazarus. The rich man doesn't. In the only parable where Jesus names a character, it's not the wealthy, the powerful, or the successful. It's the man full of sores at the gate.
The naming is the point. God knows the beggar's name. The rich man — the one the world would identify, celebrate, and remember — is anonymous in God's story. The one full of sores, too weak to walk, deposited at a stranger's gate — he has a name. And the name means "God has helped."
The irony of the name is excruciating during Lazarus's life: where is God's help? He's lying in sores, hoping for table scraps, while a rich man feasts feet away. The name promises help that the circumstances deny. But the parable's resolution vindicates the name: after death, Lazarus is in Abraham's bosom. The help came. It just came later than Lazarus needed it to.
The gate is the geography of injustice: the beggar can see the feast but can't reach it. The rich man can see the beggar but doesn't feed him. The gate separates them physically but condemns the rich man morally. He walks past Lazarus daily. He knows the sores. He knows the hunger. And he feasts.
Who is at your gate? Whose name do you know — whose sores you've seen, whose hunger you've noticed — and what are you doing about it?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs,.... The offal food, broken bread, fragments of meat: that food which falls from…
Beggar - Poor man. The original word does not mean “beggar,” but simply that he was “poor.” It should have been so…
There was a certain beggar named Lazarus - His name is mentioned, because his character was good, and his end glorious;…
As the parable of the prodigal son set before us the grace of the gospel, which is encouraging to us all, so this sets…
named Lazarus Lazarus is not from lo ezer, -no help," i.e. -forsaken," but from Eli ezer,-helped of God," Gotthilf.It is…
Cross References
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